Strengthening the Women’s Prison Workforce: Recruitment and Training

Develop mission-aligned job descriptions. Job descriptions are critical recruitment tools that define positions and enable candidates to assess their interest and fit. To attract mission-aligned staff, job descriptions should clearly convey the ideal candidate profile, including how skills and career goals align with CDCR’s mission and vision. Descriptions should articulate preferred qualities, relevant experience, education, and personal characteristics. In a competitive employment landscape, where many CDCR recruits also apply to police academies or city- or county-level facilities, job descriptions must emphasize core values that appeal to high-quality candidates. If CDCR seeks a workforce aligned with its mission, then this should highlight a dedication to improving the lives of incarcerated individuals, their families, and communities.

Attract candidates through diverse channels. CDCR’s recruitment efforts include active recruitment practices that engage directly with candidates (job fairs, community events); passive approaches (print, social media, billboards), sector partnerships (military, police academies) and targeted outreach to specialists like mental health counselors or social workers. Research demonstrates that employment events with current staff who engage directly with prospective candidates, social media, agency websites, and consultant partnerships are most effective.30 Radio, traditional media, television commercials, and billboards prove less effective. A Norway Prison Service study found that 73% of recruits learned about positions through family and friends, 17% through work or school, 8% from social media, and 3% through print/digital media.31 Although from abroad, these findings underscore the likely importance of personal engagement in recruitment.

Leverage in-person recruitment events to identify mission-driven and qualified recruits. CDCR conducts in-person and virtual recruitment events in spaces such as community gatherings, job fairs, and online sessions. Current CDCR recruitment events target general venues (high schools, state fairs) or law enforcement sectors (military events), potentially missing candidates with beneficial skill sets such as teachers, mental health professionals, social workers, librarians, and case managers. Holding events at colleges within relevant academic departments and at community events highlighting CDCR initiatives could expand recruitment reach and broaden public perceptions of law enforcement careers.

Broaden recruitment efforts to include candidates from backgrounds non-traditional to law enforcement. Workforces thrive when they include individuals from diverse backgrounds, experiences, and training disciplines. CDCR has engaged in numerous initiatives to maximize recruitment of women and people from non-traditional backgrounds, an approach that is commendable and should be expanded. This approach will also expand the pool of qualified candidates as CDCR progresses from recruitment to interview and job offer stages.

Streamline the application process from identification to hire to avoid losing qualified candidates. After ensuring that recruitment materials and events reflect a clear, consistent message targeted at desired candidates, it is essential that CDCR maintains an efficient and effective process to advance candidates from application to job offer. This “application to job offer” pipeline is critical because it helps the department identify the most qualified recruits while enabling candidates to determine whether they wish to pursue a career in corrections. To streamline the hiring process, CDCR should utilize its vision for ideal candidates to identify high-quality applicants more quickly and expedite the advancement of those candidates through the hiring pipeline. Alongside assessing “hard” skills such as physical fitness and reading and writing abilities, CDCR should develop processes to evaluate recruits’ “soft” skills, including active listening, empathy, self-motivation and integrity. This can be accomplished using structured interview questions and validated screening instruments; it should also include inquiries about candidates’ motivations for joining the department. The selection of hiring tools to use during the assessment phase can define an entire workforce; employing validated screening instruments—and collectively defining the attributes of an effective correctional officer—can ensure quality candidates are hired.46

Expand onboarding and introductory training. Departments of Corrections nationwide experience high staff turnover rates, creating operational instability and increased training and overtime costs. Structured onboarding, phased training, and ongoing skill development during the first year of employment address these challenges by improving retention, accelerating job readiness, and strengthening workforce stability. This approach establishes a clear learning pathway from foundational knowledge to advanced skill-building through mentorship, coaching, and progressive training. It also demonstrates institutional investment in staff development, reinforces professional identity, and creates consistency in expectations and practices across women’s facilities.

Expand mentorship and coaching immediately following introductory training. Foundational training provides an essential starting point for preparing staff to work in women’s correctional facilities; however, classroom instruction alone cannot build the relational, communication, and decisionmaking skills required for long-term success. Mentorship and coaching provide critical, practice-based learning opportunities that support diverse learning styles and help staff apply training concepts in daily practice. Developing a robust mentorship and coaching model aligns with the peer mentorship pillar of the California Model and strengthens workforce readiness. While mentoring occurs at CDCR facilities, the process is often informal and not codified.

Provide structured ongoing professional development and advanced training. While introductory training equips staff with foundational knowledge and skills for working in women’s prisons, the complexity of these environments requires ongoing learning and professional development. Staff encounter a wide range of challenges, including responding to trauma, managing conflict, supporting mental health, and maintaining safety, all while building professional relationships. A structured approach to ongoing training reinforces core competencies introduced in the first weeks of employment while allowing staff to expand their expertise, practice advanced skills, and adapt to the dynamic realities of women’s correctional environments. It contributes to professional development by providing a clear learning pathway, recognition for skill proficiency, and opportunities to pursue specialized topics aligned with personal interests and career goals. At the organizational level, ongoing training strengthens the workforce by enhancing staff effectiveness, promoting safety, and supporting retention, signaling that growth and career development are departmental priorities.

Enhance trainer selection and accountability. Research demonstrates that when staff are trained in core correctional practices, the incarcerated individuals they work with experience lower rates of recidivism.54,55 However, not all training is equally effective. Training quality impacts both staff performance and outcomes for incarcerated individuals. One of the most important factors influencing training effectiveness is the quality of instruction. Even the best-designed curriculum will fail if it is not delivered skillfully. Strengthening trainer selection and accountability presents a clear opportunity for CDCR to enhance the impact and effectiveness of its training programs.

Strengthen and expand learning objectives. Training design—including clear objectives, well-aligned content, and engaging learning activities—directly impacts what staff learn and how effectively they apply knowledge on the job. CDCR can maximize training impact by clarifying objectives, employing diverse teaching methods, incorporating assessments, and connecting lessons directly to work in women’s facilities. Stronger instructional design will improve staff performance, maintain engagement, and support safer, more effective correctional practices.

Improve instructional design and delivery by developing assessment tools and practices that are consistently implemented across trainings. Across both the BCOA and in-service training curricula, performance is assessed through knowledge review in the form of multiple-choice questions at the end of the training. While experienced trainers may incorporate additional assessment during their instruction, guidance and tools should be included in the facilitator’s guide and instructional material to ensure this occurs consistently. …[F]ormative assessments and strategies60 enable trainers to measure knowledge and skills during training using informal assessment tools. These include discussion and questioning, informal quizzes, observing practice and application, providing realtime feedback, and correcting misunderstandings. Facilitator guides can assist trainers in using the outcomes of these informal assessment tools to adapt their instruction and tailor their strategies to meet the needs of the group, thereby improving learning outcomes through the integration of real-time feedback.

Increase opportunities for active learning. Much of the curriculum across both the BCOA and in-service trainings relies heavily on lecture and PowerPoint slide-based instruction.64 This is a missed opportunity to leverage active learning techniques, which engage learners and demand more cognitive effort, resulting in deeper, long-term mastery of new concepts and practices. Outcomes include improved skill acquisition and better application to real-world situations.65

Update training materials regularly to reflect current best practices. CDCR’s in-service training curriculum has not been updated since 2014. To ensure staff are trained in the most effective approaches, critical trainings, like those focused on working with women in custody, should be reviewed and (if needed) revised annually. Training materials should reflect both current industry standards and the organizational values CDCR expects staff to uphold, including the use of gender-responsive, trauma-informed, and person-centered language when referring to incarcerated women.69 Regular updates help maintain relevance, improve learning outcomes, and reinforce a professional, trauma-informed, and gender-responsive culture within facilities.