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                            Library & Multimedia
 Workforce Issues in Corrections
NCJ Number
              254521
Journal

*Corrections Today*
Author(s)
          Joe Russo
Date Published

December 2019
Length
              12 pages
Annotation
              This paper discusses the following workforce issues in corrections: staff recruitment, selection, retention, training, and agency succession planning.
Abstract
              Correctional officer vacancy rates in some prisons approach 50 percent. Although community supervision agencies typically fare better, probation and parole officer vacancy rates have been reported as high as 20 percent. Regarding retention, in some state prisons, annual correctional officer turnover rates are as high as 55 percent. Given the shrinking pool of qualified workers, agencies often compete for candidates, and the corrections sector is apparently losing the competition for desirable recruits. In an effort to address the crisis in corrections personnel, the RAND Corporation and the University of Denver analyzed insights from a work group of agency executives and academics who have researched the correctional workforce. This effort, which was sponsored by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), identified a series of 64 systemic needs, with 13 top-tier needs associated with the following five themes: clarification of the mission of the corrections sector, improvement in staff competencies, improvement in staff training, improvement in work environment and conditions, and the development of future leaders. This paper discusses the group's methods and findings. A figure lists each problem or opportunity and suggests what is needed to address each one.
      
  
          Additional Details
Agencies
        NIJ


  
  
        
  Publication Type
        Report (Technical Assistance)
                                Issue Overview
    
  
  
Date Published: December 1, 2019
    
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