Highlights from AJA's
Corrections professionals from across the country gathered in Columbus, OH on October 12–14 for AJA’s 2022 Recruitment and Retention Fall Summit to learn about innovative strategies and resources to address the staffing crisis facing our industry. The intensive three-day event, which attracted more than 120 people, featured 16 workshops and roundtables, a tour of Franklin County’s brilliant new jail, a wellness lounge, fun activities, and networking with colleagues.
Sessions were led by experienced industry practitioners and experts. These leaders highlighted the root causes behind staff retention problems—stressors like low morale, toxic workplace cultures, and mandatory overtime—and the critical importance of addressing such staff health and wellness issues. The presenters detailed specific and effective tools jail administrators and supervisors could use to recruit new officers into their agencies and keep them long-term, notwithstanding the persistent problems caused by staff burnout.
Col. Brenda Dietzman (Ret.) kicked off the summit with a keynote entitled “A Profession in Crisis: Take Ownership and Create a Positive Future.” Dietzman said jail administrators need to get a firm grip on their agency’s future to ensure that the health and well-being needs of their staff are being met. This is the first step to solve the recruitment and retention crisis in corrections. Dietzman outlined the causes of the industry’s staffing crisis, and how difficult it is to find someone who wants to be a correctional officer. She also talked about how trauma works, and how it affects the retention of staff, both old and new.
Attendees dove right into these pressing issues after the keynote with deep and wide-ranging discussions during the roundtables. They discussed unique ways to find future officers, maintaining jail operations during a staff crisis, and peer support and mentoring programs. Veteran practitioners Dr. Mark Foxall of the University of Nebraska-Omaha and Major Sam Davis (Ret.) of Michigan State University also addressed the problems of toxic cultures, and how to create healthy workplaces in corrections. Corporals Scott Butterfield, Daniel Riccio, and Tim Sayre of the Stark County Sheriff’s Office (Ohio) made it clear that jail administrators need to really listen to their line staffs if they want to boost morale and do a better job of retaining officers. As the Stark County practitioners emphasized: “Your officers may be telling you exactly what you need to know to fix the issues within your agency … The future is bright, let us help you accommodate the needs of your staff!” Other workshop topics included: Use Social Media to Recruit, Retain and Tell Your Story; Fully Staffed! Hiring Veterans and Other Overlooked Candidates; and Recruiting and Hiring for a Highly Productive Team: Don’t Just Recruit Quarterbacks.
Thank You to Our Sponsors & Exhibitors!
A number of attendees arrived early to the summit and toured the new James A. Karnes Correctional Facility. By all accounts, this new facility is great, and Franklin County Sheriff Dallas Baldwin and his entire department should be proud. During the design phase, the Franklin County Board of Commissioners and the Franklin County Sheriff’s Office carefully considered staff wellness. The facility incorporates a biophilic design, an architectural approach that connects building occupants more closely to nature. The facility offers an abundance of natural light, a 2,700 square foot wellness center, and a dedicated staff dining space that includes an outdoor courtyard. Staff are also given the opportunity to decompress after work, as well as arrive and depart the facility in civilian clothing, thanks to ample locker spaces and shower facilities.
As a way to help attendees relieve some stress, the summit also featured lots of fun and games, and opportunities to network, including Game Night, which featured people playing some indoor putt-putt golf, the popular and highly-competitive Bob Barker Wellness Step Challenge, Bingo, and karaoke and dancing at Club
We look forward to seeing YOU at the 2023 AJA Fall Summit in Charleston, SC!
