Recruitment and Retention of Non-Traditional Employees:
ONE FACILITY'S STORY
Diana Knapp, MS, CJM, CCE and
Ozondu Ugbaja, BA, MBA, DBM
Law enforcement agencies, jails and prisons across the nation are experiencing a never-before-seen shortage of eligible applicants to fill detention positions. According to the National Institute of Corrections, many jurisdictions are in “full crisis mode” (Russo, 2019). Correctional officer vacancies in some areas are approaching 40% (Levin and Cumberbatch, 2022).
Several factors have been identified that are contributing to the shortage, to include changing public perceptions of law enforcement positions, the impact of a global pandemic that hit hard in custodial settings, and mandatory overtime—officers working up to 16-hour days in many facilities, including the Jackson County Detention Center (JCDC) in downtown Kansas City, Missouri. Administrators, union representatives, and elected officials agree that understaffing contributes to public safety risks, officer health problems, and the cost of incarceration using overtime. In one form or another, the issue has been discussed at every national level industry conference for the past several years. While approaches to tackle the problems are varied, no one is yet saying they have all the answers. The struggle is real. AJA Executive Director Chris Daniels said in the September/October edition of American Jails Magazine, “…the problem has become particularly acute over the past couple years…”
As the industry is beginning to initiate meaningful conversation about officer wellness, chronic shortages impact morale, longevity, health, facility security, staff, and inmate safety.
As of November 2022, the JCDC has 59 officer vacancies of an authorized contingent of 150, a vacancy rate of 39%, at this point, typical of local detention facilities across the nation. Like other jails, JCDC staff have been on 12-hour shifts for the past three years with mandatory overtime two to three times a week being the norm almost as long.
You may be asking at this point why, if our facility has the same problems as yours, we are reaching out on the topics of
recruiting and retention. While most facilities in urban settings have officers and support staff from different generations, different racial groups, and different nationalities, the Jackson County Detention Center has personnel from more than a dozen different countries or US territories. Men and women from African nations, specifically, comprise nearly 80% of our officer cadre and most of that group hails from Nigeria. These first-generation immigrants have been the backbone of JCDC for the past decade, due in large part to their willingness to work voluntary overtime and their numbers have grown steadily from the early 2000’s.
How it Began—A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to Minnesota
Dr. Ozondu Ugbaja, who was a university professor in English and Philosophy in his native Nigeria, came to the United States in 2000 to pursue his post-graduate education. He lived with extended family in the Kansas City area initially and then decided northern climes would provide him additional opportunities to advance his career. He was in a taxi on his way to the airport for a flight to Minnesota when he met the taxi driver, Paulinus Okafor, a fellow Nigerian. Okafor told Ugbaja that he had just joined the team at the Jackson County Jail, and it was a great opportunity. He convinced Ugbaja to cancel his flight and apply at JCDC. Today, Dr. Ugbaja heads the JCDC’s programs and inmate services team as the Corrections Casework Administrator. He holds a doctoral degree in Business which he achieved in the Kansas City area, and he recently completed AJA’s Jail Executive Institute with Dr. Mark Foxall at the University of Nebraska-Omaha.
Okafor, who hired onto the team just weeks before Ugbaja in 2000, worked his way up through custody ranks and became a Corrections Caseworker. By the time that Ugbaja and Okafor had that fateful meeting at the airport, Okafor had been in the US for 17 years, had worked in the nursing home industry in administration, and started a family. He, too, was able to take advantage of the educational opportunities in the area and holds undergraduate and graduate degrees in Criminal Justice. While he works on the inmate services team full time, Okafor still works many of his off hours in uniform for our detention staff.
Together, Dr. Ugbaja and Mr. Okafor are directly, or indirectly, connected to the recruitment of most of the Nigerian officers on our current team.
Casework Supervisor Ekechukwu Nwakolam was an accountant in Nigeria, working in the banking industry as a corporate auditor. A younger generation than Okafor and Ugbaja, he said he left Nigeria because of concerns about the stability of the Nigerian government. He applied to colleges in the US and was accepted for his master’s program at a local Kansas City college. He had other friends from back home who attended there as well, and they were able to share housing expenses while they were students. A close-knit community in the metro, Nwakolam had contact with other Nigerians who worked at the jail, and he was recruited by long time Caseworker Frank Mbah, a new hire in 2004, who told Nwakolam that he’d be able to work as a CO while he attended school. And that’s precisely what he did.
Dr. Ozondu Ugbaja Corrections Casework Administrator (CCA)
Ekechukwu Nwakolam Corrections Casework Supervisor (CCS)
Paulinus Okafor Corrections Caseworker (CCW)
Sgt. Oghenetega Onoshirie
Nwakolam has capitalized on his own positive experience here and used it to attract immigrant staff from other countries outside Nigeria. A recent swell in applicants and new hires from the African nation of Cameroon are directly related to his encouragement and efforts to add to the team. Nwakolam said the success and career advancement that Nigerians have experienced here gave assurances to newer groups of immigrants that they, too, could be successful in this environment.
And they are still coming. Sgt. Oghenetega Onoshirie followed his older brother, Sgt. Onome Onoshirie, to the United States in 2015 and to the Detention Center in 2017, one of the more difficult times in the history of this facility. Onoshirie promoted rapidly, is a member of the Corrections Emergency Response Team (CERT) and said that his success in corrections gave him the confidence he needed to pursue his citizen-soldier career with the Missouri National Guard, where he has served since 2018. He said that “if you can work on 5 (disciplinary housing area at JCDC) you can do anything”. Onoshirie holds an undergraduate degree achieved in Nigeria and was accepted into a graduate program here in Missouri for Sociology.
Why It Works—You Belong Here
We asked each of these staff members why they stayed at JCDC. All the responses were variations on “acceptance”. Sgt. Elimane Diagana just recently received his 20-year service pin. A native of Mauritius, a French speaking island nation in East Africa, Diagana “barely” spoke English when he became a CO in 2002. He said help and support from his peers allowed him to make corrections his career and become a leader. At his recent recognition ceremony, Sgt. Diagana spoke of the culture of the facility that will help you succeed, no matter what your personal challenges might be.
While older staff repeated that the job security of JCDC, and corrections in general, in uncertain economic times was a draw for them, the younger ones talked about belonging and the detention center, all units, being a family away from home. That’s a common theme from our interviews—that your differences will be supported and
embraced by the staff who are already here and that new cultures, new ideas, new languages, people who look and sound different, will be warmly welcomed and supported in their new roles.
It Takes a Village—Capitalize on Your Own Untapped Communities
You may have this same resource in your own area. Immigrants from nations all over the world still come to our shores in search of the American Dream. You’ll find when you talk with first generation immigrants that it wasn’t easy coming to the US. These sojourners had to have determination, commitment to their ambitions, perseverance in the face of adversity and bureaucracy, and grit.
We asked each of these staff members why they stayed at JCDC. All the responses were variations on “acceptance”.
People who can take what they’ve already overcome are people who can handle the stress and strain of working in overcrowded and understaffed facilities with high density populations of detainees with major medical concerns, developmental disabilities, and severe and persistent mental health problems. In even the most rural communities in the US, immigrant communities can be found within, or nearby. A great way to gain entrance to these populations can be through employment agencies, the faith community, social support networks, and cultural programs. One of JCDC’s fastest growing groups are associates from American Samoa. Here on the US mainland, they attend church together, social functions, are closely or distantly related, or know each other from playing rugby. Finding out how immigrant groups in your community stay connected can open a door. As we’ve seen firsthand at JCDC, it only takes one person to join your team and be successful. Then they tell two friends, who tell two friends, who tell two friends.
These immigrant officers provide crucial support to new recruits, educating them on pitfalls and helping them overcome new staff fears and avoid common rookie mistakes. When one of these officers has a car break down, this support network is going to
make sure he gets a ride to work, gets to a good mechanic and take up a collection to aid with repairs. A family illness will be met with prayers, encouragement, food, and direct aid to the staff member in tangible ways. This kind of support can be replicated within the traditional corrections workforce but to get there we must go back to building that family environment where staff are genuinely concerned about the well-being of their co-workers and feel responsible for helping them succeed. There are lessons that can be learned in this opportunity and examples to be followed.
Looking Forward—And Seeing What’s Right in Front of Us
As an industry, we are going to continue an uphill climb against difficult odds. The global pandemic continues to affect how we do our jobs and impacts who is willing, or able, to serve in our jails. Most facilities are underfunded, overcrowded, understaffed, and are, generally, also the largest inpatient mental health facility for miles around. This didn’t happen overnight, and it will take time and a concerted effort by forward thinking agencies like the American Jail Association to advocate for public support and raise awareness, and the professional profile, of the work corrections professionals do in our local detention facilities.
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Diana Knapp, MS, CJM, CCE, is the Director of Operations of the Jackson County Detention Center. Her career includes work with adult and juvenile offenders in secure settings and in the community across state, federal, and municipal levels. She has an undergraduate degree in history and secondary education and a Master’s degree in Criminal Justice Administration. Diana is a graduate of the Jail Executive Institute and a current member of the AJA Board of Directors. For more information, she can reached at dlknapp@jacksongov.org.
Dr. Ozondu Ugbaja, BA, MBA, MBA, DBM, is the Corrections Manager for the Jackson County Detention Center’s classification team and currently chairs the organization’s Retention Committee. He is a member of the second cohort of the jail Executive Institute managed by the University of Nebraska and the American Jail Association. Dr. Ugbaja holds two Masters of Business Administration degrees—one in management and the other in international business with a Doctorate degree in Organization Leadership. For more information, he can be reached at ougbaja@jacksongov.org.
References
Russo, J. (2019, December 1) Workforce issues in corrections. National Institute of Justice. https://nij.ojp.gov/topics/articles/workforce-issues-corrections
Levin, M. A., & Cumberbatch, K. A. (2022, October 6) To address the corrections staffing
Crisis, think outside the cell. Governing. https://www.governing.com/work/to-address-the-corrections-staffing-crisis-think-outside-the-cell
Daniels, C. D. (2022) Be proud of what you do. American Jails. (September-October 2022). https://americanjailassociation.foleon.com/american-jails-magazine/american-jails-september-october-2022/executive-directors-remarks