Correctional Challenges Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

Correctional Challenges - Essay Example A reduced workforce means that the remaining employees will have longer shifts with more work, which may lead to complaints and disagreements. Another challenge is that the correctional manager is forced to downsize the number of inmate programs at the facility. It becomes hard to decide which programs are to be downsized or eliminated, considering that most of these programs are very essential for the wellbeing of the inmates and the correctional facility. Vera Institute of Justice (2010) gives the example of the Colorado correctional facility which did away with a military-style boot camp with a 100 bed capacity, in which young offenders who were convicted of non-violent crimes. In some extreme cases, correctional managers are forced to close down some facilities, especially if the number of inmates reduces significantly (Vera Institute of Justice, 2009). The provision of healthcare to inmates is also affected since the government is unable to continually provide pharmaceuticals in correctional facilities. According to Vera Institute of Justice (2009), during the 2007 recession, some states reduced healthcare services towards correctional facilities meaning that the managers of these facilities needed to become innovative and find ways of purchasing drugs at a lower cost. As Gladwin& McConnell (2014) write, during periods of intense fiscal pressure, correctional managers are required to address challenges such as supervising inmates who are poorly organized and overcrowded, and maintaining order. According to Gladwin & McConnell (2014), federal facilities are forced to come up with ways of increasing productivity as a cost-reduction measure. Most of these cost-cutting measures require the involvement of the human resources department. Ideally, one of the ways in which the human resource department can be involved in cost-cutting and increased productivity is by reducing the workforce and digitalizing most processes. For