Under these contracts, "vendors" furnish housing and are responsible for caring for the transferred inmates. These services are most often provided on a set per diem rate for each inmate. After considerable evaluation of contract bed options, the Missouri Department of Corrections contracted with Crystal City, Tex., in June 1995. Under the terms of the agreement, the city, acting as a political subdivision of the State, is providing housing, care, treatment, and programming for felony offenders from Missouri. Of immediate concern to any State corrections department trying to secure beds quickly are the parameters of the department's procurement process. Instead of going through a formal request for proposals and bid evaluation process, Missouri opted to contract under State-adopted provisions of the Interstate Corrections Compact Act, which authorizes the receiving and sending States to enter into contracts for "programs of cooperation for the confinement, treatment, and rehabilitation of offenders." Other considerations discussed in this article are the length of the contract, cost, compliance with inmate rights guaranteed in the sending State, the provider's status as an independent contractor, and the execution of the contract.