State Prisons Have Ongoing Staffing Shortage

Tuesday, February 8th, 2022 -- 11:00 AM

(Bob Hague, WRN) Some Wisconsin prisons have an ongoing staffing shortage.

Corrections Secretary Kevin Carr says even a salary increase in the last budget hasn’t brought the agency up to competitive levels. “For instance Racine County raised their starting hourly wage up to twenty-eight dollars an hour. Our starting wage is nineteen.”

Carr praises DOC employees for stepping up during the pandemic, but says staffing still need to needs to be addressed. “I’m more interested in sustainable long term change that will be meaningful and effective in reducing our vacancies. And that’s what the legislature can do to help us.”

Carr praises employees for stepping up during the pandemic. “Surprisingly, once the pandemic started and everybody was called to action, and everybody had to pull together as a team, overall our sick time rate when down. Folks actually tightened their belts, came to work and helped out because they felt the urgent need to be there for each other. Our sick time rate when down. Folks actually tightened their belts, came to work and helped out because they felt the urgent need to be there for each other.”

Carr says a salary increase (to nineteen dollars an hour) in the last budget was welcome, but the agency still has shortages. “I’ve got people that are working seventy, eighty hours a week. I’ve got a couple institutions that vacancy rates are approaching fifty percent.”

Carr says the legislature can help to address that with additional funding for DOC salaries.

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