Senators question DOC secretary Kevin Carr over prison staffing challenges, problems at Waupun and Green Bay
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MADISON – A Senate committee on Wednesday questioned the state's top corrections official about chronic staffing issues within the state's prison system — especially at the Waupun and Green Bay Correctional Institutions, where inmates' movement has been limited since March and June.
Department of Corrections Secretary Kevin Carr said the two facilities are not in "lockdown" but a "state of modified movement" due to staffing challenges and disruptive behavior. Carr said the department is in conversations with Gov. Tony Evers' office about the future of the aging Green Bay facility, where he said a mice problem has improved.
Senators asked Carr about the progress in closing Lincoln Hills, the state's troubled youth prison, and asked for more notice of high-profile incidents after a recent homicide at the state's women's facility.
Lawmakers posed the questions at a hearing for Carr's reappointment. The Senate unanimously approved his appointment in 2019, despite never holding votes on many other Cabinet appointments the Democratic governor made in his first term.
Committee chair Sen. Van Wanggaard, R-Racine, said the committee would call Carr back for another hearing to ask "a lot more questions."
Carr says one-third of positions vacant in understaffed prison system
Lawmakers narrowed in on chronic staffing issues in the state's prison system, especially at the Waupun Correction Institution, which has a 53% vacancy rate.
An August New York Times and Wisconsin Watch investigation found Waupun, the most understaffed facility in the state prison system, has been locked down for more than four months — halting visits from family, blocking access to the law library and giving few opportunities for recreation and fresh air.
Carr said the facility is not in "lockdown" — a term for emergency situations — but in a "state of modified movement." He said Waupun and Green Bay are the only two facilities limiting movement due to staffing "in conjunction with disruptive behavior."
"One of the issues that we confront in corrections is a lack of internal resources to provide everybody in our care with all the programming that they need," Carr said. "When I say we don't have enough resources to do that, a lot of that is tied to our inability to hire folks."
The state's two-year budget signed this summer included pay raises for state employees, including a $33 an hour minimum rate for prison employees with increased pay progression rates and incentives for roles that are often empty.
"While it's still too early to fully know the impact that the pay raises will have, early indications are promising," Carr testified. "Last week, we had some of the largest numbers of potential new hires since my arrival."
Carr said the overall average vacancy rate among all 36 adult correctional institutions was 33.% — meaning one of every three full-time positions in prisons are unfilled. Applicants can rank three preferences for facilities, but "we're really not in a position to say no" if they request to work in a specific institution close to their home.
Lawmakers question Carr on Green Bay mice problem, progress on Lincoln Hills
Senators asked Carr about an ongoing rodent problem in the Green Bay facility. Carr said the department learned of the mice issue last December. He said he visited inmates in August who told him the situation was improving, though advocates said pest control did not do enough.
"They said, 'We don't see them like we used to. But if you really look hard at night, you might see some,'" Carr said. "If our folks would stop feeding them, which they were doing, we'd have less of a problem with pests." Advocates deny inmates are feeding the mice.
During state budget hearings this spring, lawmakers grilled Carr over why the 125-year-old Green Bay facility remains open despite its need for extensive repairs. A bipartisan group of lawmakers asked that the state shut down the facility, but that step was not supported in Evers' budget proposal or the changes made by the Republican-controlled Legislature.
Carr said he is having discussions with Evers' office about the future of the Green Bay and Waupun facilities. He said lowering the prison population and closing other facilities "is the preferred direction." He said building a new facility that would cost "upwards of $750 million" is not "our preferred path." Sen. Andre Jacque, R-De Pere, asked how lawmakers could "light a fire" to speed up decision-making.
"I hear your message loud and clear. I will take it back to the governor's office and have conversations with them about a written, concrete plan at some point," Carr said.
Carr also addressed progress on closing Lincoln Hills, the state's troubled youth prison for boys. He said Lincoln Hills and Copper Lake, the companion facility for girls, are "in a much better position today than they were five years ago."
A federally appointed monitor in July found the two facilities were in substantial compliance with 32 of 50 changes mandated in a 2018 court ruling and have eliminated the use of pepper spray and strip searches, two practices that helped trigger a lawsuit in 2017 that cost the state more than $25 million.
Lawmakers of both parties also asked for more notice of high-profile incidents in prisons. Wanggaard said he learned of a recent homicide at Taycheedah Correctional Institution two weeks after it happened and asked Carr to notify him in the future so he can inform other members of the committee.
Republican senators also asked about transgender inmates in the state's prisons. Carr said he anticipated the question and confirmed there are "a number of persons" who are transgender in men's facilities and only one transgender woman at Taycheedah.
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This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: DOC Secretary Carr questioned over prison staffing problems
