Tarrant County has ended its contract early with private jail staffing company Recana Recruiting and Staffing Solutions, but the reasons behind this decision are still unclear. The county paid over $2 million for the services provided by Recana from January through June.

Contract Details

The contract was meant to help with short staffing and overtime hours at the Tarrant County Jail, a common problem for jails and prisons across the country. According to jail administrator Shannon Herklotz, the county paid roughly $2.3 million for the services provided during those months.

Democratic Commissioner Alisa Simmons requested a briefing on Recana during a recent commissioners court meeting. She had voted against the contract when it was proposed last October and criticized the way public discussion was handled after commissioners voted to end the two-year contract in May.

Simmons questioned what “measurable benefits” the county gained from this contract during the months it was in place and when they would be able to openly discuss why it ended early. County Judge Tim O’Hare disagreed, saying the invoiced amounts needed to be paid for the jailers that were hired.

Staffing Issues

The contract with Recana was meant to help hire a minimum of 50 jailers, but only 34 were hired, and 22 were kept on staff after the contract ended. Herklotz told Simmons that all 34 jailers were certified, and the issue was with the speed of getting them through the hiring process.

It’s not entirely clear what the reasons are for ending the contract, but Simmons said Recana failed the county by sending jailers that were not certified by the Texas Commission of Law Enforcement, a requirement according to the commission’s website.

Original reporting: Fort Worth Report — read the source article.