The sign outside Chittenden Regional Correctional Facility in South Burlington. Photo by Liv Miller
“Prisons are the least transparent and most understudied public institutions in the country. So doing research inside prisons — people just don’t do it, and therefore they’re like these black boxes.”
by Noah Diedrich, Community News Service
Noah Diedrich got perspectives from the state Prisoners' Rights Office, the state employees union, the Department of Corrections, a professor who co-authored the study and civil rights advocates.
More than three in 10 people incarcerated at Southern State Correctional Facility thought about killing themselves in the last year, and over a quarter of staff at the Springfield prison thought the same, according to a recent state-sanctioned survey.
The study, produced by the Prison Research and Innovation Network, found that a majority of both people confined in the facility and those who work there believe staffing and resources are inadequate, with particular consequences for their mental health.
The Vermont Prison Climate Survey — a yearslong project by the Prison Research and Innovation Network between the University of Vermont and the Vermont Department of Corrections — aims to better understand the impacts of prison conditions on the health and wellbeing of staff and incarcerated people, said Abigail Crocker, co-author of the survey and a UVM associate professor.
“Prisons are the least transparent and most understudied public institutions in the country,” Crocker said. “So doing research inside prisons — people just don’t do it, and therefore they’re like these black boxes.”
The researchers wanted to start with one prison as a trial, Crocker said. Going forward, the plan is to administer the survey in all six of Vermont’s prisons, she said.
Upwards of 70% of participants not only turned in the survey but completed it in its entirety. Of 120 eligible staff, 84 answered the survey; of 255 eligible prisoners, 212 completed it.
“When people would hand us back the survey, they’d say things like, ‘Wow, this is really thoughtful, really intentional,’” Crocker said. “That gave us confidence that this is an accurate description of what it’s like inside.”
The issues that stood out? Staffing shortages, as well as idle time and health care difficulties for incarcerated people, Crocker said.
Vermont’s prisons have been suffering staffing shortages since 2022, when the vacancy rate among staff jobs rose to between 20 and 25%.
Rates have dropped since 2022 by almost half, but concerns about staffing linger.
Steve Howard, executive director of Vermont State Employees Association, the union representing state employees, said the results demonstrate the Department of Corrections needs to do more about the shortage.
“They start to do things that are making a difference, and then they stop them, and we go right back down this rabbit hole,” Howard said.
According to the survey, 84% of staff respondents agree or strongly agree that mandatory overtime is a problem. Nearly 70% disagreed when asked if staff morale was high, and 55% of staff respondents said their schedule causes conflict at home.
“When you have this constant turnover because of the overtime, the lack of family life and the amount of stress — plus the health implications of all that stress — you get at the core reason why our corrections system isn’t working the way we want it to,” he said.
Howard said he thinks the number of staff who reported suicidal thoughts in the last year, 26%, is probably higher in reality.
Howard said he is discouraged by what he sees as Gov. Phil Scott’s lack of action to educate the public and ask for more resources to recruit, retrain and retain staff.
Scott’s office referred a reporter to the Department of Corrections for comment.
Reps for that department declined several requests for an interview, opting instead to provide written responses to emailed questions.
“Staffing has been the Department’s top priority for several years now and we have implemented a variety of initiatives to recruit and retain staff,” said Haley Sommer, director of communications and legislative affairs for the department, in an email. She said officials continue to talk with stakeholders about the urgency of the issue and retention efforts.
According to state data, the department’s job vacancy rate as of February 2024 was 16.9%, down from 28.7% in July 2022. Sommer said today’s figure is 18%.
Many incarcerated people at Southern State also feel they have too few chances to better their mental health through programs or activities, the survey says.
Annie Manhardt, supervising attorney for the state Prisoners’ Rights Office, said people she talks with want to spend their time in prison learning new skills, getting treatment or participating in risk-reduction programs.
“This is a population that really desires the opportunity to better themselves, but that they don’t feel like they’re getting that in the system as it currently exists,” Manhardt said.
Programs like Community High School of Vermont help incarcerated people get their high school diploma while inside, she said.
But Southern State lacks much in the way of programs like it, Manhardt said.
“There aren’t really job training programs in (Southern State),” she said. “There aren’t really opportunities for people to get certifications or licenses to do different types of work, the way that I know that there are in some other prison systems around the country.”
The survey says 65% of incarcerated respondents strongly disagree or disagree that activities offered in Southern State are good quality.
Manhardt said the lack of these types of programs hurts incarcerated people’s mental health.
“When you don’t have a lot to look forward to, your mental health is going to suffer,” she said. “Even people who come into prison without significant mental health issues certainly experience depression, anxiety, stress — all things that come with being in that environment.”
Falko Schilling, advocacy director for the Vermont American Civil Liberties Union, said incarceration as a solution hurts staff too.
“Prison is a place where people’s mental and physical health suffer, whether they’re incarcerated at the facility or they’re working at the facility,” he said.
According to the survey, 60% of respondents strongly disagree or disagree that they get the mental health care and treatment they need when they need it.
Manhardt said she supports efforts by the department to change that reality, namely the creation of an executive director of wellness role. She called it a sign the department recognizes the importance of incarcerated people’s mental health.
“People who are in prison, when was the last time that they really laughed about something, or when was the last time that they had fun or actually felt happiness?” she asked. “I think that it benefits everyone, including the staff.”
Sommer said the department is in talks with community partners and state agencies as officials look to expand visitation through a legislative study committee.
“Vermont’s women’s facility currently has a robust parenting program through Lund’s Kids-A-Part program, though the committee is discussing how we can expand family friendly visitation statewide and will provide recommendations to the Legislature in a report due in January,” she said via email.
Community News Service is a University of Vermont journalism internship.
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