Vermont DOC tells Appropriations panel staffing has improved but retention remains a problem

Nick Dimelon, Commissioner of Corrections, told the House Appropriations Committee on Feb. 12 that Vermont has reduced correctional vacancy rates since mid‑2022 but continues to face retention challenges that threaten operations.

Dimelon said Vermont ‘‘has about a thousand staff’’ in the Department of Corrections and ‘‘we have about 1,500 incarcerated individuals today,’’ with roughly two‑thirds sentenced and one‑third detained. He said systemwide vacancy rates have fallen from a July 2022 peak of about 32% among security staff to about 19% for security positions and roughly 14.9% overall today, but the decrease has plateaued.

The committee pressed the department on causes and remedies. Dimelon and Kristen Calvert, Deputy Commissioner of Corrections, said the department has focused on pay changes, schedule redesign and support services to improve retention. Dimelon described a shift from 8‑hour to 12‑hour staffing patterns implemented to give employees more consecutive days off and reduce the number of shifts to staff per day.

The department said it has added roughly $30 million in compensation and built a corrections‑specific pay plan into permanent salaries. Dimelon said that while pay increases helped recruitment, retention remains the central problem: "We're running the biggest academies we've ever run routinely... We have a retention problem. We can't keep people past a year. We're lucky to keep them 6 months." He cautioned that simply raising pay has not solved the problem nationally.

Committee members described the practical effects of staffing stress, including mandatory overtime and long shifts, and asked what supports the department provides. Calvert and Dimelon listed measures now in place or being expanded: peer support programs, clinical mental‑health staff, stay and exit interviews, supervisor training, and plans to design future facilities (including a proposed new women's facility) to improve working conditions.

Both department leaders framed the challenge as multi‑faceted: demographic shifts in the Vermont workforce, the intensity of day‑to‑day work in corrections, and changing expectations of newer recruits. Dimelon said the department is pursuing automation and process changes as well as workplace culture improvements, and that returning to an 8‑hour model would likely increase scheduling pressure for staff.

The presentation and questions occupied a substantial portion of the committee hearing; no formal committee action or vote was taken during the presentation.

Dimelon concluded by urging continued legislative support for investments that change the work environment and staff experience rather than relying solely on further pay increases.