Vermont corrections officials tell committee staffing crisis is department’s top operational concern

The Vermont Department of Corrections told the Corrections & Institutions Committee on Jan. 16 that chronic staff shortages and high turnover are creating operational strain across prisons and community supervision, and that the problem must be addressed beyond one-off pay increases.

Commissioner Ivana, Commissioner of the Department of Corrections, told the committee that staffing is “the most important issue facing our system,” describing high vacancy rates and a workforce under strain from overtime, workplace trauma and aging facilities. “It’s 2025 and we don’t have Wi‑Fi in our facilities,” Ivana said, noting how outdated infrastructure and heavy paperwork add to staff burdens.

The committee heard that the department invested roughly $30 million over the last two fiscal years to raise pay for correctional officers and related staff. Ivana said the department also created a corrections‑specific pay scale, accelerated step increases, redesigned schedules to improve work–life balance, stood up specialty teams to reduce workload at facilities and expanded staff wellness and peer support services. Steve Howard, representing frontline workers at BSEA, said retirement and benefit structure remain central bargaining topics.

Why it matters: committee members were told the staffing shortage affects basic duties from court transports and hospital coverage to reentry planning. Ivana said many reentry tasks are being delayed or performed at reduced levels because staff time is taken by new demands such as facilitating remote court proceedings. The department described a long‑term decline in available workers and warned that higher pay alone will not fix retention if working conditions and workloads stay the same.

Supporting details: Ivana described a multiyear demographic squeeze in Vermont’s labor market and cited national analyses showing corrections staff shortages are a countrywide problem. The department has added permanent staff for peer support, a clinical psychologist focused on staff, and “staff experience supervisors” at each facility. The department also built a data team to analyze turnover and overtime drivers.

Committee direction and next steps: members urged the department to coordinate with the House Government Operations and Appropriations committees on retirement, classification and budget matters. The committee discussed whether some overtime could be counted toward retirement calculations; Ivana said that idea has been floated and would require legislative and pension‑system changes. Several legislators said they will press colleagues on GovOps and appropriations to consider incremental and structural solutions.

Ending: The committee scheduled follow‑up hearings and invited DOC to return with specific budget requests and implementation plans. Ivana and union representatives asked for broader legislative engagement to address pay, retirement, work schedules and facility investments that the department says are needed to stabilize staffing.