Iowa looks to Missouri to recruit prison workers

Amid staffing shortages in prisons across the nation, Iowa has expanded its employee recruiting efforts to target residents of Missouri.

Help wanted ads for prison jobs at a facility 30 miles east of Des Moines began appearing in recent days in the Jefferson City News-Tribune seeking correctional officers for the Iowa Department of Corrections, where a lack of guards was linked to a deadly outbreak of violence earlier this year.

The Iowa jobs include a starting wage of $42,000 for a position that has a starting salary of $36,000 in Missouri.

Iowa and Missouri aren’t alone in their search for workers.

Nebraska state officials are offering incentive packages worth up to $15,000 to try to get people to work in the state’s prisons, veterans homes and other facilities that require around-the-clock staffing.

Iowa is advertising in Missouri for open positions at the Newton Correctional Facility.

The medium-security lock-up, one of nine in Iowa, is home to more than 1,000 offenders guarded by 265 employees.

Iowa DOC research director Sarah Fineran said the department is actively recruiting individuals for a variety of positions within the 7,790-inmate system.

“The DOC has launched several recruitment efforts on a variety of platforms to target interested applicants from across the nation.

The IDOC has advertised position openings on local radio stations, social media, various hiring sites, career fairs and newspapers.

“Recruitment efforts are wide in nature to ensure that the IDOC hires the right people for the right roles,” Fineran said.