• Tier Offenders Under Transition (O.U.T.) program was fully implemented at all Tier II and III units statewide.
The program is designed to enhance offender motivation to change problem behaviors, criminal thinking,
and to provide pro-social skills. The program lasts 40 weeks and must be successfully completed prior to an
offender’s release out of the TIER II program.
• Disciplinary Warning program, in female prisons, to provide alternative sanctions and corrective action for
female offenders. The program has reduced the number of disciplinary reports by 60%.
Staffing - Recruitment & Retention
T
he GDC mission has been made significantly more difficult due to the doubling of turnover rates within the
Correctional Officer ranks over the past five years. Forty-six percent of the existing Security positions have
been hired since 2009, when the turnover rate was 16% for Correctional Officers. By 2015, that rate nearly
doubled to 31%. Reducing turnover will help offset expenses, reduce legal liability, and will increase experience,
competency and professionalism of Officers. The long-term effect of more experienced and better trained Officers
will allow us to be an agency better equipped to support the Governor’s Criminal Justice Reform efforts and to
fulfill its stated mission.
In comparison to Department of Corrections agencies across the Southeast, Georgia is the second lowest paying
state for starting salaries for Correctional Officer positions. To assist our agency with reducing the turnover rate
for our Security staff, Governor Nathan Deal and the General Assembly approved funds for pay increases for
Correctional Officers, which was implemented in July 2015. Officers who serve a full year with the agency will
now receive an increase to $27,472. Officers who had been employed for at least two years will now receive a
0.25% increase per year, up to 4%.
To assist with our recruitment efforts, the agency conducted 13 military career fairs, three college and university fairs and participated in job fairs hosted by the Department of Labor. In addition, 5,522 jobs were posted to
GDCjobs.com, in a concerted effort to fill critical agency positions.
14
Report FY 2015