Corrections & Cyfd Staffing Levels
HM 24 is a memorial requesting the Legislative Finance Committee to convene a task force to study staffing shortages at the Corrections Department and the Children, Youth and Families Department (CYFD). The task force would be charged with recommending safe and adequate staffing levels for public safety positions, analyzing current staffing by shift, post, and job classification, identifying the causes of understaffing, evaluating recruiting and retention efforts, and proposing executive actions and legislation, including appropriations, to address the problem.
The memorial also specifies the composition of the task force, requiring members from the State Personnel Office, both departments, union-represented employees, and legislative appointees from both chambers and parties. The group would meet monthly from May through November 2025 and deliver a report by December 1, 2025, to the departments, the governor, the legislature, and the public. Because it is a memorial, the measure does not itself change statutory law or appropriate funds, but it directs a study process that could lead to future policy and budget changes affecting corrections officers, child protective services staff, juvenile justice facility workers, and other frontline public safety employees.
HM 24 does not amend existing statutes or create new legal requirements for the Corrections Department or CYFD. Its immediate effect is to direct a legislative study through the Legislative Finance Committee and to establish a structured task force process that could inform later legislation, staffing standards, and appropriations. The memorial focuses on public safety staffing, employee recruitment and retention, and compliance concerns at CYFD, including the Kevin S. settlement agreement.
The overall sentiment reflected in the bill text and the vote is strongly supportive of addressing staffing shortages in both agencies. The House passed the memorial unanimously, 63-0, indicating broad agreement that understaffing in corrections and child welfare/juvenile justice is a serious public safety issue that merits formal study. The bill frames the problem as urgent and emphasizes safety for workers, residents, and the public.
There is little visible contention in the available record, and no committee transcript is provided. The main substantive issue underlying the memorial is the extent and causes of understaffing, especially in facilities with vacancy rates above 30 percent and in CYFD positions covered by the Kevin S. settlement agreement. The bill also implicitly raises questions about whether current recruiting, retention, pay bands, and position management practices are adequate, and it gives frontline workers and unions a formal role in shaping recommendations, which may reflect concern that prior policymaking has not sufficiently included employee input.