Protecting federal prisons from shutdown benefits all of us

In the days since a congressional budget impasse caused a federal government shutdown, public attention has largely focused on high-profile impacts like employee furloughs, air travel delays and closures at national parks and other institutions.  

But countless other consequences are emerging beyond the public eye, within federal agencies with critical missions. One is the Bureau of Prisons. The shutdown has forced the BOP and associated Justice Department agencies into triage mode, creating a cascade of disruptions that threaten serious repercussions for incarcerated people, staff and public safety.  

Housing more than 150,000 people in 122 correctional facilities across the nation, the BOP is not just responsible for safety behind bars, but also with delivering rehabilitation programs and supporting successful reentry into society. When BOP operations are interrupted, the impacts extend outside prison walls, affecting the well-being of families and communities, and the broader promise of improving the federal corrections system.  

At first glance, federal prisons may seem insulated from the impacts of government shutdowns because they cannot simply close. In past shutdowns, BOP staff designated as “excepted employees” under the Antideficiency Act have been required to work without pay, while many nonessential staff were furloughed. During the 2018–2019 shutdown, some BOP employees went as long as 35 days without pay. 

This time, one early report indicates that many correctional officers are again staying on the job without pay. While their sacrifice is commendable, requiring this of officers undermines morale. And if the shutdown drags on for weeks or months, a substantial number of line staff could be forced to quit and obtain other employment, unable to wait for the government to reopen and back pay to arrive. This is of even greater concern given recent suggestions that, unlike after prior shutdowns, back pay is no longer guaranteed. 

Even before the government shutdown, the BOP was under intense pressure, grappling with the effects of a hiring freeze  instituted to stave off further budget strain. Plagued with thousands of vacancies in critical positions, the BOP is coping with deficits of more than 9,500 correctional officers and about 3,000 medical professionals. 

What happens when the ranks of workers inside prisons dwindle? While confinement is sure to continue, the availability of a complex web of supportive services; from health care to reentry programming, therapy, vocational training and educational programs; typically suffers. 

In addition, security checks, emergency medical calls and daily supervision are at risk of being stretched too thin. Prisons that are plagued by understaffing and high turnover are also more prone to violence, creating conditions that make remaining employees more inclined to quit, further exacerbating the labor shortage. 

During past shutdowns, staffing shortages also led to cancellation of family visits, which are tied to a range of positive outcomes, from increased institutional safety to better mental health among those in prison. Incarcerated people awaiting compassionate release or medical clemency may experience longer delays, and cuts to programs and visitation intensify the psychological impact of prison, reducing hope and optimism. 

Transfers and movement between facilities may slow or halt if transport or escort staff are furloughed. As for the processing of people’s release from prison, delays in paperwork, supervision planning and reentry coordination may stall long-awaited departures for home. 

More broadly, the shutdown threatens to derail the reform-minded agenda of the BOP’s new leadership. President Trump’s new appointees have pledged to strengthen and stabilize operations and accountability at the bureau while ensuring that those who are eligible benefit from the First Step Act. 

This bipartisan legislation signed by President Trump in 2018 created earned-time credits and expanded incentives for people in federal prison to participate in rehabilitative programming. It requires a steady flow of administrative and agency coordination to function effectively. Funding interruptions or staffing challenges could halt the enrollment of new participants in programming, slow the processing of applications or jeopardize the recognition of earned-time credits.

Home confinement and halfway house transfers, as well as reentry support, are also at risk. And while criminal courts and federal probation offices remain open, mental health and substance use treatment programs operated by federal contractors face likely interruptions, unless providers are willing to temporarily forgo pay.

Further compounding such challenges, agencies like the Bureau of Justice Assistance, which supports reentry grants and technical assistance, may furlough staff, delaying essential support for community reentry programs. 

A shutdown is often framed as a political standoff, but the casualty is too often the American people, in this case through jeopardizing progress in the fight to reduce reoffending and make our system more just. Ironically, many programs for those in prison teach participants how to solve conflicts, and this is a lesson our nation’s elected leaders need to learn as well. Otherwise, the corrections system, and by extension the interests of the American people, will be held hostage to gridlock. 

Marc A. Levin, Esq. and Khalil Cumberbatch co-lead the Centering Justice Initiative at the Council on Criminal Justice,where Levin is Chief Policy Counsel and Cumberbatch is Director of Engagement and Partnerships. They can be reached at mlevin@counciloncj.org and khalil@counciloncj.org.