Gov. Justice Authorizes DMAPS Secretary To Utilize All Personnel Under His Supervision To Assist With Staffing Shortages At WV Correctional Facilities
12/29/2017
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CHARLESTON, WV – Governor Jim Justice has declared that the staffing shortages at West Virginia’s prisons, jail and juvenile facilities amount to a State of Emergency, and has authorized temporary transfers from other agencies to fill in the gaps.
An executive order signed by Gov. Justice empowers Military Affairs and Public Safety Secretary Jeff Sandy “to develop and oversee the use of all of his Divisions, to include the West Virginia National Guard, in order to maximize the staffing at this State’s juvenile and adult detention and correctional facilities until legislative and operational remedies can be development and implemented.”
Gov. Justice cited the well-documented challenges of recruiting and retaining correctional officers, and stated that “excessive amounts of overtime are not conducive to safe working practices and environments.”
A separate executive order will allow correctional employees to carry over annual leave into 2018 that they would otherwise lose because required overtime had prevented them from taking it.
Contact Information
Butch Antolini,
butch.antolini@wv.gov