Still at crisis level: Lawmakers hear update on West Virginia correctional officer, staff vacancies

“We are currently still dealing with vacancy rates with our staff,” said DCR Commissioner William Marshall. “Our morale is pretty good. … I see a lot of really good things happening in our facilities with the staffing levels we are at. There could only be greater things accomplished if we could get some more staff in there and get people in the right places.”

The overall vacancy rate for the division is 1,022, with 27% of positions unfilled as of Sunday, Marshall said.

The correctional officer vacancy number is 729, or a 32% vacancy rate for officers. Marshall said there are eight facilities with 40% vacancy rates or greater, including some facilities with 60% to 70%.

There are more than 10,000 inmates in the state’s correctional system spread out over 11 prisons, 10 regional jails, 10 juvenile centers and three work-release sites. Marshall said there are more than 3,800 DCR employees. They recently hired 147 new staff, while also losing between 60 and 80 employees, creating a revolving door.

The state has been under a second State of Emergency for the corrections vacancy crisis for the last nine months, with Gov. Jim Justice issuing a new State of Emergency last August. Since then, more than 300 West Virginia National Guard members have been helping staff facilities, along with some employees from the Division of Natural Resources. The cost of employing the National Guard in the state’s jails and prisons is expected to exceed $20 million.

“Would you say that we are spending more money in respect to having the National Guard in the facility than it would cost to have even with a correctional pay raise and the correctional officers we would hire?” asked Delegate Joey Garcia, D-Marion.

“Yes,” Marshall said.

“Two things are unsustainable: having the National Guard in there is unsustainable … it’s also unsustainable to expect we can have our officers in this state working 60, 70, 80 hours a week, week in and week out,” said Legislative Oversight Committee on Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority Co-Chairman David Kelly, R-Tyler.

The base salary for a correctional officer Class 1 is $33,214, with a 7% pay increase to $35,360 for correctional officers after their first year on the job and a promotion to Correctional Officer Class 2. After the second year, salaries increase another 7% to $37,656 and a promotion to Correctional Officer Class 3.

State employees, including correctional officers and staff, received a $2,300 raise with passage of the budget bill that goes into effect July 1. As of last October, DCR implemented a $1,000 appointment incentive to entice new recruits.

There has been talk of a possible special session to address the corrections vacancy issues, though with May legislative interim meetings taking place in Huntington, the next opportunity for a special session would be between Aug. 6-8, coinciding with the next series of interim meetings. A special session that isn’t held alongside interim meetings would cost approximately $35,000 per day.

“We welcome the possibility of a special session to hopefully address some of the pay needs for the division,” Marshall said. “That would be welcomed by us.”

Bills were recommended for passage by committees in the state Senate and House of Delegates but never made it past their respective finance committees or to the floor.

House Bill 2879 would have given corrections employees with three years of service a $6,000 bonus beginning July 1. New jail and corrections employees would have received a $3,000 sign-on bonus, as well as a $3,000 bonus once they accumulated three years of service.

House Bill 2895 would have granted a cost-of-living stipend to correctional officers of up to $10,000 per year. And Senate Bill 464 would have authorized locality pay to correctional officers working at facilities with critical staffing shortages.

“I want your people to know that we hear them and we’re trying to do what we can to get something to happen to them that will be a positive to try to bring people in and try to keep people,” Kelly said. “This isn’t a Republican or Democrat issue. This is a problem for all West Virginians, and we’ve got to try to fix it.”