By C1 Staff
CARSON CITY — A $7.6 million spending plan to hire 100 additional correctional officers to the Nevada Department of Corrections was endorsed by a legislative panel Thursday.
The Review Journal reports that as part of the approval, legislators want the department to provide quarterly updates on prison staff vacancies to the Legislature Interim Finance Committee.
The overall budget for the DOC is roughly $760 million over the biennium.
There are currently 115 open positions within the DOC. Adding new personnel comes with updating a shift-relief formula used to ensure there is enough staff to cover vacations and other absences. The state’s formula has been in place since 1979.
The department has stepped up recruiting in recent years and has paid particular focus to military veterans.
The department expanded a correctional trainee program last year to streamline hiring, allowing new hires to begin almost immediately and “shadow” correctional officers for up to one year before they attend required Peace Officers Standard Training.
Trainees are not allowed to handle keys or weapons; instead, the program gives new hires a chance to see what the job entails before money is spent on further training.