Montana Historical Society
Archives
RS 471_RS
506
Montana. Department of
Institutions
Montana Department of Institutions, Director’s Office
records
1963-1991
9 linear ft
This collection is a sub-subgroup (Former
Division) of the Montana Department of Corrections records. The Director's Office
Division operated within the Department of Institutions. In 1992, the Department of
Institutions 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). Please see the primary finding aid for more Montana Department of
Corrections records. Records include correspondence (1964-1991), grant files
(1985-1989), financial records (1984-1985), reports (1963-1989), and subject files
(1963-1988) from the Director's office.
11: 3-4; 44: 7-4
English
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.
This collection is composed of six series.
Correspondence (1964-1991): Including various correspondence to and from departmental staff
and regarding the various institutions under the department’s control.
Grant Files (1985-1989): Including records related to alcohol, drugs, and chemical
dependency programs and projects.
Financial Records (1984-1985): Including biennium budgets for various divisions and
institutions.
Reports (1963-1989): Including those for Warm Springs, the Boulder River School and
Hospital, the Montana State Hospital, the Montana State Prison, and the Montana Center for
the Aged.
Subject Files (1963-1988): Including the Boulder River School and Hospital, Eastmont
Training Center, Galen State Hospital, Montana Center for the Aged, Montana Youth Treatment
Center, Pine Hills School, and Warm Springs State Hospital.
This collection is arranged by series.
Collection is open for research.
The Montana Historical Society is the owner of the materials in the Library & Archives
and makes available reproductions for research, publication, and other uses. Written
permission must be obtained from the Library & Archives before any reproduction use. The
Society does not necessarily hold copyright to all of the materials in the collections. In
some cases, permission for use may require seeking additional authorization from the
copyright owners.
In 2025, the various collections of the Montana Department of Corrections and its
predecessor agencies were integrated under one collection identifier, RS 506, in order to
help facilitate access, reduce redundancy in the MTHS catalog, and to follow best archival
practices.
Collections from Montana Department of Corrections' various Divisions, State Institutions,
and Boards that were previously treated as separate entities are now integrated into this collection, RS 506. Rather than reprocessing over 1,100 linear
feet of Corrections materials, MTHS staff decided to keep the past arrangement of those
collections/finding aids, and provide access to them via links through the central finding
aid. This decision has allowed the MTHS archival staff to maintain intellectual control over
the collection, while removing the need to reprocess it. It also keeps State Agency finding
aids at manageable sizes. Please read the scope and content note carefully to determine if
this subgroup/sub-subgroup pertains to your research needs.
Item description and date. Collection Title. Collection Number. Box and Folder numbers.
Montana Historical Society Library & Archives, Helena, Montana.
Acquisition information available upon request.
This collection is indexed under the following headings in the Montana Historical Society
Archives catalog. Researchers desiring materials about related topics, persons, or places
should search under these terms.
Alcoholism--Montana.
Drug abuse--Montana.
Prisons—Montana
Reformatories for women--Montana.
Montana--Politics and government.
Montana
Mental
Health
Detailed Description of the Collection
Correspondence
1 / 1
Director: Curt Chisholm
1988-1991
1 / 2-5
Director: Carroll South
1987-1988
1 / 6
Director: Lawrence M. Zanto
1977-1979
1 / 7-9
Director's Office
1978-1989
1 / 10
Director's Office--Legal Unit
1980-1987
1 / 11-12
Administrator, Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division
1978-1987
1 / 13
Administrator, Corrections Division
1979
1 / 14
Administrator, Corrections Division: Dan Russell
1988
1 / 15
Administrator, Human Resources Development Project:
Riley Price
1988
1 / 16
Administrator, Management Services Division
1978-1980
1 / 17-19
Administrator, Management Services Division: Jim
Currie
1985-1989
1 / 20
Administrator, Mental Health and Residential Services
1978-1980
1 / 21-23
Bureau Chief , Administrative Services (includes some
staff meeting minutes)
1972-1978
2 / 1-2
Bureau Chief , Administrative Services
1979-1980
2 / 3
Bureau Chief , Fiscal (memos from Karen)
1976-1977
2 / 4
Community Corrections Bureau: Mike Ferriter
1988
2 / 5-8
Corrections
1984-1989
2 / 9-10
Governor: Thomas Judge
1977-1980
2 / 11-14
Governor: Ted Schwinden
1980-1987
2 / 15
Governor's Office of Budget and Planning
1976-1977
3 / 1
Information and Data Systems Bureau
1978
3 / 2-3
Inter-office
1975-1985
3 / 4
Legislative
1975-1985
3 / 5
Montana Constitutional Convention
1971-1972
3 / 6-10
Montana State Prison
1985-1989
3 / 11-12
Montana State Prison: Industries
1988-1989
3 / 13-20
Montana State Prison: Industries, Ranch
1983-1990
3 / 21
Montana State Prison: Medical
1976-1979
3 / 22
Montana State Prison: Dr. Vanio
1977-1980
3 / 23
Montana Veterans' Home Advisory Council (includes
rules and regulations)
1964-1974
3 / 24
Mountain View School
1968-1977
3 / 25
Morale Committee (mostly minutes)
1984-1990
3 / 26
Personnel Section
1978-1980
3 / 27-37
Probation and Parole (includes mid-management meeting
minutes; "Needs of Probation in Montana", 1981; "Draft philosophy statement on
revocations", 1985; firearms policy; expungement of records)
1979-1989
3 / 38
Proprietary Plasmaphersis Program
1978-1985
3 / 39
Reimbursement Control Section
1978-1980
3 / 40 – 4 / 3
Residents
1980-1986
4 / 4
Staff Attorney Ted Cowan
1985-1989
4 / 5-17
Swan River Forest Camp (includes superintendents and
chiefs meeting minutes, hair and beard code, draft discipline procedures, gang
activity)
1977-1990
4 / 18-22
Superintendents and Warden
1981-1985
4 / 23-29
U. S. Congress
1982-1988
4 / 30-36
Women's Correctional Center (includes classification
notes, grievance recommendations, list of inmates petitions)
1983-1989
4 / 37-45
Women's Life Skills Center (includes reports,
residents handbook, evaluation, Screening Committee results)
1980-1988
Grant Files
5 / 1
Alcohol and Drug Services of Anaconda/ Deer
Lodge
1988-1989
5 / 2
Alcohol and Drug Services of Central Montana
1987-1989
5 / 3
Alcohol Services of Gallatin County
1988-1989
5 / 4
Alcoholism Service of Anaconda/Deer Lodge
1988-1989
5 / 5
Anaconda/Deer Lodge
1988
5 / 6-7
Boyd Andrew Chemical Dependency Care
Center
1985-1989
5 / 8
Butte Indian Alcohol Program
1988-1989
5 / 9
Butte Indian Health/Chemical Dependency
Program
1988-1989
5 / 10
Chemical Dependency and Family Counseling
1988
5 / 11
Confederated Salish/Kootenai Tribes
1988-1989
5 / 12-14
District II Alcohol and Drug Program
1984-1989
5 / 15
Flathead Valley Chemical Dependency Clinic
1988-1989
5 / 16-19
Frances Mahon Deaconess Hospital Chemical Dependency
Center
1988-1989
5 / 20
Lake County Chemical Dependency Program
1989
5 / 21
Medicine Pine Lodge
1989
5 / 22
Musselshell County alcohol and Drug Program
1985-1986
5 / 23
Northern Montana Chemical Dependency Program
1988-1989
5 / 24
Providence
1988-1989
5/ 25
Ravalli County Chemical Dependency
Services
1988-1989
5 / 26
Recovery Foundation
1985-1989
5 / 27-28
Recovery Northwest Foundation
1985-1989
5 / 29
Rimrock Foundation
1989
5 / 30
Second Story Counseling
1988-1989
5 / 31-32
Southcentral Montana Regional Mental Health
Center
1985-1989
6 / 1
Southwest Montana Chemical Dependency Program
1988-1989
6 / 2
Treatment Services/Chemical Dependency and Family
Counseling
1988-1889
6 / 3
Treatment Services/District II
1988-1889
6 / 4
Treatment Services/Lake County Chemical Dependency
Program
1988-1889
Financial Records
6 / 5
Budget, biennium: Board of Pardons
1984-1985
6 / 6
Budget, biennium: Director's Office (includes
Industries)
1984-1985
6 / 7
Budget, biennium: Management Services Division
1984-1985
6 / 8
Budget, biennium: Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division
1984-1985
6 / 9
Budget, biennium: Mental Health and Residential
Services Division (includes Boulder River School and Hospital, Center for the Aged,
Eastmont Human Services Center, Montana Veterans Home, Warm Springs/Galen State
Hospitals, Montana Youth Treatment Center)
1984-1985
6 / 10
Budget, biennium: Corrections Division (includes
Mountain View School, Pine Hills School, Montana State Prison, Swan River Youth Camp,
Industries, Ranch, License Plate Factory, Canteen, Women's Correctional Center,
Medical)
1984-1985
Reports
6 / 11
"Annual Report of the Warm Springs State Hospital"
1974
6 / 12
"Assessment of the role of the Reimbursement Program
in the Dept. of Institutions"
1972
6 / 13
Comprehensive Mental Health Centers information
1966-1967
6 / 14
Correspondence: Governor’s Office
1963-1968
6 / 15
"Dept. of Institutions feasibility study: Mental
Retarded Facilities"
1967
6/ 16
Departmental program statements: Boulder River School
and Hospital
1969
6 / 17
"An Economic report on the farms and ranches operated
by the Dept. of Institutions in Montana"
1968
6 / 18
"Emotionally Disturbed Children's Facility feasibility
report"
1978
6 / 19
"Fifty-Two years of progress, Montana State Hospital,
1912-1964"
1964, 1969
6 / 20
"Final report for Montana State Training School and
Hospital, Boulder"
1967
6 / 21
"History of Community Mental Health
Center"
1965-1967
6 / 22
"Montana State Prison: a preliminary
analysis"
1967
6 / 23
Montana Center for the Aged information
booklet
1986
6 / 24
Progress report: Boulder River School and Hospital
in-service training
1967
6 / 25
Progress report: Boulder River School and Hospital:
hospital improvement program
1967
6 / 26
Proposal: Butte Sheltered Workshop Inc.
1989
6 / 27
Proposal: To locate a home for Montana veterans in
Lewistown
1989
6 / 28
"Regulations and guidelines for the establishment and
operation of Comprehensive Regional Mental Health Centers in Montana
1989
6 / 29
Report on audit: Dept. of Institutions Reimbursements
Program
1972
6 / 30
Reports prepared for the Criminal Justice and
Corrections Advisory Council
1988
6 / 31
Report of the Division of Mental Hygiene
1966, 1969
6 / 32-35
Report of the Montana Mental Disabilities Board of
visitors on Warm Springs / Galen State Hospitals
1982-1987
7 / 1
Community Relations Service – Special
Assessment
1981
7 / 2
Report on Institutions
1970
7 / 3
Boulder Behavior Modification Program
1973
7 / 4
Reports on Warm Springs/Galen State Hospitals
1980-1986
Subject Files
7 / 5
Administration: contract samples
1978
7 / 6
Administration: policies and procedures
1977-1980
7 / 7
Board of Pardons: correspondence (includes Executive
Reorganization Directive)
1973-1977
7 / 8
Board of Pardons: Audit correspondence
1973
7 / 9
Boulder River School and Hospital
1975-1978
7 / 10
Boulder River School and Hospital: Weekly
Bulletin
1986
7 / 11
Boulder River School and Hospital:
correspondence
1974-1979
7 / 12
Boulder River School and Hospital: biennial
report
1983
7 / 13
Boulder River School and Hospital: Senior Citizens
Program
1967-1968
7 / 14-15
Boulder River School and Hospital: reorganization and
wage/hour
1974-1975, 1979
7 / 16
Boulder River School and Hospital:
construction
1978
7 / 17
Boulder River School and Hospital:
staffing
1973-1977
7 / 18
Boulder River School and Hospital: dining
area
1968
7 / 19
Boulder River School and Hospital: employee
handbook
undated
7 / 20
Boulder River School and Hospital: What can we
do?
undated
7 / 21-22
Budget FY80-81
1980-1981
7 / 23
Butte Pre-Release Center
1984
7 / 24
Clearinghouse
1980
7 / 25
Eastmont Training Center: correspondence
1963-1979
7 / 26
Eastmont Training Center: construction
1974
7 / 27
Fiscal notes
1980-1982
7 / 28-30
Galen State Hospital: correspondence
1975-1980
7 / 31
Galen State Hospital: catheterization
problem
1978
7 / 32
Galen State Hospital: wage claim
1980
7 / 33
Galen State Hospital: Chaplain Roset
1976-1978
7 / 34
Galen State Hospital: proposed in-service training
1973-1974
7 / 35
Galen State Hospital: lay-off
1977
7 / 36
"General material to be saved"
1977
7 / 37
Impact on Montana of the Reagan Administration's
proposed budget revisions
1981
7 / 38-40
Inspections
1986-1988
7 / 41
Media campaigns
1980-1981
7 / 42
Montana: Aging Services
1977
7 / 43
Montana: alcohol and drug laws
1966-1977
7 / 44
Montana Center for the Aged: theft of food
1981
7 / 45-46
Montana Center for the Aged: correspondence
1970-1979
7 / 47
Montana Center for the Aged: negotiation file
1977
8 / 1
Montana: foundation directory
1975
8 / 2
Montana: HB909 Implementation Report
1978
8 / 3
Montana: legislation
1974
8 / 4
Montana State Prison: correspondence (includes Rules
and Guidelines for Inmates, 1976)
1975-1979
8 / 5
Montana State Prison: Earl Solle
undated
8 / 6
Montana Youth Treatment Center: Advisory
Committee
1981-1985
8 / 7
Montana Youth Treatment Center: audit
correspondence
1986
8 / 8-9
Montana Youth Treatment Center: budget
1983-1987
8 / 10-11
Montana Youth Treatment Center: Contracts
1986-1987
8 / 12-18
Montana Youth Treatment Center:
Correspondence
1982-1987
8 / 19
Montana Youth Treatment Center: incidents
1985-1986
8 / 20-21
Montana Youth Treatment Center: inspections
1985-1986
8 / 22
Montana Youth Treatment Center: long-range building
projects
1981-1984
9 / 1
Montana Youth Treatment Center: policies
1985-1986
9 / 2
Montana Youth Treatment Center: Screening
Committee
1985
9 / 3-4
Mountain View School: correspondence
1969-1978
9 / 5
National Institute on Drug Abuse: prevention
coordinator list
1981, undated
9 / 6
Objects of expenditure requests
1981
9 / 7-8
Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act of 1987
1987-1988
9 / 9-13
Pine Hills School: correspondence
1964-1979
9 / 14
Prevention plan: Planning Committee
1979-1980
9 / 15
Prevention plan: FY 1980 Grant
1979-1980
9 / 16
Prevention plan: Administration
1979-1980
9 / 17
Prevention plan: exemplary programs
1979
9 / 18
Public information: resources
1978-1980
9 / 19
Regional State Prevention Coordinators
(SPC's)
1980-1981
9 / 20
Reimbursements: projects in progress
1980
9 / 21
Resources for prevention
1981
9 / 22-23
SBAS: reports proposal and training
material
1972-1981
9 / 24
Standards for Approval of Alcohol Programs
undated
9 / 25
Swan River Youth Camp: correspondence
1969-1979
9 / 26
Technical Assistance Requests
1979-1980
9 / 27
Veterans Home: correspondence
1975-1979
9 / 28
Veterans Home: Dr. Bennett
1974-1976
9 / 29-30
Warm Springs State Hospital:
correspondence
1964-1979
9 / 31
Warm Springs State Hospital: construction
1973, 1978
9 / 32
Warm Springs State Hospital: equipment
1974
9 / 33
Warm Springs State Hospital: female
attendants
1969
9 / 34
Warm Springs State Hospital: Licensed Practical Nurses
Association
1974-1975
9 / 35
Warm Springs State Hospital: orientation
class
1983
9 / 36
Women's Life Skills Center: correspondence
1979