The Kansas secretary of corrections calls staffing shortages at a state prison so critical that it’s an emergency.
Worker shortages are a persistent problem in the state prison system. Corrections Secretary Roger Werholtz said it’s especially bad at the El Dorado Correctional Facility, where staff are already working long shifts. There are around 85 worker vacancies at the prison housing 1,700 inmates.
The emergency declaration gives his agency the authority to hire temporary staff and require employees to work even longer hours.
“But I’m hoping that we can get some more bodies in the door fairly quickly and get them some relief,” Werholtz said in an interview.
Governor Laura Kelly told a group of union members Tuesday that she doesn’t like it, but the long hours will have to continue while the administration works to fill dozens of vacancies.
“I know that’s not healthy, but we do have an emergency situation right now so we have to take some pretty drastic action,” she said.
Agency officials are trying to send a message to staff urging them not to be discouraged by the long hours.
“Hang with us because we’re trying to fix this problem, but it’s not a quick fix and it’s not a cheap fix,” Werholtz said.
It’s the result of years of mismanagement and underfunding, Kelly said. The depth of the problems only became clear to her as she took over the governorship last month.
Members of the Kansas Organization of State Employees said their concerns about prison staffing haven’t been taken seriously in recent years.
“We are encouraged that governor Kelly is taking this critical situation seriously,” Union President Sara LaFrenz said in a statement.
The lack of staff has played a part in recent riots at Kansas facilities, according to the lawmaker who chairs the House corrections committee. That includes incidents at El Dorado in 2017 and 2018.
Republican Russ Jennings said fewer staff mean inmates spend more time in their cells.
“Tension rises, the potential for violence rises,” Jennings said in an interview.