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 10, 2026
N.Y. prison strike, staffing shortages drive $709M in DOCCS overtime spending
New York’s prison staffing crisis helped push correctional overtime spending sharply higher in 2025, with the state Department of Corrections and Community Supervision accounting for nearly half of all overtime pay statewide, according to a new report from State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli.
State agencies spent more than $1.6 billion on overtime last year, a nearly 23% increase from 2024, according to WSKG. State employees logged nearly 26 million overtime hours, earning about $300 million more than they did the year before.
A large share of that increase came from DOCCS, where a combination of long-running staffing shortages and the 2025 wildcat corrections officer strike drove overtime costs even higher.
Read ArticleApril 7, 2026
Dreading what is to come': Former Central Texas inmates testify in trial over extreme prison heat
A federal trial in Austin is putting Texas prison conditions under scrutiny, focusing on whether extreme heat inside facilities without air conditioning violates inmates’ constitutional rights. The case centers on conditions inside state prisons and whether the lack of air conditioning poses a serious health risk to those incarcerated. Advocates argue extreme heat inside some facilities has led to dangerous, and in some cases, deadly conditions.
Read ArticleApril 6, 2026
Ohio youth prison staff fear for safety amid shortages, union says
Chronic staff shortages at a troubled Ohio youth prison mean employees are working in housing units by themselves and fearing for their safety, according to the union that represents them.
Ohio Civil Services Employees Association officials toured Indian River Juvenile Correctional Facility in Massillon on April 2. "Each unit within the facility is supposed to be staffed with two JCOs (juvenile corrections officers) but we found only one JCO in each unit," the union said. "We spoke to several JCOs who were working that day, some had been assaulted multiple times on the job and all expressed concerns about their safety."
Read Article