Montana Department of Institutions, Director’s Office records, 1963-1991

The 1963 Montana Legislature established the Department of Institutions to provide greater efficiency in state institution operations and create centralized state control. It was directed by Maurice A. Harmon for 15 months before he retired in August 1965, stating that he was resigning in “protest,” citing administrative and staffing difficulties. In 1971, following the Executive Reorganization, the Department of Institutions was re-established.

Additionally, the Montana State Board of Public Institutions was established in 1963 as the official administrator of nine Montana state institutions providing care and rehabilitation to state residents requiring institutional care. This Board was terminated in 1979.

The Montana Department of Institutions functioned as the administrator of Montana state institutions, including: the Montana Children's Center, the State Soldier's Home (Montana Veterans Home), the State Hospital (Warm Springs State Hospital), the State Training School and Hospital (Boulder River School and Hospital), the State Industrial School for Boys (Pine Hills School), the State Vocational School for Girls (Mountain View School), Montana State Tuberculosis Sanitarium (Galen State Hospital), the State Prison, the Eastmont Training Center, the Division of Mental Hygiene, the Swan River Youth Forest Camp, and the Montana Center for the Aged.

In 1992, the Department was renamed the Department of Corrections and Human Services. In 1995, the Department split into the Department of Corrections and the Department of Public Health and Human Services (DPHHS). The oversight of the Montana State Hospital (Warm Springs) was transferred to DPHHS, while the Department of Corrections retained oversight of the Montana State Prison, Montana Women's Prison, and Pine Hills Correctional Facility.