LINCOLN- Nebraska’s top Corrections official on Wednesday spoke publicly about the worsening staffing shortage at state prisons for the first time since workers detailed its harrowing impacts on daily operations, safety and inmates’ well-being last month.
Scott Frakes, director of the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services, acknowledged the crisis, highlighted progress in union negotiations and answered a litany of questions from lawmakers on the Legislature’s Judiciary Committee.
Despite challenges, “I’m confident both short- and long-term solutions will be identified and will put NDCS on a sustainable path forward,” he said.
Sen. Anna Wishart of Lincoln proposed the study that led to Wednesday’s hearing. She’s on the Appropriations Committee, and said her goal was to understand what it will cost to adequately staff existing facilities. That’s needed, she believes, before considering additional facilities.
Gov. Pete Ricketts’ administration has proposed building a 1,600-bed, $230 million prison to replace the State Penitentiary in Lincoln.
A project already underway will add a 384-bed high-security unit and 32-bed mental health unit at the combined Lincoln facility and is expected to be complete in June 2022, according to Corrections spokesperson Laura Strimple.
If the staffing crisis does not improve enough by next summer, Corrections will close existing living units and shift to the new space at the combined Lincoln facility, Frakes said.
Staffing has been a problem since before his tenure, Frakes said, but has been especially difficult for the past few months.
He pointed to the same labor shortage faced in other industries. The state’s Inspector General for the corrections system previously said the economy has had an impact, but that the stage was set for the current crisis because of a lack of sufficient action over several years.
High turnover and a decrease in applicants have led to more than 625 staff vacancies, Frakes said. There are about 430 vacancies in protective services — security and custody staff — out of 1,300 total positions, according to Frakes. So about a third of those positions are unfilled.
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