Vermont lawmakers hear competing accounts as DOC outlines recruitment and retention work and union says staffing remains in crisis

Members of the Vermont House Corrections & Institutions Committee heard a briefing May 20 on the Department of Corrections’ recruiting and retention efforts and a separate testimony from the Vermont State Employees Association that described the situation on the ground as an ongoing staffing emergency.

The DOC presentation detailed outreach efforts — including TV advertising, community job fairs, partnerships with Community College of Vermont and Springfield College, a remote academy pilot and peer-support and wellness initiatives — aimed at recruiting and keeping correctional staff. Steve Howard, executive director of the Vermont State Employees Association, told the committee the agency’s front-line workers view the problem differently and urged faster, larger interventions.

Why it matters: Corrections staffing affects facility safety, overtime costs and whether the department can implement other policy initiatives. Committee members pressed both DOC and VSEA for data and for concrete next steps as lawmakers consider possible oversight or legislative responses.

DOC presentation: recruitment, training and retention

A Department of Corrections staff member told the committee that, since calendar year 2023, each facility hired an “experienced staff supervisor” whose duties include recruiting and retention and that central staff are assigned to coordinate with two facilities each. The department described a multimodal outreach strategy: in-person recruitment at career fairs, targeted events (including military- and veteran-focused outreach at Gillette Stadium), presentations to tech centers and high schools, and advertising through a statewide media contract.

The DOC presenter said the department runs two advertising campaigns with WCAX: a monthly “corrections minute” and shorter spots. The presenter said the WCAX contract is a two‑year agreement with a maximum spend of $360,000 per year. Between 2023 and 2024 the campaign produced, the presenter said, about 21,000,000 impressions and 64,000 clicks; the presenter also noted careers.vermont.gov received roughly 160,000 clicks in the same period.

On training and pathways, DOC staff described a long-standing partnership with Community College of Vermont (CCV) to offer post‑secondary options and a pilot “remote” academy that reduces time away from home for recruits. The department reported academy class sizes of about 30–40 recruits and described internal mentorships, a women’s leadership initiative, job‑shadowing and train‑the‑trainer programs intended to improve retention.

For staff wellness and support, DOC staff said the department funds a peer‑support team that the presenter said has legislative confidentiality protections; the presenter said roughly 20 peer‑support team members are trained and deployed regionally. The department also described data‑driven work including exit and “stay” interviews; the presenter reported that improved procedures have produced about 81 completed departure surveys over the most recent period and that roughly 40% of departing staff choose to opt into a follow‑up survey.

DOC staff emphasized that turnover is concentrated early in employment: “if people are going to leave, they typically do so within the first six months with the apex of that being three months,” the presenter said, and said many department initiatives are focused on keeping recruits through that window.

Union testimony: ‘an emergency’ on the ground

Steve Howard, executive director of the Vermont State Employees Association, told the committee the union’s members — correctional officers and facility staff — experience the situation as a crisis. “Mostly what our members say is they wouldn't ask their worst enemy to do that at the moment,” Howard said, describing long runs of 16‑hour shifts and frequent overtime.

Howard urged the committee and the administration to treat the problem as an emergency and to prioritize immediate stabilization measures such as incentives to bring additional staff into facilities to relieve overtime burdens. He said a recent union survey of roughly 200 respondents found pay and overtime improvements were members’ top priorities.

Where the parties differ

DOC presenters told the committee that the department has increased compensation in recent years (presenters cited a roughly 36% pay increase from 2020–2023 in materials shown to the committee) and pointed to a range of programmatic investments intended to reduce overtime and improve working conditions. DOC staff also said overtime hours have begun to decline from a previous peak and described central operations efforts such as a consolidated hospital‑coverage and transport team and a Central Office Operations (COS) group intended to support facility staffing.

Union leaders said those steps are not enough and asked for more rapid, larger investments and for executive‑level action on recruitment (including targeted outreach to recently laid‑off officers in neighboring states). Howard told the committee that, after months of asking, the union had been told the agency had “no plan to recruit” in New York after a large number of officers were dismissed there — a statement DOC staff disputed when asked later, saying some facilities had undertaken targeted outreach in border areas and that a small number of applicants from out of state had been hired.

Other issues raised

- Body‑worn cameras: the union and DOC have entered “impact bargaining” over a body‑worn camera policy. DOC staff told the committee that the department purchased cameras in a prior procurement and that implementation awaits an agreed policy and impact bargain. The union said bargaining and policy work is ongoing and scheduled meetings are planned. - Data and measurement: committee members repeatedly asked for consistent, auditable staffing and scheduling data. The union said front‑line staff see different numbers on their daily schedules than central office reports provide; DOC staff said the department maintains a staffing dashboard that is publicly available and that they have improved exit interview capture rates through local supervisors.

What the committee heard about next steps

DOC staff described pilots and programs that will continue unless otherwise directed: the remote academy pilot with CCV, additional targeted recruitment events, and rollout of podcasts and social‑media material once approved by DOC executive leadership. The union asked the legislature to use oversight authority to press the executive branch for faster action and to push for bargaining results that materially reduce overtime and raise compensation.

The committee did not vote on any measure at the hearing. Several members asked for additional data and signaled they would continue oversight work; DOC and VSEA each said they will return to the committee with further information and continued meetings are planned, including impact‑bargaining sessions on body‑worn cameras.

A closing note: the hearing highlighted a long‑running and multi‑faceted problem. DOC presented multiple reforms and programs intended to recruit and retain staff; union leaders described front‑line conditions they said require immediate, large‑scale stabilization. The committee asked both sides for clearer, consistent data and for a timeline of concrete actions to reduce overtime and improve staffing levels.