Corrections chief warns House budget cuts would abolish hundreds of positions and threaten safety, compliance

Helen Hanks, commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Corrections, told the Senate Finance Committee that the House-approved budget would abolish 149 positions across the agency and redirect funding for 41 sworn law-enforcement positions into overtime.

"The reductions were accomplished by abolishing 149 positions, an additional 41 sworn law enforcement positions were abolished and the associated funding was redirected to cover overtime costs," Commissioner Hanks said. She told senators 98 of the abolished positions were filled as of April 4, 2025. "The proposed abolishment of many of the civilian staff will shift their responsibilities to our corrections officer, which will only increase the department's reliance on overtime."

Why it matters: Hanks said civilian staff perform functions — from kitchen and laundry supervision to classification, medical, maintenance, and financial controls — that cannot simply be eliminated without substantial operational consequences. She warned that corrections officers would be required to take on noncustodial duties, increasing fatigue and the risk of errors related to sentencing, releases and medical care.

Hanks described multiple concrete impacts. Without warehouse and classification staff, officers would have to monitor inmate workers and learn complex sentence and release processes; without maintenance technicians holding gas-fitter and plumbing licenses, the state could face higher contractor costs and security burdens because outside vendors must be escorted. "Without the boiler house, the facility would be without heat and hot water," she said. "These positions are not optional. They are essential to maintaining constitutional conditions of confinement."

The commissioner tied the staffing reductions to public-safety and legal risk. She warned cuts to classification and client-records bureaus could produce premature or unlawful releases and said reductions could undermine compliance with the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA), the department's consent decree obligations and other court orders. "Without sufficient staffing, the department faces heightened risk of premature and unlawful releases, as well as legal exposure for failing to comply with sentencing or classification statutes," Hanks said.

On recidivism and programs: Hanks credited rehabilitative staff for lowering the state's recidivism rate from 51.9% in February 2009 to 40.2% in 2022 and said eliminating teachers, case managers and other Division of Rehabilitative Services personnel would reduce programming that supports parole and reentry. "Eliminating these programs strips individuals of the opportunity to succeed upon release and ensures higher long term costs for the state," she said, citing national research on education programs and recidivism.

Parole board officials said cuts to DOC will increase demand on their office and prolong incarceration. Roger Phillips, chair of the adult Parole Board, and Jim Hackie, director of operations, told the committee that fewer DOC case managers and classification staff would require board staff to travel more and spend more time helping incarcerated people prepare parole packets and reentry plans. Hackie estimated even an extra day per release could cost the state about $120,000 annually across average monthly release volumes.

Senators' questions focused on recruitment, overtime math, and compliance. Hanks said the department's vacancy rate for entry-level corrections officers had fallen from 54% to 41% through recruitment efforts and use of lateral transfers, per diem pools and retired officers returning as nonbenefitted per-diem staff. But she warned that abolishing positions and relying on overtime "has a devastating impact on morale" and undermines recruitment and retention.

No formal vote was taken. Department leaders asked the Senate to restore funding so the Department of Corrections could meet legal obligations, reduce long-term taxpayer costs and "fulfill its mission to protect the public and rehabilitate those in our custody," Hanks said.

Ending note: The committee heard detailed operational descriptions of the positions targeted for elimination and follow-up questions from multiple senators about how cuts would affect litigation risk, public-safety staffing and the department's ability to deliver constitutionally required care.