By Sophia Fields
The Lima News, Ohio
LIMA, Ohio — State correction officers and other employees represented by the Ohio Civil Service Employees Association held an informational picket Friday outside of Allen-Oakwood Correctional Institution to voice understaffing and safety concerns to the community.
“We’re about 86 officers short right now, and every time we do get staff to come in, our warden does not feel like the morale is important or anything. He treats staff terribly; he wants to mandate them,” said Shawn Gruber, OCSEA 0230 president for the Allen Oakwood Correctional Institution.
Gruber said they recently lost an important person for the union who would fight for the staff’s wellbeing.
“We had one warden who would listen to us, Corey Foster, and he would work with us. He retired last week. Now we don’t have that voice for the union,” he said.
The Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction responded on the matter.
“The safety and security of our staff remain a top priority, along with our continued efforts to recruit and retain a strong, dedicated workforce,” said JoEllen Smith , chief of communications, for the Ohio Department Rehabilitation and Correction, via email.
“In June 2026, interim Director Ed Banks launched the ‘Mission that Matters’ recruitment campaign, a back-to-basics campaign where he asked our staff to get involved and help spread the word about the career opportunities at DRC. … Warden Ryan Walters and his staff actively participated by hanging posters in establishments throughout the community, meeting with local partners and stakeholders, including local elected officials and local colleges, about the careers available with our agency. We remain committed to working collaboratively with internal and external partners to continue recruitment efforts.”
Along with the staff shortage, Gruber said there is more going on behind the scenes, and it’s too much for one officer to handle.
“The drugs in there are just out of control. They’re finding mass drugs,” Gruber said. “The inmate programming and stuff, they’re (administration) more apt to worrying about.”
James Beverly, OCSEA representative, said staff shortages will not be able to fix themselves.
“They (administration) want to holler out staff shortages, but when you have an administration that says staff morale isn’t a management issue, how does that promote staffing levels to increase?” he said.
Beverly said the union has been working on safety since the last prisoner escape, but staff’s equality has been pushed to the side.
“Until DRC does something to address what we’ve been trying to do for years since the escape, the next critical incident is going to be on their (administration’s) lap, because it’s well documented. We brought all the safety concerns that we have for the staff here in the community of Lima,” Beverly said.
According to the union, not only is the staff shortage affected within the walls of the institution but outside of work as well.
“The mental health of our staff is terrible. It’s to the point where people are breaking down. They’re going home for about a week or two, while management sits around, laughs about it and they go home after working eight hours,” Gruber said.
Both Gruber and Beverly said how good the career path is for corrections, as long as it’s managed.
“Corrections is a good career, and we’ll stand by that,” Gruber said. “We need more men and women that believe in working as a team, but until they address the administration, the outside people won’t be able to see what a good career this is for Lima,” Gruber said.
“To sum it up, this community has seen escapes worthy of a Hollywood movie. They’ve had tragic loss here. This administration, and the lack of accountability the Department of Corrections is holding this warden and this administration to, is going to allow another critical situation to happen,” Beverly said.
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© 2026 The Lima News (Lima, Ohio). Visit www.limaohio.com. Distributed by Tribune Content Agency, LLC.
