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18 vacancies for Corrections certified
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Posted on May 07 2005
Gov. Juan N. Babauta has certified 18 vacancies for the newly created Department of Corrections.
In a letter to the presiding officers of the Legislature on April 28, Babauta said that these positions must be filled during the present continuing resolution.
“The filling of these vacant positions is of vital importance for the efficient delivery of essential public services. Continuing appropriations are available for the full personnel costs,” said Babauta.
He said the department needs eight Corrections officer I, two Corrections officer II, one Corrections officer III, one Correction sergeant, two Corrections lieutenant, one Corrections captain, two Corrections cadet, and one vocational rehabilitation counselor I.
The governor signed late last year a bill creating a new Department of Corrections. The law transfers all responsibilities for correctional and detention functions from the Department of Public Safety’s Division of Corrections and the Division of Immigration’s Office of Detention to the new department.
The governor has formed a transition committee and appointed special assistant for administration Tom Tebuteb to oversee the transfer during a one-year transition period.
Under the continuing resolution, the Department of Corrections, which has 63 personnel, receives $2.1 million.
The administration wants to raise the department’s budget to $4.9 million for fiscal year 2006.
The creation of a new Corrections Department was a result of a consent decree issued by the U.S. District Court in Feb. 1999, which, among others, required that a plan be developed to address operating the detention and prison facilities as a system, to correct deficiencies, and to address future prison population growth.
The new law, authored by Rep. Clyde Norita, mandates the department to establish, maintain, operate, and control the adult correctional facility.
It is mandated to set up and administer funded correctional programs, including rehabilitative, educational, and vocational programs; institutional alcohol and substance-abuse treatment programs; sex-offender counseling or treatment; repeat-offender prevention; and other remedial programs.
