A chronic shortage of correctional officers at Tutwiler Prison for Women has gotten worse, according to testimony in a federal court hearing on prison staffing in Montgomery today.

U.S. District Judge Myron Thompson is holding hearings on the Alabama Department of Corrections' plan to increase staffing in response to Thompson's finding last summer that mental health care in prisons is "horrendously inadequate."

Wendy Williams, deputy commissioner for women's services for the DOC, took the stand this morning to begin what is expected to be about three weeks of hearings. DOC Commissioner Jeff Dunn is also expected to testify.

Southern Poverty Law Center attorney Maria Morris questioned Williams this morning about staffing trends at Tutwiler, the state's only major prison for women. DOC reports showed that in September 2011, Tutwiler had 93 correctional officers out of an authorized staff of 160. Five years later, Tutwiler had 70 officers. By October of this year, the number was down to 56.

Williams testified that it's generally harder to hire and retain correctional officers when the economy is strong. The unemployment rate in Alabama has dropped to historically low levels.

The starting salary for a correctional officer is $29,954. Starting pay is 5 percent higher with an associate's degree and 10 percent higher with a bachelor's degree.

An officer starting at the minimum salary is eligible for a step increase to $30,724 after the first year and up to $33,086 at five years, said Bob Horton, spokesman for the DOC.

Thompson asked Williams if pay for correctional officers needs to be raised to help attract and retain more officers. Williams said it did.

The problem of understaffing in prisons is not new and is not confined to Tutwiler. Dunn told state lawmakers a year ago that the number of violent incidents in prisons had roughly doubled over five years as the number of corrections officers dropped by 20 percent.

While understaffing is a problem at Tutwiler, Williams said significant progress has been made toward complying with a 2015 settlement with the U.S. Department of Justice over conditions at the prison. In 2014, the DOJ determined there was a pattern of sexual abuse and harassment of inmates at Tutwiler.

Williams said the DOC has achieved substantial compliance with 40 of 44 specific provisions in the settlement. Two of the exceptions involve hiring and a staffing plan.

Williams said women now make up about 67 percent of the correctional staff at Tutwiler, up from 35 percent in 2012. She said current percentage is in line with what's required because of the unique staffing needs in a prison for women.

Williams testified that the prison has taken steps to mitigate the problems caused by understaffing. Those steps include using overtime and using employees who are not fully certified correctional officers for certain jobs, such as monitoring the prison's video surveillance system.

As part of its staffing plan proposed to the federal court, the state hired experts to analyze staffing needs in the prisons. The experts completed assessments at three major prisons and will do so at the 11 other men's prisons with court approval. It would take two years to achieve comprehensive staffing if the Legislature provides the funding, the DOC says.

The DOC also hired a consultant to study recruitment and retention of correctional officers and entered an agreement with the Troy University Center for Public Service for a comprehensive analysis of compensation for correctional officers, including comparisons to other law enforcement jobs.

The DOC plan submitted to the court calls for roughly doubling the number of mental health caregivers in prisons at an estimated cost of at least $10 million a year. Mental health care is provided through a contractor. The expanded staff is included in a request for proposals the DOC has issued.

The plan is contingent on additional funding approved by the Legislature.

In 2014, the SPLC and the Alabama Disabilities Advocacy Program sued the DOC on behalf of inmates over medical care, mental health care and accommodations for prisoners with disabilities. The current hearings are part of the remedy phase of the mental health case after Thompson's ruling last summer that mental health care does not meet constitutional standards.

Thompson found that understaffing of correctional officers was an overarching issue contributing to the problems.

Lawyers for the state have asked Thompson to approve the DOC staffing plan. Lawyers for the plaintiffs say the plan is not adequate.

Lawyers for the state say they could still appeal Thompson's finding of unconstitutional care.

The state and the plaintiffs have agreed to settle the claims involving disabled inmates. The claims on medical care are pending.

Two inmates who are plaintiffs in the case watched this morning's hearing via remote video from Donaldson Correctional Facility in Jefferson County.