BOISE, Idaho — When it comes to the state budget, Idaho's roughly 75 agencies and departments are feeling the deficit squeeze in 2026.
Idaho Department of Corrections (IDOC) Director Bree Derrick presented her budget to the Joint Finance-Appropriations Committee (JFAC) at the Idaho Statehouse last week.
Part of her budget proposal includes plans to expand facilities throughout the state. One of the new facilities being built is a women's prison facility located between the Idaho Maximum Security Institution (IMSI) and the South Boise Women's Correctional Center (SBWCC) in Kuna.
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"So, we have new prison beds coming, but based on what we saw in the population, that's still not going to close the gap," explained Derrick of the overcrowding issue.
During her JFAC hearing, committee members grilled Derrick on bed availability for the rising number of incarcerated Idahoans. She replied that IDOC often pays large sums to County Jails and out-of-state prison systems to hold prisoners until there is room for them to move to an IDOC prison.
"In county jails for the first seven days, we pay $55, and then after the seven-day clock ends, we pay $75 a day thereafter until they're moved into our system," said Derrick. At a private prison institution in Arizona, the state is paying $85 a day for each prisoner, which currently includes approximately 600 men.
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"We'd love to bring people back from out-of-state into Idaho prisons," added Derrick. "But the reality is we don't have the bed space for that."
Derrick says five current projects— including the new women's facility in Kuna— will add a total of almost 1,000 beds statewide, between now and the end of 2027.
However, if IDOC is asked to cut spending further, even at just 1 or 2 percent, Derrick says they may be forced to furlough staff such as corrections officers.
"We've been looking at furloughs, I mean, that was a real situation that we've been facing for the past couple of months," said Derrick. "We were really looking at FY 26— 3% holdback. We were looking at what cuts could we make— we felt we really cut the bone, and the next choice was moving into furloughing staff."
Derrick says that the move could lead to safety issues as prisoners could outnumber guards by a significant margin.
"It also means our staff are more likely face violence, assaults," Derrick claimed. "And responses by other officers that come from other parts of the facility— that response time just gets elongated the fewer people you have around."
Derrick maintains that IDOC will continue to trim its budget wherever it can— citing travel and training as two options.
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