Who looks for a class in Billings
People in Billings come to an anger management class from very different starting points. Some have a case open in one of the Yellowstone County courts and were told to find a class. Some are on supervision with the Montana Department of Corrections. Many have no case at all: a spouse, a supervisor or their own frustration after a hard season pushed them to look. This page is for all of them. It lists independent class providers that serve Billings and the towns around it, and it explains how the local court and supervision offices fit into the picture.
The directory itself runs no classes and does not check anyone's credentials. We introduce you to independent providers; you decide who to call.
The courts that send people to classes
Yellowstone County has more than one court, and which one has your case matters when you go to show proof of a class.
The 13th Judicial District covers Yellowstone County, and its Clerk of District Court handles civil, criminal and probate matters. The clerk's protection-order page, cited below, explains a split that surprises many people: District Court judges hear temporary protection-order petitions only when the parties already have a pending dissolution, parenting or paternity case, or when an alleged victim is part of a pending felony case. Everyone else is pointed to Yellowstone County Justice Court or Billings Municipal Court.
Justice Court has two sides. Its criminal division hears traffic cases, fish and game violations, misdemeanor offenses, juvenile alcohol cases and preliminary hearings. Its civil division takes, among other things, contract disputes, local ordinance matters, landlord and tenant disputes and protection orders. If your paperwork names Justice Court, the clerk there is the person to call with questions about a class.
Only the court that has your case, or your probation officer, decides whether a particular class fits what you were ordered to do. A provider can describe its class. That description is not a ruling on your case, and neither is anything on this page.
Supervision through Probation and Parole
The state's Probation and Parole Bureau supervises people released to community supervision by the courts, by the Board of Pardons and Parole or through conditional release. The department's page lists a Billings office at 2615 4th Avenue South, in a region that also takes in Miles City. If you report there, your officer is the person to ask before you pay for any class. Bring the provider's name, the class format and the number of sessions, and ask whether the officer wants a particular kind of attendance record.
Formats you will see around Billings
- Weekly groups that meet in the evening, often for a set number of weeks, with a mix of court-referred and voluntary members.
- One-to-one sessions for people whose work schedule or privacy concerns make a group hard.
- Video classes, useful if you live in one of the smaller communities of Yellowstone County and would rather not drive into Billings each week, or if you work rotating shifts.
- Short weekend formats, which some people take for personal reasons. Check with your court or officer before choosing one for an order.
Questions worth asking a provider
Ask how many hours the class runs and how attendance is recorded. Ask what happens if you miss a week because of a shift change or a road closure in winter. Ask who leads the group and what background that person has, then look into it yourself. Ask whether the class is the same for court-referred and voluntary members, and whether the provider sends anything directly to a court or officer or hands it to you instead. Ask about the full cost before the first session, including any fee for workbooks or a completion letter.
Getting around
The two county court pages cited below give phone lines and clerk contacts rather than a full map, so call ahead to confirm which building and floor you need and what hours the clerk keeps. The Probation and Parole page gives a street address on 4th Avenue South. Class providers move offices from time to time, so confirm the address when you call, ask about parking, and if you rely on the bus, ask which stop is closest and plan for the walk in a Montana January.
Before you sign up
Write down your case number, the court that has it and any deadline you were given. Call the clerk or your officer if anything about the requirement is unclear. Then contact two or three providers, compare what they tell you, and keep a copy of every receipt and attendance slip. That paper trail is yours, and it is what you will hand over when the court or your officer asks.