# Title 54 — State Government

## Chapter 54-23.3 — Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation

### § 54-23.3-01. Department of corrections and rehabilitation - Creation - Duties -

Programs.
There is hereby created a department of corrections and rehabilitation that is responsible to
the governor. The department is responsible for the direction and general administrative
supervision, guidance, and planning of adult and juvenile correctional facilities and programs
within the state. The department includes a division of adult services, a division of juvenile
services, and such other divisions as are determined necessary for the effective and efficient
operation of the department. Programs and facilities included in the department are the North
Dakota state penitentiary or any of its affiliated facilities, parole and probation for adult
offenders, North Dakota youth correctional center, community programs and services for
juvenile offenders under the division of juvenile services, and any other programs developed by
the department.
### § 54-23.3-01.1. Definitions.

As used in this chapter:
1. "Director" means the director of the department of corrections and rehabilitation. The
director may designate officers of the department to assist in carrying out the director's
duties.
2. "Inmate" means an offender who the district court has committed to the legal and
physical custody of the department of corrections and rehabilitation and who is
confined in the North Dakota state penitentiary or its affiliated facilities or is confined in
another state's correctional facility, a federal correctional facility, a county correctional
facility or regional corrections center, a private correctional facility, or has been placed
in a community placement program, treatment facility, or transitional center by the
department.
3. "Juvenile offender" means an offender who is supervised by an officer of the juvenile
court or has been adjudicated unruly or delinquent by the juvenile court and placed in
the custody of the division of juvenile services.
4. "Offender" means a person who has been committed to the legal and physical custody
of the department of corrections and rehabilitation, or placed under the supervision
and management of the department by a district court, by the parole board, or through
the interstate compact for the supervision of adult offenders.
5. "Parolee" means an offender who has been placed under the supervision and
management of the department of corrections and rehabilitation by the parole board or
through the interstate compact for the supervision of adult offenders.
6. "Probationer" means an offender who has been placed under the supervision and
management of the department of corrections and rehabilitation by a district court or
through the interstate compact for the supervision of adult offenders.
### § 54-23.3-02. Purpose.

The purpose of the department of corrections and rehabilitation is:
1. To develop a statewide correctional philosophy that will provide direction, goals, and
standards for corrections.
2. To provide for the care, custody, discipline, training, and treatment of persons
committed to state correctional facilities and programs.
3. To coordinate and provide a continuum of correctional services to both adult and
juvenile clients.
4. To promote and develop close communication and mutual understanding of
corrections issues and concerns between the courts and the department.
5. To provide joint training of staff and career opportunities for corrections staff.

6. To work with local and state entities to develop alternatives to conventional
incarceration for those offenders who can be dealt with more effectively in less
restrictive, community-based facilities and programs.
### § 54-23.3-03. Director - Appointment - Qualifications - Compensation.

The chief administrative officer of the department is the director of the department of
corrections and rehabilitation, who must be appointed by the governor. The position of director
is not a classified position and the director shall serve at the pleasure of the governor. The
person appointed as director must hold at least a bachelor's degree from an accredited college
or university and must have held a management position in correctional or related work for at
least five years. The governor shall set the salary of the director within the limits of legislative
appropriations.
### § 54-23.3-04. Director - Powers and duties.

The director of the department of corrections and rehabilitation has the following powers
and duties:
1. To manage and control all institutions and programs within the department and to
administer and enforce the laws with which the department is charged.
2. To promote a unified criminal justice system and develop a statewide correctional
philosophy in cooperation with the courts, law enforcement, and other entities in the
criminal justice system.
3. To develop necessary programs and services for adult and juvenile offenders, within
legislative appropriations, to provide for their treatment and rehabilitation and to
recognize their special needs.
4. To develop, maintain, and revise as required a comprehensive master plan for the
state's correctional system which must indicate the system's needs and resources.
5. To establish policies and procedures necessary to carry out the responsibilities of the
department.
6. To organize the department into an adult services division, a juvenile services division,
and such other divisions that will enable it to function most effectively and efficiently.
7. To exercise general supervisory and appointing authority over all department
employees, subject to any applicable personnel laws and rules.
8. To employ and remove the director of the division of juvenile services, the director of
the division of adult services, and other division directors and personnel who may be
deemed necessary by the director of the department. Until the director of the
department of corrections and rehabilitation has been granted the full-time equivalent
positions within the department's budget for the division director positions, or when the
positions are vacant, the responsibilities of these positions must be assumed by the
director of the department of corrections and rehabilitation or by the director's
designee.
9. To delegate authority to subordinates as necessary and appropriate, clearly
delineating the delegated authority and limitations.
10. To promote the development of alternatives to conventional incarceration for those
offenders who can be dealt with more effectively in less restrictive, community-based
facilities and programs.
11. To contract for correctional services, and to provide such services, with the United
States, Canada, other states, and any of their governmental subdivisions and
agencies and with another agency or governmental unit in this state, or with any
private or public correctional or treatment facility or agency. The director shall
reimburse the entity at an amount based upon the services required for the housing
and treatment of inmates. The director may also contract to provide services, without
cost to the state, for persons held by any of the jurisdictions mentioned in this section.
If a treaty is in effect between the United States and a foreign country for the transfer
and exchange of offenders, the director of the department of corrections and
rehabilitation, upon recommendation of the warden and the approval of the governor,

may on behalf of the state under the terms of the treaty transfer or exchange offenders
and take any action necessary for the state to participate in the treaty.
12. To lease land owned by the state under the jurisdiction of the department of
corrections and rehabilitation. A lease by the director is not subject to the conditions of
this subsection. The director may sell or exchange, with the governor's approval,
selected portions of land owned by the state under the jurisdiction of the department of
corrections and rehabilitation and may sell, trade, lease, or grant mining easements to
extract and remove any resources found on, in, or under said department of
corrections and rehabilitation lands, including clay, coal, oil, gas, gravel, sand, dirt, and
sod, under the following conditions:
a. Any such sale, exchange, or transaction must allow for the submission of bids
pursuant to a notice published in at least one official county newspaper. The sale,
exchange, or transaction is exempt from the provisions of sections 54-01-05.2
and 54-01-05.5.
b. Any such sale, exchange, or transaction may not be made for less than the
appraised value, and the state reserves the right to reject any and all bids.
c. The commissioner of university and school lands or the commissioner's designee
shall provide technical assistance and advice to the director of the department of
corrections and rehabilitation in any transaction.
d. All legal documents, papers, and instruments required by any transaction must be
reviewed and approved as to form and legality by the attorney general.
e. Any of these transactions can be entered into on any terms and conditions
permitted by law and approved by the governor.
f. All funds and proceeds realized from any of these transactions must be placed in
an interest-bearing fund in the state treasury, designated as the North Dakota
state penitentiary land fund to be used for the acquisition of additional land and
facilities; to maintain, expand, or develop affiliated facilities; to relocate the
Missouri River correctional center and the farming and ranching operations of the
North Dakota state penitentiary; or for penitentiary renovation.
13. To provide meals at a fair value or without a charge to officers and employees of the
department as required by their job assignments.
14. To accept property forfeited or seized in accordance with law.
15. To collect costs and fees from persons on correctional supervision for the supervision
services, control devices, and programs as implemented by the department to assist in
making community corrections an effective alternative to incarceration. A person on
active supervision is presumed able to pay assessed fees unless the director, giving
due consideration to the fiscal obligations and resources of the probationer,
determines otherwise. A person with the ability to pay assessed fees who refuses to
pay must be returned to the court for a judicial determination. In addition to any other
remedies allowed by law, the department may enforce and collect any unpaid
supervision costs and fees imposed as a condition of parole, probation, or under a
program implemented under this section in a civil judgment entered by a district court
of this state and may employ licensed collection agencies to enforce and collect any
unpaid supervision costs and fees.
16. To collect the costs of any presentence investigation and report incurred under
subsection 11 of section 12.1-32-02, giving due consideration to the financial
obligations and resources of the defendant.
17. To employ personnel and to establish policies and procedures to supervise sexually
dangerous individuals released to community placement on an outpatient basis in
accordance with section 25-03.3-24.
18. To employ personnel and to establish policies and procedures to supervise a child
when a court orders supervision and management by the department under
subsection 1 of section 27-20.4-18.
19. To employ personnel and establish policies and procedures to authorize a child of a
female inmate to reside at the Heart River correctional center under the care and
general control of the female inmate if the child is eighteen months of age or younger.

The policies must include considerations of the residential safety of the child, the
length of time the child may reside within the facility, and treatment or other
penological interest.
### § 54-23.3-05. Appointment and removal of officers.

The director of the department of corrections and rehabilitation with the approval of the
governor may appoint a director of the division of juvenile services, a director of the division of
adult services, and other division directors and personnel as deemed necessary for the effective
and efficient operation of the department. The director of the division of juvenile services, the
director of the division of adult services, and other division directors who may be appointed shall
meet qualifications as established for the classified service. All other officers and employees of
each division must be appointed and removed by the director of the department of corrections
and rehabilitation. All officers and employees of the department of corrections and rehabilitation
are subject to the provisions of the state personnel policies.
### § 54-23.3-06. Salaries of division directors and other officers.

The director of the department of corrections and rehabilitation shall determine the salary of
each division director within the limits of legislative appropriations and within the salary range of
the classified position as established by North Dakota human resource management services
for the position. All other officers and employees shall receive salaries determined by their
division director and approved by the director of the department.
### § 54-23.3-07. Confidentiality of selected information pertaining to department of

corrections and rehabilitation employees.
Repealed by S.L. 1995, ch. 428, § 3.
### § 54-23.3-07.1. Exemption of certain internal investigation records.

Notwithstanding subsection 6 of section 44-04-18.1 and except as required under
subsection 1 of section 44-04-18.11, records relating to the department of corrections and
rehabilitation's internal investigations are exempt if:
1. The records could reasonably be used to identify victims, witnesses, employees
providing investigative information, or individuals providing information as correctional
confidential informants; and
2. Disclosure would cause a credible threat of violence or other harm.
### § 54-23.3-08. Authority to lease land under the jurisdiction of the department.

The department of corrections and rehabilitation may lease land under the jurisdiction of the
department for the purpose of the construction and operation of a prerelease center.
Subsection 12 of section 54-23.3-04 does not apply to the lease authorized by this section. The
lease expires when the leased property is no longer used for a prerelease center, when the
lease operator breaches any material part of the lease, or twenty years after the date of the
lease, whichever occurs first, and all rights, title, and interest in any buildings, fixtures, and
improvements vest and remain with the state.
### § 54-23.3-09. Reports regarding new programs.

Repealed by S.L. 2017, ch. 373, § 4.
### § 54-23.3-10. Community behavioral health program - Reports to legislative

management and governor.
1. The department of corrections and rehabilitation shall establish and implement a
community behavioral health program to provide comprehensive community-based
services for individuals who have serious behavioral health conditions, as a term and
condition of parole under chapter 12-59, and as a sentencing alternative under section
12.1-32-02.

2. In developing the program under this section, the department of corrections and
rehabilitation shall collaborate with the department of health and human services to:
a. Establish a referral and evaluation process for access to the program.
b. Establish eligibility criteria that includes consideration of recidivism risk and
behavioral health condition severity.
c. Establish discharge criteria and processes, with a goal of establishing a seamless
transition to postprogram services to decrease recidivism.
d. Develop program oversight, auditing, and evaluation processes that must include:
(1) Oversight of case management services through the department of health
and human services;
(2) Outcome and provider reporting metrics; and
(3) Annual reports to the legislative management and the governor on the
status of the program.
e. Establish a system through which:
(1) The department of health and human services:
(a) Contracts with and pays behavioral health service providers; and
(b) Supervises, supports, and monitors referral caseloads and the
provision of services by contract behavioral health service providers.
(2) Contract behavioral health service providers accept all eligible referrals,
provide individualized care delivered through integrated multidisciplinary
care teams, and continue services on an ongoing basis until discharge
criteria are met.
(3) Contract behavioral health service providers receive payments on a
per-month per-referral basis. The payment schedule must be based on a
pay-for-performance model that includes consideration of identified
outcomes and the level of services required.
(4) Contract behavioral health service providers bill third-parties for services
and direct payment to the general fund.
3. The department of health and human services may adopt rules as necessary to
implement this program.
### § 54-23.3-10.1. Supervision for presentence programs.

The department of corrections and rehabilitation has the authority to supervise a defendant
while the defendant is participating in a prosecution-led, or pretrial diversion program under
section 11-16-16 or rule 32.2 of the North Dakota Rules of Criminal Procedure, or any other
pretrial services program.
### § 54-23.3-10.2. Prosecution-led diversion supervision pilot program - Report.

1. The department of corrections and rehabilitation shall establish a prosecution-led
diversion supervision program as a pilot project in three counties in the state during
the biennium beginning July 1, 2025, and ending June 30, 2027.
2. Beginning July 1, 2025, the department shall collaborate with the department of health
and human services, North Dakota association of counties, county state's attorneys,
the commission on legal counsel for indigents, county and regional correctional
facilities, and public and private treatment providers to develop guidelines and
procedures for the administration of the prosecution-led diversion supervision
program.
3. The department of corrections and rehabilitation shall select three counties for a pilot
project and enter contracts with third-party providers in partnership with the pilot
counties to provide supervision, including monitoring and connection to services.
4. The department of corrections and rehabilitation shall implement the program no later
than January 1, 2026.
5. Before January 1, 2027, the department, in collaboration with the three pilot counties,
shall report to legislative management regarding the process and outcome of the
prosecution-led diversion program and any recommendations for future legislation.

### § 54-23.3-11. Prioritization of admission of inmates - Report to legislative management.

1. The department of corrections and rehabilitation may refuse to admit inmates
sentenced to the physical custody of the department when the admission of inmates
will exceed the maximum operational capacity of the penitentiary and its affiliated
facilities and result in the department exceeding its authorized legislative appropriation
for contracting for housing inmates in other correctional facilities.
2. For purposes of this section, maximum operational capacity of the department means
the total number of inmates that may be imprisoned at the same time in the
penitentiary and its affiliated facilities.
3. The department shall develop a prison population management plan to prioritize
admissions based on sentences and the availability of space in the penitentiary and its
affiliated facilities. If the plan includes the use of a local jail or correctional facility, the
department shall negotiate the terms of the agreement with each facility. An agreement
under this section must include a minimum daily rate per inmate, including medical
costs, to be paid by the department to the governing body of the jail or correctional
facility beginning the day after the department receives notice from the district court of
an order placing an individual in the care and custody of the department and ending on
the admission date provided by the department.
4. The department shall report annually to the legislative management on the prison
population management plan and inmate admissions and the number of inmates the
department has not admitted after sentencing.
### § 54-23.3-12. Faith-based programming.

1. The department of corrections and rehabilitation, with contracts through the
department of health and human services and through the implementation of the
community behavioral health program, shall allow faith-based organizations to provide
services to individuals who need addiction treatment services.
2. For purposes of this section "faith-based organization" means a nonprofit corporation
or association operated by a religious or denominational organization, including an
organization operated for religious, educational, or charitable purposes and which is
operated, supervised, or controlled by or in connection with a religious organization, or
an organization that has a mission statement, policies, or practices clearly
demonstrating the organization is guided or motivated by faith.
### § 54-23.3-13. Job shadowing.

For purposes of education and community outreach and to promote public trust, the director
of the department of corrections and rehabilitation may permit a nonmember of the department
of corrections and rehabilitation to participate in job shadowing activities, including:
1. Participating in a ride-along program with a member of the department of corrections
and rehabilitation while on duty;
2. Discharging a firearm owned and used by the department of corrections and
rehabilitation while at a training facility and under the supervision of a member of the
department of corrections and rehabilitation; and
3. Shadowing any member of the department of corrections and rehabilitation while on
duty.
### § 54-23.3-14. Denial of admission.

1. If the department of corrections and rehabilitation is beyond capacity and denies the
admission of an inmate sentenced to the physical custody of the department, the
department may use local jails or correctional facilities and negotiate the terms of the
agreement with each facility.
2. Admission of an inmate is denied by the department when a county requests
admission to the department with a judgment of conviction ordering an individual to be
placed with the physical custody of the department and the request for admission is
denied or unavailable within seven days of notification to the department. When the

denial of admission exceeds seven days, the department is responsible to pay the
contracted rate beginning from the date of initial notification of the judgment of
conviction and placement in the physical custody of the department.
3. An agreement under this section must include a minimum daily rate per inmate,
including medical costs, to be paid by the department to the governing body of the jail
or correctional facility beginning the day after the department receives notice from the
district court of an order placing an individual in the care and custody of the
department and ending on the admission date provided by the department.
### § 54-23.3-15. Housing task force - Report to legislative management.

1. The department of corrections and rehabilitation shall establish a task force on
housing to address barriers to accessing housing for probationers, parolees, and other
individuals released from the custody of the department. The housing task force must
include representation from the division of adult services, including parole and
probation services, the housing finance agency, the department of health and human
services, and community housing providers.
2. The task force shall provide an annual report to the legislative management relating to:
a. The implementation of a housing assistance program to provide monetary
assistance to eligible probationers, parolees, and other individuals released from
the custody of the department of corrections and rehabilitation. The program may
include expanding eligibility requirements for housing assistance programs to
include individuals released from incarceration.
b. The implementation of a housing assistance program for eligible sexual
offenders, including the desirability and feasibility of using master leases to
improve accessibility.
c. Procedures for improving awareness regarding available housing options and
improving coordination among housing providers, the department of health and
human services, and the department of corrections and rehabilitation.
d. The capacity of sober housing and low-barrier housing for individuals released
from the custody of the department of corrections and rehabilitation.
### § 54-23.3-16. Criminal justice data - Report to legislative management.

1. The department of corrections and rehabilitation, in cooperation with the behavioral
health division of the department of health and human services, representatives from
each judicial district, and representatives from the adult services division, including
parole and probation services and local or regional jails, shall examine criminal justice
data, including data collection, retention, and dissemination.
2. The department shall provide a report to the legislative management relating to
procedures for:
a. Tracking uniform data points;
b. Standardizing and automating criminal justice data collection, retention, and
dissemination; and
c. Improving data connectivity between system partners, including a proposal to
develop a data sharing portal to alert the department of health and human
services of changes to the Medicaid status of offenders in custody with the
department of corrections and rehabilitation.
