MDOC requests $35M+ for pay, $1M for community corrections and $4.2M ongoing for prisoner health-care in FY27 pitch to House subcommittee

LANSING — Michigan Department of Corrections (MDOC) staff outlined the governor’s FY27 executive recommendation to the House Appropriations Subcommittee on Corrections and Judiciary, emphasizing three priorities: employee compensation, community corrections expansion, and rising prisoner health-care contract costs.

Kyle Kaminski, speaking for MDOC on behalf of Director Washington, said the department is seeking just over $35,000,000 in employee economics for FY27 to fund negotiated compensation and insurance adjustments. "That 3% raise, across the department equals about $30,000,000," he said, adding that the remainder covers insurance and other built-in cost changes. Kaminski characterized the request as necessary to support staff recruitment and retention.

Kaminski reported that MDOC graduated 760 officers from the academy in calendar year 2025 and that current class sizes generally run "somewhere between about 175 and 200." He told the committee vacancy rates vary by facility — some below 5% and others with rates as high as about 37% — and described targeted recruitment strategies, including sending whole academy classes to facilities with the greatest staffing need in the Jackson region.

On community corrections, Kaminski said Michigan…