Idaho leaders attended a ribbon-cutting ceremony on Tuesday to officially open a new $50 million drug treatment prison near Boise.
Inmates will start moving into the 432-bed minimum security Correctional Alternative Placement Program in July.
The prison is designed to provide offenders who would normally be sentenced to two or more years in prison with an intensive 90-day substance abuse treatment program in hopes of curbing future criminal behavior.
Idaho Department of Correction Director Brent Reinke says the facility will provide substance abusers an opportunity to rehabilitate themselves.
IDOC Director Brent Reinke comments on the new CAPP facility.
Gov. Butch Otter agreed with Reinke, saying inmates will have an opportunity to positively alter the course of their lives ultimately saving taxpayers money in the process.
Gov. Butch Otter talks about the second chances offered by CAPP.
The prison will be run by the Utah-based Management & Training Corporation. The five-year operations base contract, with a five-year option, amounts to a value of about $10 million annually. (KTVB, AP)
