I apologize for my spelling, obviously my keyboarding skills are suspect. especially in between classifying inmates.

I like that Idea. As a former trainer that idea appears to be a sound solution to the issue. Unfortunately in Nebraska although we are a right to work state we do have a union and they would be totally against that practice. Ummmm I have to tell you the more I think of that idea the better it sounds. We do have a program at the local community college for a associate degree in corrections management, I think an internship in a form as you describe would be workable. Thanks!!

We don’t have a program that requires re-payment of training costs if an employee doesn’t remain employed after a certain amount of time, but we have started to successfully “weed” out employees who don’t know what they are getting into by implementing a “shadowing” program. We have a temporary position which is considered an “unclassified correctional worker”. While in this assignment and under “CLOSE OBSERVATION” a person may shadow an employee for a period up to 90 days prior to being offered full-time employment and the Pre-service training. Many people who enter this profession don’t realize they may not have what it takes until after we’ve invested all that time and money. This gives them the opportunity to see if this is really what they want to do before it becomes too costly for us.

Not if the Gov grants amnesty to illegals.I did my part, 5 kids. read Ben Steins book and you will see the fasted growing segment of our society is Hispanics and Muslims with high birth rates.

If you really want to get worried, check out the paper posted on the National Institute of Corrections website (www.nicic.gov) about the 21st Century Correctional Workforce. There are a lot of demographic trends working against us, as fewer Americans have big families and, believe it or not, there will be a labor shortage within 10 years.

Neal is correct. The historical pattern has been for the youg recruits want to go into the Law Enforcement street patrol end of the criminal justice system for various reasons. The corrections end was to get a foot in the door. Then after getting some experience move on to street partrol. This occurs because corrections historically didn’t have as high a hiring standard. That is changing. The other issue has been that even within our own criminal justice community correction has been treated as the ugly third cousin. That too is changing. When I first startd in 81 I was told not to tell my neighbors where I worked because we were looked at as being two steps below a crooked cop. So improvements in professionalism and organizations like the American Corrections Assoc. and the American Jail Assoc work hard to change our image. retention of professionals in our business is getting better as well as pay. Corrections is a big business now and we should benifit from it.

We need to better understand why correctional staff leave and how we can retain the best of those we recruit. This issue will become more acute when (if?) the economy improves and jobs outside of corrections become more plentiful/enticing. This workforce challenge comes at a time when technology is making jobs in corrections more complex, requring higher-level skills, education, and computer literacy. Pay will have to improve. The culture of corrections will also have to change, so that employees feel better supported, appreciated, acknowledged and rewarded for doingthe kinds of things that make communities safer.

Not the department of corrections or the counties here in Nebraska. Corrections ahs always been a stepping stone for those who wish to move on into street service.However our State Patrol requires service for a designated time and if the recruit does not satisfy that requirement and moves on into another department or other service the costs are prorated to time of service. This was enacted because here in Nebraska many counties and municipalities paid a better wage and benefits. Since their certification follows the person they figured the othger agency was getting the benefit without the investment.

Within our department we frequently see staff make it throught basic training and then quit the department for other employment. I have heard that some states require that those who leave the department within an allotted time frame ie 1-2 years are required to pay back some or all of those expenses. I am curious to know if forum staff have any of those programs within their department and information or documentation on how the program works..
thanks