Parole Board cuts jobs in budget crunch

ATLANTA - The state Board of Pardons and Paroles voted Monday to cut 10 jobs and move 16 others in an effort to save $1.4 million. <br> <br> The cost-saving moves are part of 2 percent cuts statewide ordered by Gov. Roy Barnes in response to sagging government income during the recession, The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported. <br> <br> The transfers should bring more people to overworked parole offices across the state, said board chairman Buddy Nix. The layoffs were needed to save money. <br> <br> ``The emphasis is getting more positions out into the field,&#39;&#39; Nix said. <br> <br> That help will be needed at the state parole office in Walker County, which covers four northwest Georgia counties, said manager Harris Childers. Two of five parole officer positions there have been frozen since summer, raising caseloads to more than 100 per officer. <br> <br> ``That&#39;s about double what they should have,&#39;&#39; Childers said. ``We spend a lot of our time traveling from parolee to parolee. It&#39;s virtually impossible when caseloads get that high.&#39;&#39; <br> <br> Many of the job cuts and shifts will come in the Community Based Services Division, which manages mental health and employment education programs for parolees. <br> <br> The division, which was found to be ``ineffective and inefficient&#39;&#39; in an audit, will be reduced to its core services, Nix said.

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