The purpose of this paper is to compare burnout between prison caseworkers and correctional officers and examine reasons for the high turnover of caseworkers. The study was conducted through surveys at a maximum/medium men's prison and at an all security level women's prison in the Midwest. By using the Maslach Burnout Inventory, it was found that there was a significantly higher level of burnout for prison caseworkers than correctional officers. The perceived three main reasons for high turnover of prison caseworkers were low salaries, lack of support from management, and stress which leads to burnout. State prison officials can use this information to help minimize conditions that lead to burnout and turnover of trained caseworkers.

Numerous researchers have hypothesized or found that women correctional officers experience greater job-related stress than their male counterparts (Cullen, Link, Wolfe, & Frank, 1985; Slate, 1993; Wright and Saylor, 1991; Zupan, 1986). The con-temporary literature has presented little data testing the relationship between gender and burnout in a maximum security prison setting. In the present study, 277 correctional officers were administered the Maslach Burnout Inventory (MBI). Item analysis of the MBI confirms earlier studies demonstrating scale reliability. Contrary to earlier stress studies conducted in the 1980s, women correctional officers demonstrated a greater sense of job-related personal achievement and accomplishment (F = 5.38, p = .02) than their men counterparts. Men and women correctional officers were found to be homogeneous groups on emotional exhaustion and depersonalization.

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There have been eight U.S. states that have implemented prison nurseries in women's correctional facilities. This article examines the second oldest U.S. prison nursery program located in the Nebraska Correctional Center for Women. Using data from the program spanning the years 1994-2014, three main criteria were utilized as key performance indicators to evaluate success-recidivism within 3 years of initial offense, percentage of women returning to prison custody over the 20-year period, and program cost savings. Major findings related to women who participated in the nursery program include a 28% reduction in recidivism and a 39% reduction in women returning to prison custody. Overall, the program achieved cost savings of more than US$6 million for the period 1994 to 2012.

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