February 19, 2014
Q.

In some states inmates are confined in local facilities pursuant to state statute (with or without a per diem or other financial consideration) and without a formal written contract (or a contract providing only for the payment of the per diem). Do these arrangements constitute contracts for the confinement of inmates pursuant to Standard 115.12 (115.212 and 115.312)?

A.

When a state agency has no discretion regarding which local or private confinement facility a state inmate is placed in, then the arrangement does not constitute a confinement of inmates for the purposes of 115.12 (115.212 and 115.312), even if the state pays the local jurisdiction a per diem pursuant to state statute or informal agreement. By contrast, if the state statute provides a state agency discretion over which local confinement facility to place the inmate in, and the state provides financial compensation to the local facility or agency, then the arrangement would be considered a contract under the standards.

Standard
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Contracting,
Definitions