By Craig Anderson

DOVER — The Delaware Department of Correction commissioner vouched for the dedication and excellent work exhibited by officers every day.

There just aren’t enough of them, Monroe Hudson told state senators and representatives on the Joint Finance Committee on Wednesday.

The DOC has 1,866 authorized correctional officer positions and there are 217 vacancies. Nearly 50 more officers have been activated for military or are out for various medical reasons, Mr. Hudson said.

Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, Mr. Hudson said, the DOC was on pace to have less than 100 vacancies.

“Fast forward to today,” he said. “We face the same struggles as many local and state law enforcement agencies and private-sector organizations — our application numbers that continue to decrease, along with the number of cadets hired in each of our recruit classes.”

With the “full support” of the Department of Human Resources and Office of Management and Budget, Mr. Hudson said a sign-on bonus for new cadets has been upped from $3,000 to $5,000.

The bonus is paid in increments, Mr. Hudson said, with a portion coming halfway through the academy training, more after completing the training and the rest after 12 months of service. The program was implemented in late December, “So we have not had a chance to really see whether the benefits are there (for the $5,000).”

The DOC, with a governor’s recommended budget of $376,148,899, isn’t alone in its dearth of new candidates as state agencies and private sector businesses continue scrambling to fill jobs.

While struggling to attract quality recruits, the number of Level V (maximum security) prisoners has trended up about 3.9% as well, Mr. Hudson said.

The DOC is “also in the process of streamlining both the hiring process as well as the background process,” Mr. Hudson said, in an effort to speed procedure.

For existing officers, there’s a $1,500 retention bonus and another $1,500 for meeting attendance standards. The bonus programs are set to expire next week, Mr. Hudson said.

“So again, we’re trying to keep people in the workforce because again during COVID we saw a lot more people that were retiring that were eligible,” Mr. Hudson said.

Mr. Hudson said work within the DOC walls “has changed drastically since COVID.” He pointed to the use of a suit, mask and goggles as something correctional officers “never (would have) dreamed of doing something like that.”

Staffing shortages at facilities are an “across the board challenge,” Mr. Hudson said.

While the James T. Vaughn Correctional Center near Smyrna, the largest prison in the state, may have “a little higher” number of vacancies “that doesn’t mean that Baylor (Women’s Correctional Institution in New Castle), which is a smaller facility can be just as much impacted in terms of staff turnover, retirements and not having cadets to fill those spots.

“They feel the pinch as well.”

The DOC has reached out to civic associations and held citizens academies to attract interest. The academies were held in Kent and Sussex counties, and DOC plans to hold the next one in New Castle County.

Bureau Chief of Community Correction Marvin Mailey said the DOC representatives have attended job fairs locally and in Maryland, New Jersey and Pennsylvania, along with college job fairs. The DOC added new correctional officers from Pennsylvania when facilities closed there, Mr. Mailey said.

Of correctional officers that resigned in January, three responded to exit surveys. Mr. Hudson said that one went to a law enforcement agency in New Jersey “and the other two took jobs in construction, that paid more money, better hours ...

“There’s so many job opportunities out there. The younger generation, the younger population, what we see is they leave and they just jump on and move from job to job.

“And we’re seeing that as well right now because of the construction industry. There’s so much money put out there and new construction projects. People are leaving for much more money, but again, not having to work evenings or weekends.”

After the JFC session, the DOC outlined its ongoing push for successful recruitment and retention efforts:

• Advertising and outreach: DOC’s two full-time recruiters participate in local and regional job fairs in Delaware and nearby states, engage with local colleges and universities, and attend community events to raise awareness of DOC hiring and meet potential applicants.

• DOC has invested in billboard and radio advertising, is developing a television advertising campaign, and leverages organic and paid social media to promote DOC hiring and professional career opportunities for officers and other staff positions.

• DOC established a citizens academy program in 2021 to further build relationships with community members and open a potential recruitment pathway.

• The signing bonus for new correctional officers was increased from $3,000 to $5,000.

• DOC is streamlining the hiring and background review process to move successful officer applicants more quickly to the training academy.

• Thanks to the support of the General Assembly and Gov. John Carney, the correctional officer pension was increased to incentivize officers to continue their service beyond 20 years.

• The DOC has continued to operate regular training academy classes during the COVID-19 pandemic. From January 2021 through January 2022, the Steven R. Floyd Sr. Training Academy completed seven correctional officer training academy classes (Correctional Employee Initial Training Classes 241 through 247).

• Each month during Fiscal Year 2022 (to date) an average of 19 correctional officers have retired or resigned. Meanwhile, the past few correctional officer training academy classes have graduated under 20 officers, which is insufficient to replace the number of departing officers. The DOC is working hard to increase academy class sizes through the steps outlined above.