We are in the midst of a profound crisis in our nation’s correctional system.
Across the country, our nation’s prisons are dangerously understaffed and overcrowded.
Policymakers must act now to protect the health and safety of correctional staff, incarcerated people, and the public at large.
Prisons across the country are dangerously understaffed, overcrowded, and plagued by rapidly deteriorating conditions.
One Voice United (OVU) and FAMM, two leading organizations representing correctional staff (OVU) and incarcerated people and their families (FAMM), have joined together to form the Safer Prisons, Safer Communities campaign.
For too long, our constituencies have been pitted against one another while the safety and wellbeing of our colleagues, friends, and loved ones has suffered. While it may be surprising to some people that we would work together to draw attention to this crisis, we know our fates are intertwined and we have a shared goal of ensuring the health and safety of everyone who works and lives in prison.
EndorseFor too long, our constituencies have been pitted against one another while the safety and wellbeing of our colleagues, friends, and loved ones has suffered. While it may be surprising to some people that we would work together to draw attention to this crisis, we know our fates are intertwined and we have a shared goal of ensuring the health and safety of everyone who works and lives in prison.
SAFER PRISONS SAFER COMMUNITIES
In The News
April 20, 2026
Nebraska corrections director says population, safety issues in youth facilities need to be addressed
Nebraska still needs to address population and safety issues in its youth correctional facilities, according to Nebraska Department of Correctional Services director Rob Jeffreys. This comes after lawmakers shot down a plan to shuffle the system’s population around the state.
The plan to relocate the inhabitants of every significant youth correctional facility to a new building, including some youths slated to go to an adult prison, was proposed by Gov. Jim Pillen’s administration in his budget bills introduced in January. But legislators rejected the plan, substituting it for a study into how best to manage a population shift in the youth correctional system.
Read ArticleApril 18, 2026
Maher: State Prison staffing crisis driving unsustainable overtime costs
Assemblyman Brian Maher (R,C-Walden) is voicing his concerns about the state’s growing prison staffing crisis following the release of a new report from the State Comptroller’s Office, which highlights a dramatic surge in overtime costs across state agencies —driven largely by conditions within the Department of Corrections and Community Supervision (DOCCS).
According to the report, state overtime spending reached $1.6 billion in 2025, a 22.7% increase from the previous year. DOCCS alone accounted for more than 87% of the total increase in overtime earnings, with costs rising by $264 million and overtime hours increasing by 1.3 million.
Read ArticleApril 17, 2026
‘Go to your room and die’: Deaths at Dayton women’s prison underline staffing concerns
Two women have died at the Dayton Correctional Institution in the past 10 months as the state women’s prison has struggled with some of the worst staff vacancy rates in the state, a Dayton Daily News investigation found.
In both cases, family members say the deaths were preventable and prison staff ignored the women’s pleas for medical care.
“I want whoever is responsible held accountable,” said Brandon Ziminsky, whose 21-year-old daughter Elise Snow died in February. An official cause of death hasn’t been released, but Ziminsky says hospital staff told him his daughter had an infected wound.
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