The interim superintendent of the Newport prison who was the subject of a “no confidence” letter from union workers at the facility has stepped away from the job.
The state Department of Corrections announced Friday afternoon that Lori Madden left her position last week at the Northern State Correctional Facility and returned to her role as assistant superintendent at Northwest State Correctional Facility in St. Albans.
Amy Jacobs, the interim assistant superintendent at the St. Albans prison, will take over the role of interim superintendent in Newport, effective on Monday, according to a press release from the corrections department.
The changes come in the wake of a letter sent last month to state Corrections Commissioner Nicholas Deml from union workers at Northern State voicing “no confidence” in Madden’s continued leadership.
The letter alleged that Madden has failed to staff key positions, permitted untrained staff to work in security positions, and confined incarcerated individuals to their living unit without recreation opportunities due to understaffing.
“The Department conducted an immediate and thorough review of the concerns outlined in the letter,” according to Friday’s press release from the corrections department. “Ms. Madden informed the Department of her plan to return to NWSCF during this process.”
Jacobs joined the corrections department in 2009, starting her career at Northern State after serving in the U.S. Marine Corps, according to the release. Since that time, she has held multiple positions in the corrections department from corrections officer to probation and parole officer.
Steve Howard, executive director of the Vermont State Employees’ Association, which includes corrections workers, said Friday that Madden’s “leadership style” wasn’t working as the interim superintendent at the Newport prison.
“I think our members there deserve a tremendous amount of gratitude and praise for showing the courage that they showed in the face of what they thought was a very serious threat to their safety and the safety of the folks in their care,” Howard said.
The corrections department did not make Madden available for comment following the release.
