CHARLESTON – With vacancies among West Virginia’s jails and prisons remaining at crisis levels, lawmakers are considering ways to recruit new correctional officers and retain experienced staff.

The House Jails and Prisons Committee recommended House Bill 2879, providing a pay increase to state correctional workers in West Virginia, for passage Thursday morning, sending the bill to the House Finance Committee for further review.

HB 2879 would give employees with the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation (DCR), the Division of Juvenile Services, and the West Virginia Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority with three years of service a $6,000 bonus beginning July 1.

New jail and corrections employees hired on or after July 1 would receive a $3,000 sign-on bonus, as well as a $3,000 bonus once they accumulate three years of service. DCR already offers a $1,000 appointment incentive to entice new recruits, which has been paid out 44 times between October and December of last year.

According to a fiscal note from the Department of Homeland Security, which oversees the three divisions, the cost of the bill for the first year would be $12.9 million for bonuses for current employees, with an estimate of $1.5 million for new employees in the first fiscal year and $1.1 million estimated by fiscal year 2027, when the next bonus would be given.

A committee amendment would also add a $10,000 tiered upward salary adjustment to all officers employed at a DCR correctional facility. The first $5,000 adjustment would take place beginning in July 1, followed by a $2,500 raise on July 1, 2024, and a final $2,500 raise on July 1, 2025. There was no fiscal note available for the committee amendment.

According to a report presented to members of the Legislature’s Oversight Committee on Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority by the DCR during legislative interim meetings earlier this month, the state’s 11 prisons, 10 regional jails, 10 juvenile centers and three work-release sites have a combined 33% vacancy rate in correctional officers and a 27% vacancy rate for staff as of the end of December.

“Those numbers are the highest we’ve had,” said William “Billy” K. Marshall III, the newly appointed DCR commissioner. “According to employees who have been here for 30-plus years, this is the highest vacancy rate they’ve seen in more than 30 years.”

Quarterly staff vacancies for the state’s correctional system were 1,027 as of the end of December — a 26% increase from the next highest vacancy number of 813 at the beginning of January 2019. Many of those vacancies are in jails and prisons in the Eastern Panhandle, where correctional officers can earn more pay in neighboring Virginia and Maryland.

Marshall said DCR spent more than $22 million in the prior fiscal year ending in June 2022 on overtime for correctional officers.

Gov. Jim Justice has declared a state of emergency twice over the past six years for the state’s prisons and regional jails over severe staffing shortages, including in August 2022. The West Virginia National Guard was ordered to assist with staffing needs until this August, though it could be extended if staffing shortages continue.

According to DCR, there are 300 National Guard in prisons and jails providing support for existing staff, as well as some Division of Natural Resources officers. Marshall said the price tag for using the National Guard through end of the current fiscal year in June is $17 million.

According to DCR, the base salary for a correctional officer class 1 is $33,214 as of July, with a 7% pay increase to $35,360 for correctional officers after their first year on the job and a promotion to correctional officer class 2. After the second year, salaries increase another 7% to $37,656 and a promotion to correctional officer class 3.

“These corrections officers probably don’t feel really appreciated right now,” said Del. Mike Honaker, R-Greenbrier. “Not only is the strain upon these leaders we’re expecting to keep this operation going somehow, but to think about these corrections officers – these men and women who are working – I’ll tell you what, money is not everything, but they sure would know they were appreciated if we pass this bill.”

“We have the money to do this,” said Del. Joey Garcia, D-Marion. “If we do not do this, there’s going to be a situation that comes up in the future that is entirely preventable. Somebody is going to die. This is the point in time when we can actually make a difference and get the adequate staff we need.”