Division of Corrections Commissioner David Kelly told lawmakers on Tuesday that while his agency has improved its ability to fill vacancies for entry-level correctional officers, a recent surge of retirements of experienced officers has proved challenging. Kelly was speaking to members during the final day of October interim meetings at the State Capitol.
Kelly informed the committee of 46 retirements in 2024 and 40 so far this year.
“We believe that the numbers will reach into the 50s this year,” Kelly said. “Just for a little bit of understanding, that could be nearly 100 retirees in 2024 and 2025, and that’s about 3,000 years of experience,” Kelly said. “We have a deep bench at DCR. We’re planning to move forward and place people in the proper positions. It’s not an easy task, but we will get it done.”
The agency is working to fill vacancies and retain staff, achieving a 77 percent retention rate in the current fiscal year, with some facilities retaining up to 85 percent for all three tiers of correctional officers, according to Kelly. He mentioned a pay raise approved by the Legislature for areas of critical vacancy has helped, but recruiting and retention challenges remain.
Kelly said one of the division’s biggest challenges remains recruitment and retention of correctional officers and non-uniformed correctional employees for facilities bordering other states.
“Not only are we working diligently towards filling correctional officer vacancies and non-uniform vacancies, we’re also striving to replace the upper tier of our division,” Kelly said.
Current inmate populations are 4,814 in jails, 4,888 in prisons, 378 in work release, and 297 in juvenile centers.
“We continue to assess our daily population within each facility, and we believe that we are managing our available space to the best of our the best of our ability,” Kelly said.
Kelly noted that four counties are at least 90 days delinquent in their regional jail bills: Webster, Clay, Lincoln and Mingo counties.
He also mentioned that regional jails are benefiting financially from processing detainees for the U.S. Immigrations and Customs Enforcement (ICE) in state correctional facilities. The facilities participating in the ICE detention program include South Central Regional Jail in Charleston, North Central Regional Jail in Moundsville and the Eastern Regional Jail in Martinsburg.
The federal government pays the state $90 per inmate per day, with ICE paying nearly $340,000 to DCR between June and July. Those funds are being used for general operational costs for the state’s regional jails.
