Tarrant County plans to outsource jail staffing, after years of struggling to hire enough detention officers.<\/p>\n
Tarrant County commissioners voted 3-2 Tuesday to approve a two-year contract with Recana Recruiting and Staffing Solutions,<\/a> to try and reduce the overtime hours jailers have to work.<\/p>\n The company brings people in from around the country and helps them get licensed to work in the jail, county jail chief Shannon Herklotz said.<\/p>\n “They’ll follow the same policies, procedures, everything that our staff does,\u201d he said. \u201cIt will just help us combat our vacancies.\u201d<\/p>\n KERA News has reached out to County Administrator Chandler Merritt to clarify the total expected cost of the contract, which was not included in the meeting\u2019s agenda documents. He said he would check with the county purchasing department.<\/p>\n The contract will be funded \u201cthrough offsetting overtime costs and salary savings from vacant positions,\u201d according to a purchasing department memo.<\/p>\n Recana funds people\u2019s relocation for the first 30 days after they move to the area, Merritt told commissioners Tuesday. After a certain period, Tarrant County can also hire the Recana jailers permanently, he said.<\/p>\n \u201cThe ones that are bright and shining stars that we really like, we put them through the academy, and they become employees of Tarrant County,” Merritt said.<\/p>\n Democratic commissioners Alisa Simmons and Roderick Miles Jr. voted against the contract.<\/p>\n “I don’t think I like being a guinea pig if nobody else has used this model,\u201d Simmons said. \u201cThat kind of frightens me, but alright.\u201d<\/p>\n Understaffing is a common problem<\/a> in jails and prisons around the country, which can lead to burnout and increased violence<\/a>. <\/p>\n Liberty County, near Houston, contracted with Recana to outsource jail staffing in 2024, the Texas Observer reported<\/a>. The company also ran detention facilities in Texas for Operation Lone Star<\/a>, Gov. Greg Abbott\u2019s border security initiative, according to the company\u2019s website.<\/a><\/p>\n The big hole in Tarrant County\u2019s jail workforce has shrunk some over the years, but it has not gone away. In 2023, the sheriff\u2019s office reported more than 200 open positions<\/a>. As of Tuesday, there were 176, Herklotz said.<\/p>\n Last year, jailers were working a minimum of 52 hours a week, former jail administrator Charles Eckert told KERA News. A previous contract with a recruitment firm cost $37,500 and led to three hires<\/a>, he said.<\/p>\n Got a tip? Email Miranda Suarez at msuarez@kera.org<\/a>.<\/p>\n