By Steven Allen Adams, The Intelligencer
CHARLESTON, W.Va. – With vacancies among West Virginia’s jails and prisons remaining at crisis levels, lawmakers are considering ways to recruit new correctional officers and retain experienced staff.
The House Jails and Prisons Committee recommended House Bill 2879, providing a pay increase to state correctional workers in West Virginia, for passage Thursday morning, sending the bill to the House Finance Committee for further review.
HB 2879 would give employees with the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation (DCR), the Division of Juvenile Services, and the West Virginia Regional Jail and Correctional Facility Authority with three years of service a $6,000 bonus beginning July 1.
New jail and corrections employees hired on or after July 1 would receive a $3,000 sign-on bonus, as well as a $3,000 bonus once they accumulate three years of service. DCR already offers a $1,000 appointment incentive to entice new recruits, which has been paid out 44 times between October and December of last year…
To read more: https://www.theintelligencer.net/news/top-headlines/2023/01/house-committee-considers-corrections-worker-bonuses/
