Prison staffing shortage persists in Nebraska, annual IG report says

LINCOLN, Neb. (KLKN) – In an annual report released on Monday, the inspector general for corrections says Nebraska prisons do not have the workers they need, despite increases in pay and hiring bonuses.

The prisons that are seeing the largest problem are the Reception and Treatment Center in Lincoln and the Tecumseh State Correctional Institution.

Inspector General Doug Koebernick said the staffing problems have been an issue for the past 10 years but have gotten worse within the last few years.

“We’ve seen a growth in staff shortages, and it really grew during COVID,” Koebernick said.

He said it leveled out after the state started offering more incentives.

“Now in the last year, it’s started to tick back up a little bit,” he said.

The hiring bonuses offered to correctional officers ended in December, but the state is still honoring a salary increase for starting corrections officers.

Another main problem Nebraska prisons are facing is that they do not have enough behavioral staff.

“A dozen of the 18 psychologist positions are vacant,” Koebernick said. “Over half of the behavioral health therapist positions are vacant.”

Moving forward, Koebernick said it is important for the Department of Correctional Services to reevaluate approaches to the staffing problems.

“We’ve talked about the need for the department to go back and look at things that they have tried to do in the past, the bonus program, and other things, and assess those and think, ‘OK, what worked and what didn’t?” Koebernick said.