Correctional Employee Wellness Monograph

counseling and crisis intervention. However, as a 2013 liter- ature review from the Department of Justice notes, “There is very little research on the prevalence and effectiveness of correctional officer (CO) wellness programs. This is largely because there have been few rigorous, replicable program evaluations conducted of officer wellness programs.” 6 A more recent literature review from the National Institute of Justice in 2017 reads similarly, finding little new research about the prevalence of such programming and stating that “very few of these programs have been scientifically evalu- ated to determine their effectiveness.” 7 The American Correctional Association (ACA) has been at the forefront of emerging issues in the field of

corrections and quickly recognized the need to develop an evidence base to support such programs. This prompted ACA’s 105 th President, Dr. Lannette Linthicum, to sign a Proclamation encouraging all of corrections to support staff wellness in every way possible. In order to move this area forward and begin to systemically address the need for effective correctional employee wellness resources, ACA responded to a request for proposals by the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). One proposal objective is to de- velop a scan with the purpose of collecting representative data regarding the current status of such wellness services across the United States. The remainder of this monograph presents the results of this scan and suggests options to ad- dress the key issue of improving the health of our greatest asset — the correctional employee. Background Work-related stress has long been acknowledged and studied, with research dating back over 100 years. 8 While traditionally high-stress positions such as physician, police officer and military personnel have received much atten- tion in the field of occupational health, one occupation has lacked the power to garner similar focus: the correctional officer. With an amount of workplace non-fatal violence second only to policing, correctional officers are continu- ally expected to maintain vigilance, prevent crises, respond to emergencies and facilitate rehabilitative services across a population far outnumbering them. 9,10,11,12 Such pressures can lead to high rates of turnover, often resulting in staff shortages and mandatory overtime. 11 Needing to practice constant vigilance while working in the harsh conditions of a secure facility for extended periods of time, correctional officers often experience significant physical and psycho- logical deterioration and frequent burnout. 13,14 Recent studies have supported the challenges, dangers and consequences of the correctional officer position. 13, 15-16 In a survey of over 8,000 current correctional officers, over half reported violent incidents are a regular occurrence at their workplace, with 80% stating that they them- selves have responded to a violent incident in the last six months. 14 In total, 17% of survey respondents have been seriously injured while on the job, 48% have feared they would be injured, and 73% have seen someone seriously hurt or killed while on the job. 14 These rates fall just below those of military veterans. 14 With violence, injury and even

Photo courtesy American Correctional Association

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