01:00 AM EST on Thursday, February 26, 2004

Because of their behavior behind bars or the nature of their crimes, some inmates remain in higher-security prisons right up to the day they're released.

So they hit the streets less prepared than minimum-security inmates, who benefit from transitional services and from living in a place more like the real world.

It's a dilemma, Department of Corrections officials say, so they're proposing a "reintegration center" that would help inmates kick addictions, get ready for jobs, and reconnect with family members before walking out the door.

Department of Corrections director A.T. Wall said the plan would put Rhode Island on the cutting edge of a national trend, and Governor Carcieri's proposed 2005 budget contains $132,292 to get the program rolling.

Plans call for opening the 175-bed reintegration center in fall 2006 in the abandoned "J" building at the center of Cranston's Pastore complex. The renovation is expected to cost $13 million, with the federal government covering 90 percent of the cost; a preliminary estimate calls for about $7 million in operational costs.

"We do a good job of building and running prisons, but some day almost every inmate gets out, and with the geography of a small state, they are coming to everybody's backyard, like it or not," Wall said. "So if we really care about public safety, we have an obligation to structure their departure from the ACI."

By Edward Fitzpatrick