Montana’s Pine Hills Correctional Facility Wins National Award for Work With Youth Residents

Photo: As part of the Center for Improving Youth Justice’s Performance-based Standards program, the Pine Hills Correctional Facility began tracking confinement rates and evaluating new methods to handle incidents while maintaining safety and security. | Photo Credit: Montana Department of Corrections

 By Lindsey Coulter

MILES CITY, Mont. — The Center for Improving Youth Justice (CIYJ) has named Pine Hills Correctional Facility a 2025 Barbara Allen-Hagen Award winner, recognizing the facility’s commitment to treating youth residents and using data-driven strategies to improve outcomes.

The award, given annually, honors a correctional program that exemplifies CIYJ’s mission to “treat all young people as one of our own and use the continuous improvement model to achieve positive outcomes for young people, staff, and families.” Pine Hills has partnered with CIYJ since 2012.

“Working with juvenile offenders can be an extremely difficult job, but everyone at Pine Hills, from correctional officers to teachers, care deeply about making a positive impact on these young people,” Montana Department of Corrections Director Brian Gootkin said in a statement. “This award shines a light on the great work of Warden Steve Ray and his staff for their effort to create a safe environment for residents and staff members.”

Pine Hills earned the award for its success in reducing youth confinement. As part of CIYJ’s Performance-based Standards (PbS) program, the facility began tracking confinement rates and evaluating new methods to handle incidents while maintaining safety and security. For example, staff shifted toward verbal de-escalation techniques, positive reinforcement, and increased youth incentives and programs. According to officials, these changes created a safer, more supportive environment for both residents and staff.

“When a national organization looks at the data and research, sees the resulting safe environment that was created for staff and residents, and rewards the staff for the work they do, it’s an amazing feeling,” said Ray in a statement. “I couldn’t be prouder of our staff and what they have accomplished. The award is an accumulation of work Pine Hills has done over the last decade to continuously improve.”

The PbS model is based on research collected from participating facilities and sets standards to guide operations, services and programs. The model addresses safety, security, programming and youth healthcare with a focus on measurable outcomes.

“We’d like to give a huge congratulations to our partners at Pine Hills for working strategically to create sustainable change in reducing youth confinement,” said Kim Godfrey Lovett, CIYJ’s executive director, in a statement. “They’ve been persistent with their efforts and relied on data and new tactics to help the youth residents in Montana.”

Pine Hills officials say they plan to continue building on their success and remain committed to improving outcomes for young people in their care.