Today, the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections reported on their workforce shortage issues at budget hearing testimony.

Corrections has the third largest department budget in the state, requiring over $3.1 billion to guard over 41,000 inmates (as of Jan. 2025) in 24 state prisons with 8,500 correction officer staff. The department also manages 14 community corrections centers and almost 50 community contract facilities.

Governor Josh Shapiro proposed a 4.5% budget increase for the department this year. Part of that money would help with prison guard recruitment and retention.

Right after COVID, the department had over a 10% vacancy rate in their workforce— almost 900 positions were empty. That has since shrunk to a 4.8% rate. The departments goal is to be under a 2% vacancy rate.

Correction officers are also still working more mandatory overtime than department goals.

Christopher Oppman, Deputy Secretary of Administration for the Department of Corrections, shared that filling vacancies is made more difficult because of regular attrition/retirements in the workforce.

Corrections has used multiple strategies to help fill their staffing shortages. These range from recruitment events to making the hiring process shorter.

Recent legislation has also been passed to help the issue. Since lawmakers approved dropping the minimum age requirement from 21 to 18, over 200 workers have been hired in the age range.

Corrections Secretary Laurel Harry says those younger workers have higher retention rates than other new workers who are older.

Lawmakers also allowed people living out of state to still apply for and work in Pennsylvania correction facilities. This initiative had less drastic results— the department has 7 out-of-state employees right now. Harry suggested the opportunity may still just be unknown and has potential for more results as time passes.

A push to close 4 state prison/correctional facilities could also help consolidate workforce needs.

The Shapiro administration wants to close two state prisons (SCI Rockview and Quehanna Boot Camp) and two community corrections centers (Wernersville and Progress). The administration estimates around $100 million could be saved in future fiscal years, as closing the facilities could avoid expensive facility construction projects.

Lawmakers in today’s hearing did question if increasing inmate populations at other state prison facilities would increase violence. Sec. Harry maintained that past research shows inmate population growth does not correlate to increased violence, so long as populations stay under a facilities capacity. 

"Even if we would close Rockview and Quehanna, we will still be at below 90% capacity for our male facilities. And below 80% capacity for our female facilities,” Harry said. "So at this point, we feel that our population will still be manageable.”

Since the proposal to shut facilities down, state correction officer unions have raised concerns at more full prisons— pointing to violence and unfavorable work conditions for officers pre pandemic. From 2009 to 2017, Pennsylvania state prisons were over capacity. They reached 99.7% capacity in 2018 and 97.1% capacity in 2019.