At any given time, Nebraska's prisons are short by up to 200 protective services workers, Department of Correctional Services Director Scott Frakes told a legislative investigative committee Wednesday morning.
An extra 138 new positions -- in addition to those already authorized -- would be needed to get the prisons to minimal staffing, according to a staffing audit completed by the department over the past year, and those positions would come at a cost of $6.5 million.
An earlier draft of the same report, completed by a department team led by Omaha Correctional Center Warden Barbara Lewien, had recommended 254 positions be added, at a cost of $12 million. The numbers were changed in the final report after its authors consulted Frakes.
That information came out as Frakes was questioned by former Sen. Steve Lathrop, the Department of Correctional Services Special Investigative Committee's attorney. Lathrop had led a different version of the committee before leaving the Legislature at the end of 2014.
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Senators have been concerned the department would not request enough money or positions to fix the prisons' staffing problems. Part of that concern stems from the focus on tax relief by the current and former governors.
Frakes offered that he was not given "outside instructions" by the governor's office or anyone else to reduce the number of positions or the cost of beefing up the staff for the final recommendation.
Frakes explained later the draft was part of the process of getting to what correct staffing should be for the department. He compared it to the brainstorming done before putting together a plan. Much of the brainstorming always gets left out of a final plan, he said.
In the end, he said, the report calls for a 10 percent increase in the approximately 1,300 protective services staff, which is substantial.
Frakes spent much of the hearing with the investigative committee answering questions about why the prisons are "treading water" on keeping enough staff.
Lathrop said his questioning was aimed at getting an idea of the staffing problem in the prisons and what it would take to fix it.
Throughout the agency, the department has a turnover rate of about 24 percent, Frakes confirmed, but individual prisons have higher rates. For example, Tecumseh State Correctional Institution turns over about 32 percent of staff every year, according to documents supplied to the committee.
Frakes has said anything at or above 15 percent is a problem, creating instability and management issues.
High turnover has been blamed on inadequate pay, mandatory overtime, safety questions and low morale.
Recruiting hasn't been the problem with staffing, retention has, Frakes said. In fiscal year 2016, 400 staff were hired but 287 left, he said.
Gov. Pete Ricketts' office noted that the governor requested and the Legislature funded 59 new Corrections positions in 2015.
The number of positions the department will ask for this year and the cost of those positions will be revealed in the department's budget request, to be submitted Sept. 15.
Frakes also said he will submit a pay proposal Thursday to union officials, a month ahead of the normal start of the negotiation process. That proposal cannot be revealed until negotiations are complete, he said.
Compensation has been a major complaint among prison workers. About 220 employees answered an informal email survey sent out last week by Inspector General for Corrections Doug Koebernick. It asked what things workers would change to improve their jobs. Most answers focused on pay, including beginning pay and pay increases.
Some workers are scheduled to get $500 bonuses in September. Koebernick said he has suggested the department use part of the $1.5 million provided by the Legislature to award bonuses to more staff.
The committee also questioned Frakes on a recent increase of assaults on prison staff. Lack of adequate staffing, and thus a lack of programming and social activities for inmates, has been a factor, he said.
Violence results when there is nothing productive for inmates to do, Frakes said.
He said gangs also have played a part in the violence. A large number of inmates have an affiliation with what the prison calls "security threat groups."
Frakes said after the hearing he understood the committee was looking for insight into the department's lingering problems.
"Is it comfortable? No not always," he said. "Is it a process that is important to good state government? It is."