ANNAPOLIS, Md. — Maryland correctional facilities are grappling with the real-world impacts of chronic staffing shortages as the state enters 2026, according to union leaders and funding watchdogs who have been vocal over the past several months.
The staffing challenges have drawn increased attention from lawmakers and advocates during the tail end of 2025 and into the new year as state budget and workforce issues have taken center stage in Annapolis.
Union representatives with AFSCME Maryland Council 3 — which represents thousands of correctional officers and other state workers — have warned that insufficient staffing has begun to erode safety and services within prisons. In a Dec. 23, 2025, press conference, Patrick Moran, president of AFSCME Council 3, stressed the role of state staffing levels in sustaining essential services. “You can’t continue to run state government without qualified people who are willing to serve and take on difficult work,” Moran said, calling for greater investment in hiring and retention. “If we do not have the resources to hire and retain people … state services collapse.”…