Monday afternoon, Governor Jim Pillen during a press conference announced Rob Jefferys to be named the new director of the Nebraska Department of Corrections.
Jeffreys previously served as the director of the Illinois Department of Corrections and spent 24 years with the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction, with most of those years spent in correctional management. From 2011-2019, he worked at the National Institute of Corrections as a National Criminal Justice Consultant. Jeffreys has over 25 years of experience in criminal justice and corrections serving in a variety of roles, including: corrections chief of staff, director, warden, deputy warden, and program coordinator. He received a Bachelor of Arts in Criminal Justice and a Master of Science in Criminal Justice from Marshall University
Governor Pillen said during the conference, “When we were able to meet director Jefferys, he stood out, head and toe better than everybody else. Clearly, his presence, his character and integrity, having led an incredibly large department, leading over 13,000 people, and then his vast array of experience.”
Jeffery’s spoke at the conference, “It is an honor to serve as the next director of the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services… I have dedicated my life to the field of corrections. This role is a perfect fit and I am eager to get started, touring the facilities and meeting the staff at NDCS.”
He also spoke about, in his view, the biggest challenges facing corrections currently.
“Top three challenges that’s facing Nebraska is no different than what’s facing the national correctional scene, the infrastructure…where some of these facilities are built over a hundred years old. I mean they’ve pretty much outlasted their point of relevancy… Two is staffing has been hit across the nation…it’s a challenge to get folks to work in correction… The third part, I think we got to make sure that we’re preparing people to be successful when they release… We want to make sure that people can successfully go back onto community and be prospering citizens.”
Director Jeffreys salary is $210,000 a year and will start April 17th, 2023.