Cayuga Prison Posts Highest Staffing Vacancy Rates
A state prison watchdog found New York's prisons still short of staff even as budgeted positions were cut.
Updated on Nov. 9, 2026 in Nursing Jobs
The Correctional Association of New York reported that Cayuga Correctional Facility had the highest security and support staff vacancy rates in the state. Statewide, the overall prison vacancy rate fell from 25% to 24% after 737 budgeted positions were eliminated.
Why it matters
The drop in vacancies reflects fewer budgeted jobs rather than a larger workforce, as the actual number of prison employees fell by roughly 280. Staffing shortages bear on conditions and services inside New York's prisons, which hold a growing population.
Cayuga had 42.3% of security positions and 31.7% of support positions unfilled, compared with statewide security and support vacancy rates of 26.2% and 15.1%. The actual number of prison employees fell by roughly 280 as 737 budgeted positions were eliminated between April and August.
The players
Correctional Association of New York
A New York-based nonprofit that monitors conditions in state prisons and publishes staffing and oversight data.
Cayuga Correctional Facility
A state prison in Moravia, New York, that had the highest security and support staff vacancy rates in the state.
The details
The Correctional Association of New York compiles its staffing dashboard from Department of Corrections and Community Supervision budget reports, comparing budgeted and actual full-time-equivalent staffing at prisons. Statewide health care vacancies stood at 28.7%, the highest health care rate, with Collins Correctional Facility recording the highest health care vacancy rate, while Bedford Hills Correctional Facility had the highest program staff vacancy rate at a statewide program rate of 15.6%.
Timeline
April 2026: Budgeted position elimination began.
August 10, 2026: Staffing figures reflected in the updated data.
October 1, 2026: New York's prison population reached 33,807, up 836 from a year earlier.
November 9, 2026: CANY released the updated dashboards.
Market Landscape
Declining prison vacancy rates in New York reflect a shrinking budgeted workforce rather than new hiring, as tracked in CANY's budget-report dashboards. The pattern shows staffing gaps persisting at specific facilities even as the statewide average improves.
Job seekers in New York's correctional health care and security fields face persistent openings at specific facilities. Staffing gaps at prisons like Cayuga can affect the services available to incarcerated people and the workload of remaining staff.
The takeaway
Falling vacancy rates can mask shrinking staff levels, so the true measure of prison staffing is the actual number of employees, not the percentage of unfilled budgeted jobs.
Further reading
For related healthcare staffing context, see Nursing Jobs.
Source note: This article includes information reported by Fingerlakes1.
