Numerous children of members of the Followers of Christ in Marsing, Idaho have died of treatable causes since 2009, AP reporter John Miller reports; church members rely on faith healing, rather than medicine, to help sick members. Ada County Coroner Erwin Sonnenberg says autopsies of…
After hearing several questions about whether Idaho’s “rider” program, which incarcerates offenders in a special treatment program for a short time, then releases them on probation if they succeed or sends them to prison for their full terms if they fail, skews state’s incarceration rate…
Here’s a link to my full story at spokesman.com on how the costs to the state and counties for Idaho’s unique catastrophic medical care program more than doubled from 2002 to 2013, and they’re expected to continue to mount if the program stays as-is. Alternatives…
House Judiciary Chairman Rich Wills, R-Glenns Ferry, cautioned that the justice reinvestment proposals would be phased in over five years, not done all at once. “What we are attempting to do this year is one year of a five-year program,” he said. “So while we…
More than two dozen legislators are among the audience in the Lincoln Auditorium this afternoon for the presentation on the justice reinvestment project; you can watch live here. The Council of State Governments and the Pew Trusts have worked with all three branches of Idaho’s…
Idaho Education News reporter Kevin Richert has an interesting analysis here of state schools Superintendent Tom Luna’s address to lawmakers yesterday, in which he pitched collection of online sales taxes as a way to ensure the state can afford to make improvements to its schools…
Here's a news item from the Associated Press: BOISE, Idaho (AP) — State lawmakers are considering making appreciation of Idaho an annual event. Rep. Linden Bateman proposed legislation to name March 4 "Idaho Day," addressing members of the House Education Committee with a miniature Idaho…
At the close of the dispiriting presentation on the trend in the state’s medical indigency/catastrophic health care fund program, JFAC Co-Chair Maxine Bell, R-Rupert, told CAT board Chairman Roger Christensen, a Bonneville County commissioner, “We appreciate having you as a partner. We probably don’t like…
Combined state and county costs for the medical indigency/catastrophic health care fund in 2013 came to $52.7 million. That’s up from $25.3 million in 2002. It’s slightly down from the prior year due to the federal PCIP program, a temporary program that covered some costs,…
As Idaho has moved to community-based treatment for people with developmental disabilities, rather than institutionalization, the state’s costs have dropped, legislative budget writers were told this morning. At one time, the Southwest Idaho Treatment Center in Nampa, formerly the Idaho State School and Hospital, which…
News, happenings and more from the Idaho Legislature and the state capital.
