April 11, 2025 • 30 mins
The Tennessee Department of Correction (TDOC) aims to operate safe and secure facilities while providing effective community supervision to support successful reentry across the state. TDOC is actively working to reduce recidivism through evidence-based programs, community partnerships, and reentry services while managing fully functional communities inside the walls. For this episode of Tennessee Matters, Heather Stanford, Asst. Commissioner of Human Resources and Staff Development joins John Clark to talk about the opportunities to find a meaningful career with TDOC. Website: https://www.tn.gov/correction.html Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/TNDepartmentofCorrection
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:00):
It's Tennessee Matters on the Tennessee Radio Network.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Welcome to Tennessee Matters. I'm John Clark on the Tennessee
Radio Network. The Tennessee Department of Correction is a cabinet
level agency within the state of Tennessee responsible for the
oversight of more than twenty thousand convicted offenders. Here today
to talk about that and their need for people to
work in the Department of Corrections is Heather Stanford, Assistant
Commissioner of Human Resources and Staff Development.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
Well, welcome, welcome, good to.
Speaker 4 (00:30):
Heavy, Thank you for having me.
Speaker 3 (00:31):
Well, tell me, first of all, what the Department of
Corrections is.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Well, the Department of Corrections is the largest state agency
in Tennessee state government really, so we're headquartered here in Nashville,
but we have employees that do work all across Tennessee.
And so we have ten state facilities that we staff
and operate, and we also run a community Supervision District,
(00:58):
so we oversee all individuals in Tennessee. There's about seventy
two thousand on probation and parole that are in our communities,
so we're also tasked with overseeing those folks and the
rehabilitative services that kind of transition between those.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
So you see the people that are out that are out.
Speaker 4 (01:20):
Yes, inside and on the other side.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
Yeah, wow, And you need some people right now?
Speaker 4 (01:25):
We do, Yes, we're looking for some help.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
How many do you need a practically how many? How
does it take to do seventy seventy thousand? You said, yeah,
to do seventy thousand people, It has to take a
lot of people.
Speaker 4 (01:37):
Absolutely, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
So the agency itself is set up for about sixty
four hundred employees, Okay, and right now we're right at
about fifty five hundred. So across the agency, we have
around one thousand vacancies. In the correctional officers alone, which
are those that are really the primary tasked with watching
(02:00):
those in the facilities, we have about six hundred vacancies
and those are located across all ten of our facilities,
which range from northeast Tennessee to Memphis.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
Right, how many do you have, like how many here
in Nashville?
Speaker 4 (02:16):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (02:17):
So in Davidson County alone, we have three correctional facilities.
We have our maximum security Facility River Bend, also our
special needs facility at de Berry, which is really taken
care of critical care or terminally ill inmates. And also
(02:37):
one of our women's facilities is here in Nashville for
the Deborah K.
Speaker 4 (02:41):
Johnson Rehabilitative Center, And.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
So those facilities together here in Nashville probably account for
around two fifty to three hundred of those correctional vacancies
that we're hiring right here in the Davidson County area.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
Do you have a need for people in the medical
field to be they are they hired through you to
work in their medical field too.
Speaker 4 (03:06):
Great question.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
So the department contracts are medical services, so we don't
staff the medical personnel. However, we do staff counselors, behavioral
health professionals that work within the facilities, and both the
correctional officers and the probation officers.
Speaker 3 (03:25):
Okay, and what about Memphis?
Speaker 2 (03:26):
Is Memphis got a large population that you have to
deal with as well.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
Yeah, so we've got a facility in Memphis, a transitional
center where typically our inmates in the last five years
will go there as they transition into the workforce and communities.
That's really the main correctional facility in Memphis.
Speaker 4 (03:48):
We do have.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
Very large supervision probation districts there that are always hiring
probation officers. The correctional facility there, we're very blessed, stays
well staffed. But there are facilities outside of Memphis in Henning, Tennessee,
where our West ten Penitentiary is located. And also Northwest
(04:14):
Tennessee is one of our most critical areas where our
Northwest facility is located.
Speaker 3 (04:20):
Where's that one located.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
That's that is located in Tiptonville in Lake County, And
we actually have a hiring event coming up for that
facility in Dyersburg on the fourteenth and fifteenth of this
month where they kind of set up an event for
officers to come in they can interview, do all the
(04:42):
pre employment checks, and receive a contingent job offer that day,
and so really they're kind of ready to hit the
ground running two to three weeks later. And also when
you come in the door, we have our own academy.
We provide officers all the required training so they can
(05:04):
come in without experience and be able to learn everything
in the house they need to be successful.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
Do you get are most of them who come in
are they without experience?
Speaker 1 (05:15):
Yes, yes, many many, Many are starting out new careers.
Many come to us maybe from other law enforcement careers.
We have a lot of people that come from our
county correctional facilities and also military. We hire a lot
of veterans, We have a lot of military personnel investigators
(05:40):
from We have special agents in our facilities which do
those kind of investigations. So we have a lot of
opportunities there, none of those which require experience coming in
the door.
Speaker 3 (05:54):
I don't even think about that.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
You special agents, you have too, because things happen in
prison you investigated exactly.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
Yes, our prisons are essentially everything you have in your community,
but behind the wall. And so we have an entire
school system in our prisons, which we do hire teachers
and principles into. We have a school superintendent that watches
over that. As I said, we have some nursing staff,
(06:21):
but mostly counselors, behavioral health, and yeah, we have a
lot of special agents that monitor and investigate gang activity,
you know, drug activity within the prisons. So any of
those issues that you see in society generally we have inside.
Speaker 4 (06:39):
Also.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
I guess I didn't really think about it. I have,
so I just never thought about that.
Speaker 3 (06:46):
It's the same thing you would have outside on inside
the wall. Yes, I didn't think about that.
Speaker 4 (06:51):
That's exactly what it is.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
You know, they break rules, they go to school, they
go to jobs. We have so many programs within the
prisons now that.
Speaker 4 (07:02):
Teach so many skills.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
That they convert when they return to society and you know,
build successful careers. So we staff all the individuals responsible
for making those things happen.
Speaker 3 (07:15):
Oh gosh, like the school systems, right, you've got to
continue school. So you have to school exactly, yes, oh man.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
And that's everything from high school education through college degrees
that some of our offenders earn while they're incarcerated.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
Because eventually they will get out and they'll serve their time.
They've served it and they get out and they, like
we were talking about this minute ago before we did
the show, they're going to live next to you one day, exactly.
I got to have them set up to do it right.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
And that's what you know a lot of our officers
think about every day when they're coming into work. They
know that ninety five percent of those people inside will
return to the community.
Speaker 4 (07:59):
They're going to be our neighbors, they're.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
Going to be you know, have kids in our kids'
schools and things like that.
Speaker 4 (08:05):
They're going to work alongside us.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
So our officers take a lot of pride and know
the importance of preparing those individuals to be our neighbors.
Speaker 3 (08:16):
Right right, they really do.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
What about those that are experienced somewhere else, maybe from
another state, and they come into Tennessee, do you want
to talk to them too?
Speaker 1 (08:26):
Of course, absolutely, yes, we welcome experienced officers. I know
we recently did a pay increase to our security series
that raised our correctional officer pay fifteen percent. So now
they're able to increase their pay throughout their first eighteen
(08:46):
months to eventually at eighteen months be at almost sixty
one thousand annually.
Speaker 4 (08:53):
Ok And so that has now made.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
Us one of the highest paid and competitive with all of.
Speaker 4 (08:59):
Our surrounding states.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
So we do see a lot of officers coming in
from other states because of the attractive pay, and those
officers are able a lot of times to not have
to redo training, not have to go back through the academy,
and they can go straight on to post at a
higher pay rate than those coming in beginning.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
Okay, so you can shout out doing well, you start absolutely, yeah,
what did.
Speaker 3 (09:27):
What did they need to do? How do they need
to start applying for it.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
Yeah, So we have a lot of ways now that
you can get to the jobs. The Tennessee Department of
Corrections does have social media pages and so those are
very active on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn that are always
putting out job openings, hiring events that are we're holding
(09:52):
across the state in the next few weeks actually to
follow these pay raises, and so those will be announced
on social media and those will always include links, okay,
that will link an interested applicant to apply online. All
of our state jobs are you must apply through the
(10:15):
Department of HR another state agency's website, and so anything
we post on social media will link you to that.
Or you can go to tn dot gov, which is
the State of Tennessee government website and follow the links
for new applicants to apply and search the job posting.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
And can you pick a job you like?
Speaker 2 (10:40):
Say you want to go and you want to work
for these corrections, but you don't want to go into
the real dangerous part.
Speaker 3 (10:45):
That's what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
Can you pick one and stay out of the part
and just work in another area?
Speaker 3 (10:51):
You know what I'm talking about? Est check Do you
do that?
Speaker 4 (10:53):
Absolutely?
Speaker 1 (10:54):
Yes, you can research or just talk to anyone at
the department to see that our facilities have different security levels. Okay,
so there are facilities that have maximum security units and.
Speaker 4 (11:09):
There are others who don't.
Speaker 1 (11:10):
There are some that are just transitional centers that are
very minimum security. So you can choose which facility to
which you apply. Once you go into a facility, like
any job, you kind of move into the post that
you're assigned to. So once you're on the job, if
(11:32):
you gravitate more toward a minimum security environment, that's where
your post would likely be set. We did over the
past year enact stipend, which is like a seven I'm sorry,
that's a five percent pay differential for those who work.
Speaker 4 (11:52):
In high security.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
Okay, so if you come to the department and you
end up in a high security post, your compensation would
be higher because of that. Okay, But yeah, you can
definitely select the role that you apply for or the location.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
And of course there are there I guess there are
things like food service or something like that where you
don't have to deal with the prisoner.
Speaker 3 (12:17):
You can get in that too.
Speaker 1 (12:18):
Absolutely, we have a lot of administrative positions, like I said,
across the department. There are probably close to one thousand
vacancies now about six hundred officers.
Speaker 4 (12:30):
So the rest of those vary from.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
Counselors to teachers, to administrative staff, a lot of those
which will not interact with offenders, and then some are
in a limited capacity.
Speaker 4 (12:44):
So you can.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
Absolutely do the research and find the right role for
your needs and where you fit.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
Well, it's like Well School for example, you can teach
school in there.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
Yes, it's amazing, absolutely, And again with our teachers, we
have a very competitive salary for our teachers. Okay, so
across the state because we're a special school system, they
are all paid to the Davidson Metro payscale and so
that's really beneficial for our facilities in Tiptonville or Mountain
(13:19):
City where the cost of living is a little lower
than Davidson.
Speaker 3 (13:23):
Are those are those school systems.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
Are they part of the Tennessee Partner Partner school system.
Speaker 1 (13:30):
They're considered a special school district, so they do have
they're under the same rule as any other school system
in the state. And then of course also under all
the correctional rules that make them you have a few
other requirements there yea.
Speaker 2 (13:49):
And of course it's it's by now you said the
place you're going to have a job fare.
Speaker 4 (13:55):
Yea, the hiring events.
Speaker 3 (13:57):
Yeah, where's that going to be.
Speaker 4 (13:58):
So we have a.
Speaker 1 (13:59):
Couple events coming up the soonest one is in Dyersburg,
and those are the events where applicants can show up
that day or there's an ability through the social media
post they can get to where they can sign up
ahead of time, but you can show up that day,
do your interview, fill out the application. And that event
(14:23):
is for specifically officers, okay. And the officers have several
requirements they have to complete prior to getting a job offer.
So those events allow us to bring in everyone needed
so they can do it in like a one stop
shop there and leave with a contingent job offer in hand.
Speaker 3 (14:46):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (14:47):
And so we're able there to do their medical exam,
their drug test, their psychological exam, and all those things
that will go ahead and have.
Speaker 4 (14:55):
Them qualified to start when it's time to do so.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
Because is that area more more rural and so therefore
you have to have some people there, so you need
that's good for the people in the area because it's
a job for them.
Speaker 3 (15:09):
At their area.
Speaker 1 (15:10):
Absolutely, yes, it's such a competitive salary for those areas.
We have several facilities in more rural areas and rural
counties really outside of Davidson County and our facility in
Shelby County. They're all set up that way, right, and
so we really rely on those communities to staff those
(15:31):
facilities and you know, be committed and stay there. Corrections
is a high turnover industry. I was going across the country,
all neighboring states, all states across the country come together
and talk about the critical staffing needs, What do we
(15:51):
do about vacancies, what do we do about turnover?
Speaker 4 (15:54):
And so I feel like in.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
The past eighteen months, especially the administration in Tennessee has
worked hard with the Governor's office and the legislature and
other partnering agencies to raise the pay to invest millions
into safety equipment upgrades to make our facilities safer. And
(16:18):
also the administration's been spending a lot of time engaging
with the employees to see what their needs are and
speak to those.
Speaker 4 (16:26):
So it's just such a great.
Speaker 1 (16:28):
Time, I think, to get into the field and really
make a huge impact.
Speaker 4 (16:33):
Right now.
Speaker 3 (16:34):
Is that keeping people now, keeping people longer? Maybe we are.
Speaker 1 (16:37):
Definitely seeing that turn now. It takes a long time
to turn that culture and to turn that turnover. So
we are starting to see that, which is really exciting.
And it's a really exciting time to hire new people
when you have that confidence that your culture is getting better,
because you want to bring people into a good environment.
(17:00):
And I can confidently say all of our facilities have
made huge improvements in the last year to get there,
and so it's exciting for us now to get out
offer this great pay to come in and do such
an important job for all the citizens in Tennessee.
Speaker 2 (17:20):
Are you have you had physical updates to the facilities.
Speaker 3 (17:26):
Or anything like that. Oh, you made it really.
Speaker 4 (17:29):
Absolute millions of dollars.
Speaker 1 (17:31):
Some really big projects were some lock replacement projects, so
a lot of our facilities got overhauled on all of
the locking systems to update those.
Speaker 4 (17:42):
I know.
Speaker 1 (17:43):
One big upgrade was also in safety equipment as far
as getting new body armor and you know, the shields
and the stab proof vest and tasers and all these
things that you know, we hope we never need, but
we know now that everyone there has the training and
(18:06):
the equipment that if it ever came to that, that
they would be prepared. And you know, every day that
we come in. We are committed to every single person
going back home the same way they came in.
Speaker 4 (18:22):
And I think just.
Speaker 1 (18:24):
Our data alone over the last eighteen months has shown
a reduction in incidents inside our facilities that may have
impacted staff at one time are reducing greatly now, which
is great to see.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
Because when you go in there, even you going in there,
you have to be careful because at any time it
could turn.
Speaker 4 (18:49):
Absolutely you know.
Speaker 1 (18:51):
It's what we always say is when someone breaks the
law and you lock them up, they don't start right
obeying the RUSS just because you lock them up, so
bad things still happen and they're just like it can
as we walk our streets outside. So yeah, every time
we go in you have that awareness, you know.
Speaker 4 (19:10):
That something can happen. And I think the staff.
Speaker 1 (19:14):
Are becoming more and more confident in knowing that they're equipped,
they're supported if something occurred that.
Speaker 4 (19:25):
They could handle that.
Speaker 3 (19:28):
In the process.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
You mentioned earlier, you have to drug tests, you have
through psychological tests. What are some of the other things
you have to do? Uh, before you get in it.
You're not just gonna hate. I want to come be it,
Come get you know right start tomorrow, you got. This
doesn't start right away without those tests. Talk about those tests.
Speaker 3 (19:46):
I'm interested in those.
Speaker 1 (19:47):
So it's so great being able to do the hiring
events that we can get that done much more quickly. Right. So,
prior to kind of organizing events in this way, applicants would,
you know, just apply online, they would come and interview,
and then they would have to go on their own
to get the physical, to get the drug tests, to
(20:08):
get the psych evaluation. And so we contract and bring
those groups on site.
Speaker 4 (20:14):
And so if you're able to come to.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
A hiring event, we'll take care of all that that
day for you. When you leave that day, you will
have to do nothing other than wait on your results
to roll in and get a start date.
Speaker 4 (20:30):
And it's that simple.
Speaker 3 (20:31):
It's great.
Speaker 1 (20:32):
And we have been able after hiring events to get
folks actually in the door in a matter of three weeks,
oh wow, where they are on the job working and
as a new officer when you come into the role,
we already have it laid out where you'll be going
to the correctional academy pretty much first thing in those
(20:56):
first couple of weeks. So our correctional to me for
new officers is six weeks. That is located in Tullahoma, Tennessee,
and so we have a beautiful academy down there. It's
a very old private school that was turned into an
academy years ago by the state and is just a
(21:17):
beautiful campus. And so the cadets are able to go
there for the six weeks spend that time what I
would say bonding really.
Speaker 4 (21:27):
You know, they're learning the job together.
Speaker 1 (21:29):
They're learning the defensive tactics and those skills to protect
themselves and the offenders and to keep them safe. And
you know, there's a lot of use of force training
and things like that.
Speaker 4 (21:44):
That the officers do.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
But at the end they have a graduation and they're
celebrated and their families come and it's a great day,
and then they head back and they're.
Speaker 4 (21:55):
Ready to go.
Speaker 1 (21:57):
And you know, as a new officer, now, when you
come in starting at around fifty two thousand per year,
in six months you'll get a little bump, and in
a year you get a little bump, and in eighteen
months you get a little bump.
Speaker 4 (22:10):
So it's nice.
Speaker 1 (22:12):
As you're learning and taking on more in the agency,
you're being let's say rewarded for that and We're really
hoping that that commits those employees to be like, you
know what, this is a career.
Speaker 4 (22:29):
Yeah, it's not just a job.
Speaker 1 (22:31):
And that's I think the other thing I would say
about an agency this size that does this many different
things is the opportunities for a career and correction are.
Speaker 4 (22:44):
Astounding to me.
Speaker 1 (22:45):
I mean, I have people in my human resources divisions
that started as correctional officers. Okay, our commissioner started as
a correctional officer. Our chief of staff and deputy so
they have all worked through those ranks and you can
go anywhere with that. Or you could go from an
(23:05):
officer and keep promoting up and be a warden and
be a CEO of your facility one day. So there's
so much opportunity within corrections and even to move between
probation and rehabilitative services that I always tell people like,
come with an open mind, and once you're in, there's
(23:27):
no telling them what you might take an interest in
and want to pursue.
Speaker 3 (23:31):
How long you said before, you've been there for a
while too, right.
Speaker 1 (23:34):
Yeah, Well I've been with Tennessee State government eleven years.
Speaker 4 (23:37):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (23:38):
I grew up in East Tennessee, lifelong here, went to
ut for college, and came to state government in fourteen
as an attorney for the Department of Transportation, which even
then my career path curved and went into HR And
I would have never imagined, you know, to be sitting
across from you talking about Prinson.
Speaker 3 (23:59):
I know, but here we are.
Speaker 4 (24:01):
And you know, when I graduated law school, I practice bankruptcy.
Speaker 3 (24:04):
So okay, well that's.
Speaker 4 (24:06):
The crazy world we're in.
Speaker 3 (24:07):
It is.
Speaker 1 (24:08):
But yeah, coming in to Tennessee's state government and having
the ability to move around and the support and stability
to be able to do that, and we provide the.
Speaker 3 (24:20):
Training for you.
Speaker 4 (24:22):
You don't have to go to school and learn that before.
We'll do that.
Speaker 1 (24:25):
Yeah, And as you're there and as you move up,
we'll continue to develop you.
Speaker 4 (24:30):
We have I think.
Speaker 1 (24:32):
Currently five internal leadership academies that we put employees through
to prepare them, and the State of Tennessee has statewide
academies you can do. So the career development in state
government is just unmatched really in my opinion, with private
(24:52):
industry of what you're just given, just given to take
advantage of if you want to do that. So it's
there's so many opportunities for people to come in and
move all sorts of ways.
Speaker 2 (25:07):
And people who are coming in because a lot of
people are coming in from another state.
Speaker 3 (25:12):
All the time, and for them they can.
Speaker 2 (25:16):
They can also get into involved with this and and
talk about too, the veterans can get involved with this.
Speaker 1 (25:22):
Yes, yes, So the department hires a large number of veterans.
We find that you know, as mentioned previously, former law
enforcement investigators, military, those that have made careers in mission
driven fields really enjoy corrections. And when you come in
(25:44):
with that sort of outlook, I think a lot of
those individuals are able to come in at higher titles
okay first of all, and they a lot of times
will bring in some leadership kind of competencies that really
just work well within a structured correctional environment.
Speaker 4 (26:08):
Like the military. It's very chain of command.
Speaker 1 (26:11):
It's very important when an incident occurs, just like when
you're on the battlefield, you need to know who's in
charge and who's doing what.
Speaker 4 (26:19):
So I think they really thrive in those environments.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
And like I said, they have that innate mission focus
in them to know the jobs much more than the
paycheck what you're doing. And so we see a lot
of military that come. The State of Tennessee has great
benefits for veterans and their spouses in some programs that
(26:43):
they offer, and you know, state government's always been known
for great benefits, and so I think a lot of
folks transitioning from military service it's a natural fit. I
myself have a few veterans in human resources that work
and just have been so successful making that transition. So
(27:07):
we welcome veterans, especially at our hiring events. That's a
great way for them to get in the door to
a lot of our titles.
Speaker 2 (27:15):
And where once again, where's the best place to go?
The hiring event certainly is a great place to go
when you have those. Where's the best place online to go?
Speaker 1 (27:25):
I would absolutely go to tn dot gov slash correction,
where you'll find all of the information for hiring events,
how to apply. You can even look up there and
read about our different facilities, our different districts and how
those are kind of geographically set up and located. Like
(27:46):
I said, our central office is here in Nashville.
Speaker 4 (27:48):
But where across the state.
Speaker 1 (27:50):
So we have a lot of opportunity, and I know
hiring events coming up, the Dyersburg one that we mentioned,
We also have one coming to Middle Tennessee right after that,
and then we'll have another one down I believe it's
one closer to the Memphis area West ten for our
Henning facilities.
Speaker 2 (28:11):
So you always have those coming up. Yeah, and the
one will come like later too.
Speaker 1 (28:15):
Absolutely, as long as we're hiring world, keep having those events.
Speaker 4 (28:19):
They're so successful for us to get a lot of.
Speaker 1 (28:21):
Folks in and it's really shown in the last year
some of our largest academy classes, which is super exciting
when you have sixty five new officers graduating and they're
going into facilities.
Speaker 4 (28:36):
With that same mission. Brocas you know, ready to go.
Speaker 1 (28:41):
So those hiring events and again checking out our web
page TN dot gov slash correction, you'll always be able
to find all of our opportunities, even those outside of
the officers, anything you want to do, because like you said,
it's it's just like society, only it's in the walls.
(29:03):
It's just like every job is important, it's right in
the overall mission, and we need every single one of
those professionals showing up and doing their job to keep
us safe when we go home in the evenings.
Speaker 2 (29:17):
Right, So absolutely, well, thank you for being on today.
Thank you d mitia and thank you for you can
come back, come back and tell.
Speaker 3 (29:24):
Us how you're doing.
Speaker 4 (29:24):
Oh yes, thank you so much.
Speaker 3 (29:26):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (29:27):
That's Heather Stanford, the Assistant Commissioner of Human Resources and
Staff Development at the Tennessee Department of Corrections. You can
find out more about them at TN dot gov slash correction.
If you have questions or comments on today's program, you
can email me, John Clark at dieheartmedia dot com. Thanks
for listening. I'll talk to you next week right here
on your local radio station on Tennessee Matters.
It's Tennessee Matters on the Tennessee Radio Network.
Speaker 2 (00:08):
Welcome to Tennessee Matters. I'm John Clark on the Tennessee
Radio Network. The Tennessee Department of Correction is a cabinet
level agency within the state of Tennessee responsible for the
oversight of more than twenty thousand convicted offenders. Here today
to talk about that and their need for people to
work in the Department of Corrections is Heather Stanford, Assistant
Commissioner of Human Resources and Staff Development.
Speaker 3 (00:28):
Well, welcome, welcome, good to.
Speaker 4 (00:30):
Heavy, Thank you for having me.
Speaker 3 (00:31):
Well, tell me, first of all, what the Department of
Corrections is.
Speaker 1 (00:35):
Well, the Department of Corrections is the largest state agency
in Tennessee state government really, so we're headquartered here in Nashville,
but we have employees that do work all across Tennessee.
And so we have ten state facilities that we staff
and operate, and we also run a community Supervision District,
(00:58):
so we oversee all individuals in Tennessee. There's about seventy
two thousand on probation and parole that are in our communities,
so we're also tasked with overseeing those folks and the
rehabilitative services that kind of transition between those.
Speaker 2 (01:16):
So you see the people that are out that are out.
Speaker 4 (01:20):
Yes, inside and on the other side.
Speaker 3 (01:22):
Yeah, wow, And you need some people right now?
Speaker 4 (01:25):
We do, Yes, we're looking for some help.
Speaker 2 (01:28):
How many do you need a practically how many? How
does it take to do seventy seventy thousand? You said, yeah,
to do seventy thousand people, It has to take a
lot of people.
Speaker 4 (01:37):
Absolutely, absolutely.
Speaker 1 (01:38):
So the agency itself is set up for about sixty
four hundred employees, Okay, and right now we're right at
about fifty five hundred. So across the agency, we have
around one thousand vacancies. In the correctional officers alone, which
are those that are really the primary tasked with watching
(02:00):
those in the facilities, we have about six hundred vacancies
and those are located across all ten of our facilities,
which range from northeast Tennessee to Memphis.
Speaker 3 (02:12):
Right, how many do you have, like how many here
in Nashville?
Speaker 4 (02:16):
Yeah?
Speaker 1 (02:17):
So in Davidson County alone, we have three correctional facilities.
We have our maximum security Facility River Bend, also our
special needs facility at de Berry, which is really taken
care of critical care or terminally ill inmates. And also
(02:37):
one of our women's facilities is here in Nashville for
the Deborah K.
Speaker 4 (02:41):
Johnson Rehabilitative Center, And.
Speaker 1 (02:44):
So those facilities together here in Nashville probably account for
around two fifty to three hundred of those correctional vacancies
that we're hiring right here in the Davidson County area.
Speaker 2 (02:57):
Do you have a need for people in the medical
field to be they are they hired through you to
work in their medical field too.
Speaker 4 (03:06):
Great question.
Speaker 1 (03:07):
So the department contracts are medical services, so we don't
staff the medical personnel. However, we do staff counselors, behavioral
health professionals that work within the facilities, and both the
correctional officers and the probation officers.
Speaker 3 (03:25):
Okay, and what about Memphis?
Speaker 2 (03:26):
Is Memphis got a large population that you have to
deal with as well.
Speaker 1 (03:31):
Yeah, so we've got a facility in Memphis, a transitional
center where typically our inmates in the last five years
will go there as they transition into the workforce and communities.
That's really the main correctional facility in Memphis.
Speaker 4 (03:48):
We do have.
Speaker 1 (03:50):
Very large supervision probation districts there that are always hiring
probation officers. The correctional facility there, we're very blessed, stays
well staffed. But there are facilities outside of Memphis in Henning, Tennessee,
where our West ten Penitentiary is located. And also Northwest
(04:14):
Tennessee is one of our most critical areas where our
Northwest facility is located.
Speaker 3 (04:20):
Where's that one located.
Speaker 1 (04:21):
That's that is located in Tiptonville in Lake County, And
we actually have a hiring event coming up for that
facility in Dyersburg on the fourteenth and fifteenth of this
month where they kind of set up an event for
officers to come in they can interview, do all the
(04:42):
pre employment checks, and receive a contingent job offer that day,
and so really they're kind of ready to hit the
ground running two to three weeks later. And also when
you come in the door, we have our own academy.
We provide officers all the required training so they can
(05:04):
come in without experience and be able to learn everything
in the house they need to be successful.
Speaker 2 (05:10):
Do you get are most of them who come in
are they without experience?
Speaker 1 (05:15):
Yes, yes, many many, Many are starting out new careers.
Many come to us maybe from other law enforcement careers.
We have a lot of people that come from our
county correctional facilities and also military. We hire a lot
of veterans, We have a lot of military personnel investigators
(05:40):
from We have special agents in our facilities which do
those kind of investigations. So we have a lot of
opportunities there, none of those which require experience coming in
the door.
Speaker 3 (05:54):
I don't even think about that.
Speaker 2 (05:55):
You special agents, you have too, because things happen in
prison you investigated exactly.
Speaker 1 (06:00):
Yes, our prisons are essentially everything you have in your community,
but behind the wall. And so we have an entire
school system in our prisons, which we do hire teachers
and principles into. We have a school superintendent that watches
over that. As I said, we have some nursing staff,
(06:21):
but mostly counselors, behavioral health, and yeah, we have a
lot of special agents that monitor and investigate gang activity,
you know, drug activity within the prisons. So any of
those issues that you see in society generally we have inside.
Speaker 4 (06:39):
Also.
Speaker 2 (06:40):
I guess I didn't really think about it. I have,
so I just never thought about that.
Speaker 3 (06:46):
It's the same thing you would have outside on inside
the wall. Yes, I didn't think about that.
Speaker 4 (06:51):
That's exactly what it is.
Speaker 1 (06:53):
You know, they break rules, they go to school, they
go to jobs. We have so many programs within the
prisons now that.
Speaker 4 (07:02):
Teach so many skills.
Speaker 1 (07:04):
That they convert when they return to society and you know,
build successful careers. So we staff all the individuals responsible
for making those things happen.
Speaker 3 (07:15):
Oh gosh, like the school systems, right, you've got to
continue school. So you have to school exactly, yes, oh man.
Speaker 1 (07:22):
And that's everything from high school education through college degrees
that some of our offenders earn while they're incarcerated.
Speaker 2 (07:31):
Because eventually they will get out and they'll serve their time.
They've served it and they get out and they, like
we were talking about this minute ago before we did
the show, they're going to live next to you one day, exactly.
I got to have them set up to do it right.
Speaker 1 (07:46):
And that's what you know a lot of our officers
think about every day when they're coming into work. They
know that ninety five percent of those people inside will
return to the community.
Speaker 4 (07:59):
They're going to be our neighbors, they're.
Speaker 1 (08:01):
Going to be you know, have kids in our kids'
schools and things like that.
Speaker 4 (08:05):
They're going to work alongside us.
Speaker 1 (08:07):
So our officers take a lot of pride and know
the importance of preparing those individuals to be our neighbors.
Speaker 3 (08:16):
Right right, they really do.
Speaker 2 (08:18):
What about those that are experienced somewhere else, maybe from
another state, and they come into Tennessee, do you want
to talk to them too?
Speaker 1 (08:26):
Of course, absolutely, yes, we welcome experienced officers. I know
we recently did a pay increase to our security series
that raised our correctional officer pay fifteen percent. So now
they're able to increase their pay throughout their first eighteen
(08:46):
months to eventually at eighteen months be at almost sixty
one thousand annually.
Speaker 4 (08:53):
Ok And so that has now made.
Speaker 1 (08:54):
Us one of the highest paid and competitive with all of.
Speaker 4 (08:59):
Our surrounding states.
Speaker 1 (09:01):
So we do see a lot of officers coming in
from other states because of the attractive pay, and those
officers are able a lot of times to not have
to redo training, not have to go back through the academy,
and they can go straight on to post at a
higher pay rate than those coming in beginning.
Speaker 2 (09:21):
Okay, so you can shout out doing well, you start absolutely, yeah,
what did.
Speaker 3 (09:27):
What did they need to do? How do they need
to start applying for it.
Speaker 1 (09:31):
Yeah, So we have a lot of ways now that
you can get to the jobs. The Tennessee Department of
Corrections does have social media pages and so those are
very active on Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn that are always
putting out job openings, hiring events that are we're holding
(09:52):
across the state in the next few weeks actually to
follow these pay raises, and so those will be announced
on social media and those will always include links, okay,
that will link an interested applicant to apply online. All
of our state jobs are you must apply through the
(10:15):
Department of HR another state agency's website, and so anything
we post on social media will link you to that.
Or you can go to tn dot gov, which is
the State of Tennessee government website and follow the links
for new applicants to apply and search the job posting.
Speaker 3 (10:36):
And can you pick a job you like?
Speaker 2 (10:40):
Say you want to go and you want to work
for these corrections, but you don't want to go into
the real dangerous part.
Speaker 3 (10:45):
That's what I'm saying.
Speaker 2 (10:47):
Can you pick one and stay out of the part
and just work in another area?
Speaker 3 (10:51):
You know what I'm talking about? Est check Do you
do that?
Speaker 4 (10:53):
Absolutely?
Speaker 1 (10:54):
Yes, you can research or just talk to anyone at
the department to see that our facilities have different security levels. Okay,
so there are facilities that have maximum security units and.
Speaker 4 (11:09):
There are others who don't.
Speaker 1 (11:10):
There are some that are just transitional centers that are
very minimum security. So you can choose which facility to
which you apply. Once you go into a facility, like
any job, you kind of move into the post that
you're assigned to. So once you're on the job, if
(11:32):
you gravitate more toward a minimum security environment, that's where
your post would likely be set. We did over the
past year enact stipend, which is like a seven I'm sorry,
that's a five percent pay differential for those who work.
Speaker 4 (11:52):
In high security.
Speaker 1 (11:53):
Okay, so if you come to the department and you
end up in a high security post, your compensation would
be higher because of that. Okay, But yeah, you can
definitely select the role that you apply for or the location.
Speaker 2 (12:09):
And of course there are there I guess there are
things like food service or something like that where you
don't have to deal with the prisoner.
Speaker 3 (12:17):
You can get in that too.
Speaker 1 (12:18):
Absolutely, we have a lot of administrative positions, like I said,
across the department. There are probably close to one thousand
vacancies now about six hundred officers.
Speaker 4 (12:30):
So the rest of those vary from.
Speaker 1 (12:32):
Counselors to teachers, to administrative staff, a lot of those
which will not interact with offenders, and then some are
in a limited capacity.
Speaker 4 (12:44):
So you can.
Speaker 1 (12:45):
Absolutely do the research and find the right role for
your needs and where you fit.
Speaker 2 (12:51):
Well, it's like Well School for example, you can teach
school in there.
Speaker 1 (12:57):
Yes, it's amazing, absolutely, And again with our teachers, we
have a very competitive salary for our teachers. Okay, so
across the state because we're a special school system, they
are all paid to the Davidson Metro payscale and so
that's really beneficial for our facilities in Tiptonville or Mountain
(13:19):
City where the cost of living is a little lower
than Davidson.
Speaker 3 (13:23):
Are those are those school systems.
Speaker 2 (13:25):
Are they part of the Tennessee Partner Partner school system.
Speaker 1 (13:30):
They're considered a special school district, so they do have
they're under the same rule as any other school system
in the state. And then of course also under all
the correctional rules that make them you have a few
other requirements there yea.
Speaker 2 (13:49):
And of course it's it's by now you said the
place you're going to have a job fare.
Speaker 4 (13:55):
Yea, the hiring events.
Speaker 3 (13:57):
Yeah, where's that going to be.
Speaker 4 (13:58):
So we have a.
Speaker 1 (13:59):
Couple events coming up the soonest one is in Dyersburg,
and those are the events where applicants can show up
that day or there's an ability through the social media
post they can get to where they can sign up
ahead of time, but you can show up that day,
do your interview, fill out the application. And that event
(14:23):
is for specifically officers, okay. And the officers have several
requirements they have to complete prior to getting a job offer.
So those events allow us to bring in everyone needed
so they can do it in like a one stop
shop there and leave with a contingent job offer in hand.
Speaker 3 (14:46):
Okay.
Speaker 1 (14:47):
And so we're able there to do their medical exam,
their drug test, their psychological exam, and all those things
that will go ahead and have.
Speaker 4 (14:55):
Them qualified to start when it's time to do so.
Speaker 2 (15:00):
Because is that area more more rural and so therefore
you have to have some people there, so you need
that's good for the people in the area because it's
a job for them.
Speaker 3 (15:09):
At their area.
Speaker 1 (15:10):
Absolutely, yes, it's such a competitive salary for those areas.
We have several facilities in more rural areas and rural
counties really outside of Davidson County and our facility in
Shelby County. They're all set up that way, right, and
so we really rely on those communities to staff those
(15:31):
facilities and you know, be committed and stay there. Corrections
is a high turnover industry. I was going across the country,
all neighboring states, all states across the country come together
and talk about the critical staffing needs, What do we
(15:51):
do about vacancies, what do we do about turnover?
Speaker 4 (15:54):
And so I feel like in.
Speaker 1 (15:57):
The past eighteen months, especially the administration in Tennessee has
worked hard with the Governor's office and the legislature and
other partnering agencies to raise the pay to invest millions
into safety equipment upgrades to make our facilities safer. And
(16:18):
also the administration's been spending a lot of time engaging
with the employees to see what their needs are and
speak to those.
Speaker 4 (16:26):
So it's just such a great.
Speaker 1 (16:28):
Time, I think, to get into the field and really
make a huge impact.
Speaker 4 (16:33):
Right now.
Speaker 3 (16:34):
Is that keeping people now, keeping people longer? Maybe we are.
Speaker 1 (16:37):
Definitely seeing that turn now. It takes a long time
to turn that culture and to turn that turnover. So
we are starting to see that, which is really exciting.
And it's a really exciting time to hire new people
when you have that confidence that your culture is getting better,
because you want to bring people into a good environment.
(17:00):
And I can confidently say all of our facilities have
made huge improvements in the last year to get there,
and so it's exciting for us now to get out
offer this great pay to come in and do such
an important job for all the citizens in Tennessee.
Speaker 2 (17:20):
Are you have you had physical updates to the facilities.
Speaker 3 (17:26):
Or anything like that. Oh, you made it really.
Speaker 4 (17:29):
Absolute millions of dollars.
Speaker 1 (17:31):
Some really big projects were some lock replacement projects, so
a lot of our facilities got overhauled on all of
the locking systems to update those.
Speaker 4 (17:42):
I know.
Speaker 1 (17:43):
One big upgrade was also in safety equipment as far
as getting new body armor and you know, the shields
and the stab proof vest and tasers and all these
things that you know, we hope we never need, but
we know now that everyone there has the training and
(18:06):
the equipment that if it ever came to that, that
they would be prepared. And you know, every day that
we come in. We are committed to every single person
going back home the same way they came in.
Speaker 4 (18:22):
And I think just.
Speaker 1 (18:24):
Our data alone over the last eighteen months has shown
a reduction in incidents inside our facilities that may have
impacted staff at one time are reducing greatly now, which
is great to see.
Speaker 2 (18:41):
Because when you go in there, even you going in there,
you have to be careful because at any time it
could turn.
Speaker 4 (18:49):
Absolutely you know.
Speaker 1 (18:51):
It's what we always say is when someone breaks the
law and you lock them up, they don't start right
obeying the RUSS just because you lock them up, so
bad things still happen and they're just like it can
as we walk our streets outside. So yeah, every time
we go in you have that awareness, you know.
Speaker 4 (19:10):
That something can happen. And I think the staff.
Speaker 1 (19:14):
Are becoming more and more confident in knowing that they're equipped,
they're supported if something occurred that.
Speaker 4 (19:25):
They could handle that.
Speaker 3 (19:28):
In the process.
Speaker 2 (19:29):
You mentioned earlier, you have to drug tests, you have
through psychological tests. What are some of the other things
you have to do? Uh, before you get in it.
You're not just gonna hate. I want to come be it,
Come get you know right start tomorrow, you got. This
doesn't start right away without those tests. Talk about those tests.
Speaker 3 (19:46):
I'm interested in those.
Speaker 1 (19:47):
So it's so great being able to do the hiring
events that we can get that done much more quickly. Right. So,
prior to kind of organizing events in this way, applicants would,
you know, just apply online, they would come and interview,
and then they would have to go on their own
to get the physical, to get the drug tests, to
(20:08):
get the psych evaluation. And so we contract and bring
those groups on site.
Speaker 4 (20:14):
And so if you're able to come to.
Speaker 1 (20:17):
A hiring event, we'll take care of all that that
day for you. When you leave that day, you will
have to do nothing other than wait on your results
to roll in and get a start date.
Speaker 4 (20:30):
And it's that simple.
Speaker 3 (20:31):
It's great.
Speaker 1 (20:32):
And we have been able after hiring events to get
folks actually in the door in a matter of three weeks,
oh wow, where they are on the job working and
as a new officer when you come into the role,
we already have it laid out where you'll be going
to the correctional academy pretty much first thing in those
(20:56):
first couple of weeks. So our correctional to me for
new officers is six weeks. That is located in Tullahoma, Tennessee,
and so we have a beautiful academy down there. It's
a very old private school that was turned into an
academy years ago by the state and is just a
(21:17):
beautiful campus. And so the cadets are able to go
there for the six weeks spend that time what I
would say bonding really.
Speaker 4 (21:27):
You know, they're learning the job together.
Speaker 1 (21:29):
They're learning the defensive tactics and those skills to protect
themselves and the offenders and to keep them safe. And
you know, there's a lot of use of force training
and things like that.
Speaker 4 (21:44):
That the officers do.
Speaker 1 (21:46):
But at the end they have a graduation and they're
celebrated and their families come and it's a great day,
and then they head back and they're.
Speaker 4 (21:55):
Ready to go.
Speaker 1 (21:57):
And you know, as a new officer, now, when you
come in starting at around fifty two thousand per year,
in six months you'll get a little bump, and in
a year you get a little bump, and in eighteen
months you get a little bump.
Speaker 4 (22:10):
So it's nice.
Speaker 1 (22:12):
As you're learning and taking on more in the agency,
you're being let's say rewarded for that and We're really
hoping that that commits those employees to be like, you
know what, this is a career.
Speaker 4 (22:29):
Yeah, it's not just a job.
Speaker 1 (22:31):
And that's I think the other thing I would say
about an agency this size that does this many different
things is the opportunities for a career and correction are.
Speaker 4 (22:44):
Astounding to me.
Speaker 1 (22:45):
I mean, I have people in my human resources divisions
that started as correctional officers. Okay, our commissioner started as
a correctional officer. Our chief of staff and deputy so
they have all worked through those ranks and you can
go anywhere with that. Or you could go from an
(23:05):
officer and keep promoting up and be a warden and
be a CEO of your facility one day. So there's
so much opportunity within corrections and even to move between
probation and rehabilitative services that I always tell people like,
come with an open mind, and once you're in, there's
(23:27):
no telling them what you might take an interest in
and want to pursue.
Speaker 3 (23:31):
How long you said before, you've been there for a
while too, right.
Speaker 1 (23:34):
Yeah, Well I've been with Tennessee State government eleven years.
Speaker 4 (23:37):
Yeah.
Speaker 1 (23:38):
I grew up in East Tennessee, lifelong here, went to
ut for college, and came to state government in fourteen
as an attorney for the Department of Transportation, which even
then my career path curved and went into HR And
I would have never imagined, you know, to be sitting
across from you talking about Prinson.
Speaker 3 (23:59):
I know, but here we are.
Speaker 4 (24:01):
And you know, when I graduated law school, I practice bankruptcy.
Speaker 3 (24:04):
So okay, well that's.
Speaker 4 (24:06):
The crazy world we're in.
Speaker 3 (24:07):
It is.
Speaker 1 (24:08):
But yeah, coming in to Tennessee's state government and having
the ability to move around and the support and stability
to be able to do that, and we provide the.
Speaker 3 (24:20):
Training for you.
Speaker 4 (24:22):
You don't have to go to school and learn that before.
We'll do that.
Speaker 1 (24:25):
Yeah, And as you're there and as you move up,
we'll continue to develop you.
Speaker 4 (24:30):
We have I think.
Speaker 1 (24:32):
Currently five internal leadership academies that we put employees through
to prepare them, and the State of Tennessee has statewide
academies you can do. So the career development in state
government is just unmatched really in my opinion, with private
(24:52):
industry of what you're just given, just given to take
advantage of if you want to do that. So it's
there's so many opportunities for people to come in and
move all sorts of ways.
Speaker 2 (25:07):
And people who are coming in because a lot of
people are coming in from another state.
Speaker 3 (25:12):
All the time, and for them they can.
Speaker 2 (25:16):
They can also get into involved with this and and
talk about too, the veterans can get involved with this.
Speaker 1 (25:22):
Yes, yes, So the department hires a large number of veterans.
We find that you know, as mentioned previously, former law
enforcement investigators, military, those that have made careers in mission
driven fields really enjoy corrections. And when you come in
(25:44):
with that sort of outlook, I think a lot of
those individuals are able to come in at higher titles
okay first of all, and they a lot of times
will bring in some leadership kind of competencies that really
just work well within a structured correctional environment.
Speaker 4 (26:08):
Like the military. It's very chain of command.
Speaker 1 (26:11):
It's very important when an incident occurs, just like when
you're on the battlefield, you need to know who's in
charge and who's doing what.
Speaker 4 (26:19):
So I think they really thrive in those environments.
Speaker 1 (26:22):
And like I said, they have that innate mission focus
in them to know the jobs much more than the
paycheck what you're doing. And so we see a lot
of military that come. The State of Tennessee has great
benefits for veterans and their spouses in some programs that
(26:43):
they offer, and you know, state government's always been known
for great benefits, and so I think a lot of
folks transitioning from military service it's a natural fit. I
myself have a few veterans in human resources that work
and just have been so successful making that transition. So
(27:07):
we welcome veterans, especially at our hiring events. That's a
great way for them to get in the door to
a lot of our titles.
Speaker 2 (27:15):
And where once again, where's the best place to go?
The hiring event certainly is a great place to go
when you have those. Where's the best place online to go?
Speaker 1 (27:25):
I would absolutely go to tn dot gov slash correction,
where you'll find all of the information for hiring events,
how to apply. You can even look up there and
read about our different facilities, our different districts and how
those are kind of geographically set up and located. Like
(27:46):
I said, our central office is here in Nashville.
Speaker 4 (27:48):
But where across the state.
Speaker 1 (27:50):
So we have a lot of opportunity, and I know
hiring events coming up, the Dyersburg one that we mentioned,
We also have one coming to Middle Tennessee right after that,
and then we'll have another one down I believe it's
one closer to the Memphis area West ten for our
Henning facilities.
Speaker 2 (28:11):
So you always have those coming up. Yeah, and the
one will come like later too.
Speaker 1 (28:15):
Absolutely, as long as we're hiring world, keep having those events.
Speaker 4 (28:19):
They're so successful for us to get a lot of.
Speaker 1 (28:21):
Folks in and it's really shown in the last year
some of our largest academy classes, which is super exciting
when you have sixty five new officers graduating and they're
going into facilities.
Speaker 4 (28:36):
With that same mission. Brocas you know, ready to go.
Speaker 1 (28:41):
So those hiring events and again checking out our web
page TN dot gov slash correction, you'll always be able
to find all of our opportunities, even those outside of
the officers, anything you want to do, because like you said,
it's it's just like society, only it's in the walls.
(29:03):
It's just like every job is important, it's right in
the overall mission, and we need every single one of
those professionals showing up and doing their job to keep
us safe when we go home in the evenings.
Speaker 2 (29:17):
Right, So absolutely, well, thank you for being on today.
Thank you d mitia and thank you for you can
come back, come back and tell.
Speaker 3 (29:24):
Us how you're doing.
Speaker 4 (29:24):
Oh yes, thank you so much.
Speaker 3 (29:26):
Thank you.
Speaker 2 (29:27):
That's Heather Stanford, the Assistant Commissioner of Human Resources and
Staff Development at the Tennessee Department of Corrections. You can
find out more about them at TN dot gov slash correction.
If you have questions or comments on today's program, you
can email me, John Clark at dieheartmedia dot com. Thanks
for listening. I'll talk to you next week right here
on your local radio station on Tennessee Matters.
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