page 6
daily nebraskan
Wednesday, december 13, 1973
New administration policies cause conflicts at York
Editor's Note: The following story was written as an
assignment in the University of Nebraska-Lincoln School
of Journalism depth reporting class. The author is a senior
Journalism major from Lincoln.
By Gail Reid
Nine employees and former employees of the women's
reformatory at York say a change in administrations has
stirred unrest among the inmates and discontent among
the employees.
Since Supt. Donna Bergen officially took charge of the
institution Oct. 30, 1977, some 25 employees or almost
SO percent of the staff have resigned, according to the
former employees.
Bergen denied a serious problem exists but refused to
say how many employees have quit. She did say those
who quit indicated no animosity toward the
administration.
Corrections Director Joseph Vitek said he had no
figures on the turnover.
In addition to the employee complaints, two
petitions have been circulated and mailed to correction
officials complaining of unfair treatment, lack of com
munication between the administration and inmates and a
lack of understanding of rules and regulations. Three in
mates, separately interviewed, agreed with the charges.
Charges listed
The allegations include:
-unfair and inequitable disciplinary action, limited re
creational activities, inadequate medical care and censored
mail.
-minimal communication among the administration,
inmates and staff, hampered knowledge of rules and regu
lations, use of multiple rule books and a constant
onslaught of memos.
inequitable relations between the administration and
staff, including charges that decisions handed down by the
Board of Inquiry have been dictated by Bergen, duties
iw uca ux, thA ctaft have been taken away, reac-
tions from the administration concerning mistakes nave
been overly severe and have resulted in a work atmosphere
predominated by fear, reports made by inmates to Bergen
concerning staff behavior have caused employees to tear
for their jobs. .
A number of employees interviewed said they resigned
from the center because many of their administrative du
ties had been stripped, numerous rule and policy changes
caused confusion and resentment and the tense, fearful
atmosphere which existed at the reformatory made work
unbearable.
No major turnover
On the question of turnover, Bergen said the
employees who quit may have realized they were not
suited for work in a correctional institution. Although
conceding that some employees have quit, Bergen main
tained that the percentage of turnover is lower since the
beginning of her administration than the previous two
years under former Supt. Jackie Crawford.
However, the superintendent refused to reveal the
number of employees who have quit or the turnover rate
percentages for the past three years.
Even though Vitek said he did not have any figures,
he said the attrition rate is not beyond the normal
turnover rate for a state institution.
Most of the former employees requested that their
names not be used, but one ex-employee spoke for the
record.
Emotionally tough
According to Chris Stephens, former kitchen super
visor at the institution, the constant pressure, the contin
ual changes and the "mind games" were "knocking the
heck out of me emotionally."
"I was not going to give up my mental health for my
job," she said.
After waiting 10 months for conditions to improve at
the center, one employee said she could no longer support
what was happening at the institution. She quit.
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Ihe employee, who asked not to be identified, win
Bergen had taken away the staffs pride by undermining
its authority. She added that Bergen would not allow the
employees to be individuals but required them "to be a
reflection of her" and the space for individuality was
getting too small.
The center does not have a mentally healthy atmo
sphere in which to work, she said.
And Stuart Wiley, a former instructor at the
institution, said, MI see a lot of good people quitting."
Possibly Bergen's administration should be investigated,
he said.
Not able to cope
Responding, Bergen said the staff may have been upset
about some of the changes and rule enforce
ments, and some of the staff may have realized they
were not comfortable enforcing the Department of Cor
rection's rules. So they quit. Because they may not have
been able to cope with the responsibility required of
them, they blamed the administration, she said.
Confronted with the charges by the nine former
employees and three inmates, Bergen selected four
employees to be interviewed.
One of them, Jean DenHereter, a correctional super
visor, said that although the dissident employees claim the
trouble stems from Bergen's policies at the center,
problems began even before Bergen became
superintendent.
A rumor was circulated that Bergen had announced on
a television program that she was going to bring her own
staff with her when she took charge of the institution, she
said. The staff became suspicious and fearful of Bergen,
she said, and they felt they were going to lose their jobs.
Improvement seen
However, relations have improved and "I think the ma
jority of the staff approve of most of the changes Bergen
has made," she added.
Prior to joining the York reformatory's staff, Bergen
was employed at the Kansas Reception and Diagnostic
Center in Topeka, Kan., for seven years. Bergen was hired
to replace Crawford, who resigned to accept a position at
the Arizona Women's Correctional facility.
When Bergen took charge of the institution many of
the employees felt she was unapproachable, DenHereter
said.
Little communication existed between the staff and
the administration and employees received no feedback
in regard to their performance, one former employee
complained. The superintendent conducted only one staff
meeting with the correctional officers in the last year,
another employee charged.
The inmates in their petition also claimed Bergen
would not meet with them or confront their problems.
Although the inmates requested several times to hoJd a
group meeting with the superintendent, she would not
face them, the three inmates said.
Communicating time-consuming
However. Bergen claims she has had a hard time
getting her work done because she is busy communicating
with the public, staff and inmates. Staff meetings are held
every Monday and hall meetings are conducted when they
are necessary, she said.
"And inmates and staff members are always welcome
in my office," she said.
Although Bergen says her office is often swarming with
inmates and staff members, when she first arrived she
would not attend meetings requested by inmates because
she was new and was not prepared to face them,
DenHereter said. She does hold hall meetings now, and
communication among the administration, staff and in
mates has improved, she said.
Memos detailing rules and regulations did not im
prove communication, and only increased the confusion
surrounding the three rule books, which were in use, the
inmates and former employees said.
Memo rules
There was a time when three rule books were used and
rule changes distributed in the form of memos, a former
employee said. Inmates were charged, or "written-up."
for infractions of the rules from any of the books or
memos, she said.
Neither the inmates nor the staff could keep abreast of
the rule changes although they were often posted in the
halls, Stephens said.
"Rules seemed to be changed daily," she said.
The rules, which were circulated in memo form, could
be interpreted in various ways, one employee said, and
the superintendent would explain the rules one way to
one employee and a different way to another.
Because the Department of Corrections has been in the
process of revising rule boks, three rule books, the hall
rules, the center's rules and the Department of Cor
rection's rules had to be used, Bergen said.
Rules available
Because changes may have referred only to one hall or
to the center, rules had to be distributed in memo form.
Continued on Page 1 1
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