New details about the potential closure of Boulder’s Intensive Behavior Center emerged at a Feb. 4 session of the state Legislature’s Joint Appropriations Sub-Committee on Long Range Planning.
The IBC, which is operated by the Montana State Department of Health and Human Services (DPHHS), has been recommended for relocation to either Butte or Helena by the Behavioral Health System for Future Generations Commission, a panel created by a 2023 law that allocated $300 million for improving state services for people with mental illness, substance abuse disorders, and developmental disabilities.
“We’ve been looking at the IBC in Boulder for years,” said SD 29 Senator John Esp during the presentation. Esp sponsored House Bill (HB) 872 in 2023, aimed at reinvigorating state behavioral health services. “We’re hoping to put a facility in Helena or Butte or someplace more populous, where you have more access to healthcare workers and community resources for clients of the IBC.”
