SACRAMENTO, CA - Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation officials said Wednesday that they are "in dialogue" with local law enforcement leaders about building a "mini-prison" in Sacramento County.

Sheriff John McGinness confirmed that he has discussed the proposal with state prison officials -- under the condition that the local "community re-entry facility," as the smaller prisons are officially called, would be built for Sacramento-bound inmates only.

"I'm very much open to it," McGinness said.

McGinness said that there have been no conversations about where the prison would be located and that the corrections agency's projected size of 500 beds "may be too big."

But McGinness said he supports the concept of placing short-term prisoners -- inmates in the last 90 days of their terms and technical parole violators facing just a few months of reincarceration -- in the community-based settings where they can get access to job and social service programs to better prepare them for release.

"It's something that makes good sense," McGinness said. "We've got to look for ways to change their behavior when they get out, and this might be a step in that direction."

Sacramento County Supervisor Roger Dickinson suggested it could be a long haul before the facility obtains final approval.

"I don't recall hearing about this idea before," Dickinson said in an interview. "Before the board would be agreeable to such a proposal, I'm sure there would need to be considerably more information made available and a reasonable opportunity for the public to comment."

Corrections Secretary James Tilton said at a state Senate hearing Wednesday that along with Sacramento County, San Diego County and the city of Los Angeles have expressed interest in locating mini-prisons in their jurisdictions.

"Those three areas are very interested, and we're in dialogue with them now in terms of fleshing out the proposal as well as demonstrating to them how they can help us decide which inmates would best be served by these facilities," Tilton said. "Those three right now we're very excited about."

Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has proposed building 10 of the smaller prisons as part of his $6 billion corrections construction and expansion plan. The plan is under review by a state Senate select committee as part of a special legislative session addressing California's inmate overcrowding crisis.

The mini-prisons would be staffed by state correctional officers, with parole agents on the grounds to try to help ease the inmates' transition into the community.

"They are secure re-entry facilities," Richard Subia, the corrections department's chief deputy administrator, said in an interview. "None of the inmates would have direct access out to the community. They'll be there until their official day of release, as they would be in the general facilities."

Subia said the state has discussed the local plan with Sacramento County District Attorney Jan Scully.

Scully did not return a phone call Wednesday to talk about the prison.

Tilton's identification of Sacramento, Los Angeles and San Diego as possible mini-prison sites marked the first locations the state has provided. Tilton said corrections officials also have been contacted by several other "cities and locales" about housing the prisons for inmates awaiting imminent release.

Along with the mini-prisons, Schwarzenegger is asking the Legislature to fund two 4,500-bed prisons. The administration has since agreed with federal court monitors to devote the new prison bed space to medical and mental health care. Tilton told the state Senate panel that the corrections department now is looking to break down the proposal to four to six smaller inmate health care facilities containing a total of 10,000 beds.

State Sen. Mike Machado, chair of the Select Committee on Prison Population Management and Capacity, suggested Wednesday that Schwarzenegger's plan is in for rough sledding in the Legislature.

"Quite frankly, I've had a hard time putting two and two together," said Machado, D-Linden.

He said "I don't see how" the governor's prison construction proposals solve the state's immediate problem of relocating 16,000 inmates living in gyms, dayrooms and other spaces.

The governor's program also calls for shipping 5,000 foreign nationals to out-of-state prisons and putting thousands more into in-state private prisons.

As for Sacramento, McGinness said the local mini-prison would house only Sacramento-bound offenders who "are all coming back anyway, regardless of the ability of having a facility to prepare them for that release."

"Hopefully," he said, "we'll get a better product."

McGinness said the prison's location is "to be determined."

Tilton said at a recent press conference that the state is looking for locations in outlying or rural areas several miles from downtown cores.

He said then that the southern Sacramento County area near the Rio Cosumnes Correctional Center matches the kind of spot the state has in mind.

McGinness said, "We've got neighbors out there we have to think about." As for the state's 500-bed model, the sheriff said "there would have to be community buy-in" to approve a facility of that size.

Supervisor Don Nottoli said that "location would be a big issue" and that "it might be easier to get done if it were attached to an existing facility."

Supervisor Roberta MacGlashan said she didn't have a problem with the sheriff discussing the proposal with the state.

"Maybe there are some aspects that would be a benefit to the community, but it's way too early to know anything like that," she said, adding that "the board would want to be involved" if the plan proceeds.