BOISE, Idaho — Staffing shortages at the Idaho Department of Correction (IDOC) are hindering family and friends from visiting inmates, according to an email from IDOC Public Information Officer Sanda Kuzeta-Cerimagic.
"All potential visitors must submit an application and pass a background check before they are approved to visit," Kuzeta-Cerimagic wrote. "Additionally, staffing shortages have impacted the number of staff we have available to process applications and conduct background checks. We continue to train additional staff and hope to have this remedied in the near future."
Mikka Casady's husband is an inmate at the Idaho State Correctional Institution (ISCI). The state prison is staffed at 72%, according to Kuzeta-Cerimagic.
Casady's son is 6 years old. ISCI has failed to process his background check application since May.
"He's just been doing video visits. It makes him sad. He cries almost every night for [his dad], and it seems like it's just a button for them," Casady said. "It's frustrating. I've asked if they need volunteers. 'Do you need me to reach out to a program you trust so we can get someone in there to help you do these background checks? Because there is a lot of people waiting for their visiting application to be done.'"
But Casady is most concerned with what has happened inside the prison. Her husband is in Unit 14; his side of the unit did not have a heater until Thursday afternoon.
Inmate Steven Sorensen has been in Unit 14 since August. The unit did not have a proper air conditioning system in summer months either and Sorensen said the unit got as warm as 90 degrees.
Sorensen's side of the unit has a heater; he is opposite Casady's husband. However, Sorensen saw the impact of cold nights on the other inmates.
"It was so cold on that tier. People could see their breath in the morning when they got up [in the morning]," Sorensen said. "I did ask a staff member who went on that tier earlier today. He says one spot in the unit it was 52 degrees in there."
The prison fixed the broken heater around 1 p.m. Thursday, according to Kuzeta-Cerimagic.
IDOC aims to add 73 correctional officers to their staff through a "double training academy" to alleviate staffing-based issues.
IDOC Director Josh Tewalt told KTVB in August staffing issues can impact their ability to escort people to certain areas, programming, and visits among other things.
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