Juana Summers

I'm Juana Somers.

Federal prisons have been in crisis for years, and that fact has been documented over and over.

That's John Wetzel back in February 2024.

He's the former Pennsylvania Secretary of Corrections, and he was testifying to Congress about understaffing at correctional facilities.

Fast forward to May 2025.

That's Republican Congressman Jeff Van Drew of New Jersey at a different congressional hearing.

The shortages are so severe that there are not enough correctional officers to respond to crises.

Here's Democratic Congresswoman Jasmine Crockett of Texas, also speaking in 2025.

Including psychologists.

Consider this.

Prison mental health staff are being asked to step in as guards

and it is making them leave their jobs.

From NPR, I'm Juana Summers.

It's Consider This from NPR.

Correctional officers are leaving their jobs at federal prisons.

And when these prisons are understaffed, psychologists and other staff are asked to act as guards.

And a recent reporting from the Marshall Project says it's pushing mental health professionals out of prisons.

Here to talk about it is Alex McLaren.

She was the acting director for the National Institute of Corrections, which is housed under the Bureau of Prisons.

She also worked as a federal prison psychologist.