SWANTON – A panel of state lawmakers who help develop prison policies in Vermont hit the road Friday and heard from those directly impacted by their decisions: the corrections officers and prisoners working and living behind bars.
The Joint Legislative Justice Oversight Committee met Friday in the visiting room of the Northwest State Correctional Facility in Swanton.
A panel of corrections officers told the mix of House and Senate lawmakers on the committee of the daily challenges they face, from staffing shortages that require them to work long hours to the lack of accountability and discipline for inmates who act up.
Prisoners testified of the problems they encounter in a system they say does not provide needed counseling services for those battling addiction or assistance to help inmates succeed once they are freed.
Several inmates also talked of concerns with the furlough program, which allows prisoners to be released after serving the minimum portion of a sentence. They say some who are released are not ready.
“It has turned into a release valve, a pressure release valve,” inmate Tim Dowd told the committee.
“Things get a little overcrowded, push more people out on furlough – maybe some people who shouldn’t necessarily be released on furlough, not set up for success,” he added.
“What support should you be having to be successful?” asked Rep. Mary Hooper, D-Montpelier, a committee member.
“Housing,” Dowd replied.
The lack of adequate housing, the inmates said, keeps many of them behind bars well beyond the minimum portions of their prison sentences.
Inmate Scott Nichols told the committee that over the years he has been released on furlough about 20 times and brought back into the facility for a variety of reasons, from picking up a new charge to falling back into drug use.
If more time had been spent developing a plan for his release, he said, the chances of him succeeding outside the prison walls would be greater.
Instead, Nichols said, when he’s been released he’s been provided only with a list of available resources in the community and the offer of Narcan, an overdose reversing drug.
Prisoners also talked of the medication-assisted treatment program offered to inmates for opioid addiction. They spoke of a lack counseling services to complement that program.
“Inmates could be trained as recovery coaches,” Nichols told the committee. “I would trust these guys to, say, more than to security or mental health or a medical professional.”
The prisoners did say that there are some inmates who divert the medication or take part in the program only to avoid being shipped to the out-of-state prison facility.
Inmate Matthew Lang called the program a game-changer for him, allowing him to turn his life around from when he entered the facility addicted to drugs. “I don’t want that life,” he told the committee.
The four inmates who addressed the panel are each elected leaders in their particular prison housing unit. The prison has a total of 247 beds.
“It’s no secret amongst the population around the state that if you have to do time, this is the place to be,” Dowd said of the Swanton facility. “Mostly, it’s because of the way the staff treats you.”
Asked what made the facility staff different, Dowd said, “They’re respectful.”
Nichols said while he agreed with that assessment, “a few” of the corrections officers needed improvement.
“Usually rookies,” Dowd added.
The inmates had less praise for the prison in Newport. “There’s a fight there every Wednesday, or whatever day is commissary,” Dowd said.
The legislative committee earlier in Friday’s session heard from corrections officers who work at the Swaton facility.
Joseph Aldrich told the panel of the changes he has witnessed over his nearly three decades as a corrections officer at the prison.
“I’ve seen many commissioners come and go, I’ve seen many superintendents come and go,” Aldrich said.
He added he could recall a time when corrections officers were fighting over who got overtime shifts. More recently, Aldrich said, staffing shortages and mandatory overtime shifts make that is no longer the case.
In a two-week pay period, Aldrich said, he averages almost 40 hours of overtime, another full work week. Those long hours take a toll on a person, he said.
“It’s probably one of the most stressful parts of the job,” Aldrich said of the workload. “You would think it would be inmates.”
The corrections officers spoke of the hardship the longer work hours lead to, from having to change plans with a spouse to missing a child’s birthday party or sporting event.
Currently, of the 107 security staff positions at the facility, 23 are vacant, which includes 11 temporary positions.
The corrections officer said part of the problem is that newly hired people tend not stay once they realize the long hours and conditions. And new officers often start off working third shift, from 10 p.m. to 6 a.m.
The starting pay for a correctional officer is about $18 an hour.
Correctional officers also testified about the need for additional training for them to deal with inmates who suffer from mental illness.
The meeting with the correctional officers started with Steve Howard, executive director of the Vermont State Employees’ Association, handing committee member a letter he said he plans to send to all state lawmakers. Correctional officers are members of that union.
The letter stated that Vermont’s correctional facilities have become “dysfunctional” and “chaotic,” with “almost a complete lack of accountability for violent, disrespectful, and disobedient actions” of prisoners.
“This leaves our dedicated COs with the impression that the management cares more about the convicted offenders than they do about their own staff,” the letter stated. “We who want to work in a dangerous environment when you are not sure the leadership of your department cares, or will back you up?”
Prison guards in their testimony agreed that inmates face few repercussions for bad behavior and are rarely charged when drugs and other contraband are found on them.
Howard, speaking after the meeting, said the working conditions for the correctional officers need to be the top priority.
“Change the working conditions and then we’ll be happy to recruit,” Howard said.
“We don’t have to worry about whether the inmates have every program they need, and it’s perfectly operating for the inmates,” Howard said. “We have to worry about the people guarding them [having] what they need to be safe and healthy and feel like they are supported.”
Michael Touchette, Vermont’s corrections commissioner, told the committee he is working to recruit more corrections officers at Swanton and the state’s other facilities. He said the department has recently dedicated a position to focus solely on recruitment.
“It’s a competitive job market,” he said. “If you want a job today you can get a job.”
Touchette said that working as a corrections officer is not easy.
“This is not for everybody and we don’t want to sell anybody a bill a goods,” he said. “We need to be honest about how difficult this work can be.”
The commissioner, speaking after the hearing, said he is aware of the corrections officers’ concerns when it comes to prisoner discipline.
“The inmates are disciplined. I think where the difference is, is that we are not relying as heavily on segregation,” he said. “It has such negative outcomes for people that we put in there, so it creates more harm than good.”
Touchette added, “We do want to think thoughtfully about how we can hold inmates accountable and keep people safe.”
Sen. Dick Sears, D-Bennington and a committee chair, said as the meeting came to a close that he believed the meeting behind bars provided the panel with valuable information and perspectives.
“I think we got real honesty from the staff as well as the inmates,” he said, before adding, “You never know.”
