Juvenile facilities seek added personnel funding after vacancy savings dry up

The Department of Juvenile Justice told the subcommittee it needs new recurring dollars to cover staff pay increases at regional youth detention centers after long-term vacancy savings were absorbed by retention-based raises.

An agency presenter (Speaker 3) said the department had relied on funds left by vacant positions to absorb step increases and other staff pay bumps. With turnover falling — the presenter said juvenile correction officer (JCO) turnover fell from about 97% three to four years ago to roughly 68.24% now — the agency no longer has that vacancy “cushion” and is requesting an increase tied to item 226.7 in the FY2027 recommendation.

"We have been utilizing the monies that we would normally have for the vacancies," the presenter said, explaining the department has "self-funded" pay increases when hiring and retention benchmarks required step raises and certificate-based increases for security officers.

Committee members pressed for detail. A member identified as the chair (Speaker 1) asked whether the 10% increase after 12 months is part of a formal step system and why vacant positions were not budgeted at the post-increase rate; the presenter said vacancies had been funded only at starting pay and the agency had not received additional funding to cover the later step increases for those positions.

The presenter gave a snapshot of capacity and vacancies: roughly 1,139 funded field positions with about 371 positions not fully funded for the post-step amounts. The agency described broad recruitment outreach — statewide advertising, college and university outreach, job fairs and radio commercials — and noted a six-week BJCOT academy for new hires, with a minimum hiring age of 18.

Sen. Albers (Speaker 7) and other committee members praised the decline in turnover and urged the agency to continue its strategic plan, while the chair signaled committee support for the requested increase and asked for follow-up on academy curriculum and hiring targets. The committee also encouraged the agency to return with precise vacancy and cost breakdowns so the budget lines reflect both starting pay and known step increases.

Next steps: the agency said it will provide curriculum and vacancy detail to the committee; the committee indicated it will work to shore up the personnel line in the FY27 budget so the department won’t need repeated amended-budget requests.