The union representing the state prison system’s correctional officers expressed outrage Friday over Gov. Dan McKee’s nomination of Wayne Salisbury, Jr. to continue leading the Rhode Island Department of Corrections on a permanent basis.
“I believe strongly this is the wrong guy — we should have done a national search for the best candidate,” Richard Ferruccio, president of Rhode Island Brotherhood of Correctional Officers, said in an interview Friday afternoon.
On Thursday, Ferruccio sent a letter to McKee expressing officers’ concerns that RIDOC “has ceded its stature as one of the nation’s best correctional departments” because of acting leadership.
McKee announced that he had picked Salisbury to lead the department Friday morning, drawing praise from one prison reform advocacy group
Advertisement
“Wayne’s experience in the Department of Corrections is extensive, and he has played an important role in day-to-day operations and long-term, strategic planning for the department,” McKee said in a statement Friday. “I look forward to continuing to work with Director Salisbury to maintain high professional standards at the DOC and ensure a safe environment across all correctional facilities in Rhode Island.” Gov. Dan McKee announced on Friday, May 17, 2024, that interim Rhode Island Department of Corrections Director Wayne Salisbury, Jr. is his nominee for the permanent post. (Courtesy of Office of the Governor))
Salisbury, whose annual base salary is $174,593, has served as acting director of the department since January 2023 following the departure of Patricia Coyne-Fague, who stepped down to lead the city of Providence’s Department of Public Works. He was hired at RIDOC in 2016 as deputy warden and was named deputy director in November 2020, according to his resume. He served as acting warden from March 2017 to February 2018.
Salisbury was also the warden at the privately-run Wyatt Detention Center in Central Falls from 2004 to 2010.
Under Salisbury’s leadership, Ferruccio claimed assaults on officers and fights among inmates have “nearly doubled.” His letter also cited concerns about an alleged increase in drug trafficking and inmates having “uncontrolled access to technology” supposedly used to coordinate gang fights.
“The Brotherhood has raised these safety concerns repeatedly with the acting leadership and have been repeatedly met with silence,” Ferruccio wrote.
Advertisement
DOC Spokesperson J.R. Ventura on Friday declined to comment on the claims made in Ferruccio’s letter. He only said that inmates use tablets “for educational purposes” at the Adult Correctional Institutions (ACI).
“They are secure, they are closed circuit, and they are monitored,” he said.
Salisbury thanked McKee for nominating him in a statement.
“I’m honored to have led the Rhode Island Department of Corrections over the last sixteen months, as we have faced operational challenges in areas such as staffing, recruitment, restrictive housing, and recidivism reduction to name a few,” Salisbury said. “ I am grateful for the governor’s nomination and pledge my continuous commitment to provide a safe and secure environment for all while offering rehabilitative and vocational opportunities for those returning to our communities.”
Different versions of events
Ferruccio told Rhode Island Current Friday afternoon the letter was drafted after a trio of incidents at the various prison facilities Wednesday. Ferruccio claimed there was a “six-man gang fight” at the medium-security facility that led to a lockdown, a cache of about 11 weapons were discovered at the maximum security building, and a different fight happened at the intake center.
Advertisement
Ventura confirmed that incidents did occur Wednesday, but were not as Ferruccio alleged. The fight at the medium-security prison was initially between two inmates and briefly joined by four others, but Ventura said it was quickly stopped by correctional officers.
As for the cache of weapons, Ventura said it was just a crate of razors dropped by an inmate cell. Those were confiscated and that person was punished. At the intake center, he said that two people shoved each other following an argument. An officer intervened and the two were restrained.
“A lot of this stuff is blown out of proportion,” Ventura said. “This was literally nothing that can be considered out of the ordinary here.”
Nomination draws praise from advocacy group
Stop Torture R.I. Coalition campaign manager Brandon Robinson, a former ACI inmate who had been placed in restrictive housing, said Salisbury’s nomination was “actually good news to hear.”
‘He’s not afraid to bring much-needed change to the DOC,” Robinson said in an interview.
Advertisement
The biggest positive, he said, was the department’s decision last year to limit disciplinary confinement to a maximum of 30 days. The move came as part of arbitration in the case of Richard Lee Paiva v. Rhode Island Department of Corrections, which was originally filed on Feb. 24, 2017.
Prior to the policy change, prisoners could be held in restrictive housing —the term RIDOC uses for solitary confinement — for 31 days to a year on a single offense.
“Even though it was through a federal court order, it took guts to keep up those policies — especially with the resistance of correctional staff,” Robinson said.
He’s not afraid to bring much-needed change to the DOC.
Advertisement
– Brandon Robinson, Stop Torture R.I. Coalition campaign manager, on nomination of Wayne Salisbury, Jr. as director of the Rhode Island Department of Corrections
Ferruccio blamed the policy change for creating the unsafe conditions alleged in his letter to McKee.
The discipline process has become a total joke to the inmates,” he told Rhode Island Current.
Advertisement
Though the use of restrictive housing has been limited, Robinson said he still would like to see the policy codified by the state. Robinson added RIDOC also needs to reduce the number of inmate deaths and continue to introduce programs that can set people up for life after prison.
“The focus needs to be on rehabilitation,” he said.
Salisbury’s nomination now heads to the Rhode Island Senate for consideration. No hearing has been scheduled as of late Friday afternoon.
PROVIDENCE — The application period for Rhode Island’s charter schools opened this week, giving families a shot at roughly 3,000 seats projected to be available at charter schools next year.
A blind lottery for available seats will be held on April 1. Charter schools are in high demand in Rhode Island, with roughly 11,000 families submitting 30,000 applications for 2,500 seats lasts year. (Families can apply for more than one school.)
There are about 13,000 Rhode Island public school students currently enrolled in 25 charters, some of which are larger networks with multiple schools.
Advertisement
Despite the demand, teachers unions and other public school advocates have sought to block the expansion of charter schools, concerned they are financially hurting the traditional public school system. School funding follows each child from their home school district to the charter school.
In this week’s episode of the Rhode Island Report, Chiara Deltito-Sharrott from the Rhode Island League of Charter Schools talks about the future of charter schools in Rhode Island, and provides a rebuttal to comments made by Maribeth Calabro, the head of Rhode Island’s largest teachers union, in an episode earlier this month.
Steph Machado can be reached at steph.machado@globe.com. Follow her @StephMachado.
United Way of Rhode Island accepts initial donations from the Fund’s sponsoring energy companies. (courtesy: United Way of Rhode Island)
PROVIDENCE, R.I. (WLNE) — United Way of Rhode Island announced the Rhode Island Good Neighbor Energy Fund has begun for the 2024 through 2025 season.
The fund helps families that need assistance paying their home heating bills but are not eligible for federal or state assistance.
Since it was founded, the Good Neighbor Energy Fund has aided over 48,250 Rhode Island homes.
United RI says any local households in the state that are in need of funding assistance for energy are encouraged to contact a local Community Action Program agency, or to call the 211 helpline for help locating a CAP agency.
Advertisement
GNEF eligibility is determined on total income not exceeding 300% of the federal poverty level, and provides up to $825 per household each heating season depending on eligibility, fuel type, and need.
United RI said in addition to sponsors, the fund relies on Rhode Islanders who donate through the “Warm Thy Neighbor” campaign.
Donations can be made through the yellow donation envelope enclosed with monthly energy bills, or by scanning the QR code on the envelope.
Additionally, donations can be given through phone by texting “WARM” to 91999.
For more information, visit United Way of Rhode Island’s website here.
Former U.S. Naval officer Darryl Lindie learned early in his career that taking care of his team was key to accomplishing a mission.
Since buying AASign & Awning in Warwick in 2023, Lindie has applied that philosophy to his business, giving his 30-person team paid days off and other benefits. But one offering remained a little too complicated and expensive: retirement savings.
Not for long.
Legislation approved in the 2024 General Assembly and signed into law by Gov. Dan McKee in September sets up a public retirement savings program for private-sector workers whose employers don’t already offer the investment option. Ahead of its formal launch, state officials unveiled details of the RISavers program at an event outside Lindie’s sign shop on Wednesday.
Advertisement
Modeled after similar programs in other states, including Connecticut, RISavers automatically opens Roth Individual Retirement Accounts for eligible private-sector workers, set up through the Rhode Island Office of the General Treasurer with help from a third-party account administrator.
“It is absolutely true that anyone can open a Roth IRA or another retirement account whenever they want,” Treasurer James Diossa said. “But it’s also equally true that not everyone has the ability to navigate the financial sector. These things can be daunting and RISavers makes it quick and easy and helps ensure more Rhode Islanders are on a path to stable retirement.”
An estimated 170,000 Rhode Island workers, equal to 40% of the state’s private-sector workforce, don’t get retirement benefits through their jobs, according to information from Diossa’s office. Connecticut State Comptroller Sean Scanlon (left) and Rhode Island General Treasurer James Diossa announced a partnership between Connecticut and Rhode Island, sharing costs for administering their respective state public retirement programs. (Nancy Lavin/Rhode Island Current)
The program also alleviates the burden on small businesses, which have no obligation to match contributions. Their only cost is from processing payroll deductions from participating employees.
Businesses with at least five employees are mandated to make the new retirement program available to their workers, with phased-in deadlines based upon business size. Employers with at least 100 workers must enroll within the first year of the program, while those with 50 to 100 workers have to sign up within two years. All 400,000 businesses that meet the minimum employment requirement must join within three years. Businesses with fewer than five employees can also sign up anytime they want.
Advertisement
“This represents a win for families, for the state economy, and for the overall well-being of our state,” McKee said.
And, it doesn’t come with any extra costs to taxpayers or extra staffing needs, as touted by House Speaker K. Joseph Shekarchi.
A fiscal note included with the legislation in March 2024 estimated a $311,000 startup cost, split between fiscal 2025 and fiscal 2026, based on comparable startup costs in other states like Delaware and Maine. However, no additional money was used in the nearly $14 billion fiscal 2025 budget to pay for the program, which instead relied on existing funds within the treasurer’s office, according to Rob Craven, Diossa’s legislative affairs director.
Rhode Island will pay a $100,000 fee for Vestwell State Savings, split between this fiscal year and the next, to administer the program. Rhode Island is also partnering with Connecticut, which launched its public retirement savings program for public-sector employees two years ago, to share in administration costs and investment fees from Vestwell.
Which, in turn, drives down the fees for participating workers.
Advertisement
The program will use Bank of New York Mellon for its accounts, the same financial services company Vestwell uses for its version of a public retirement account.
Since Connecticut launched the MyCTSavings program in April 2022, it has opened retirement accounts for nearly 30,000 state residents, who have invested $33 million, said Comptroller Sean Scanlon, who attended the event in Warwick.
As of June 30, 2024, 20 states had launched, or passed legislation to launch, retirement savings programs for private sector workers, 17 of which (including Rhode Island) automatically enroll eligible workers, according to the Center for Retirement Initiatives at Georgetown University’ McCourt School of Public Policy.
Diossa plans to launch a pilot program with a small number of participants in the spring of 2025, opening up the program to full capacity “shortly after.”
Lindie is eager to sign up, noting the interest among his workers already. He hopes the perk will attract new workers to the growing, design-to-build sign shop.
Advertisement
“We are looking for a younger generation of talent, and we need these kinds of benefits,” Lindie said.
/cdn.vox-cdn.com/uploads/chorus_asset/file/25739950/247386_Elon_Musk_Open_AI_CVirginia.jpg "Inside Elon Musk’s messy breakup with OpenAI")