The ongoing story about cancellation of visiting days at state prisons is always a dismal one, but it takes on an even darker tone as the holiday season begins.

As The Advertiser reported last week, almost half of all visiting days at the Halawa Correctional Facility's medium-security section have been canceled during the past three months, because of a shortage of corrections officers on duty to supervise.

This is a persistent problem that drew attention in a 2006 financial audit of the department: A high rate of sick leave has made scheduling family visits a hit-or-miss process for prison staff.

Canceling such visits between inmates and their families is no small matter. It's a crushing disappointment for families to be turned away.

And on a deeper sociological level, professional criminologists underscore the importance of regular visits to inmates by loved ones: Keeping those ties strong can improve an inmate's ability to assimilate in the community once released.

Prison officials acknowledge "there's a problem," confirming that one in five visits were canceled in the first half of the year. That's intolerable in a system that recognizes how critical maintenance of family ties can be in the long-term success of prisoner rehabilitation.

Clearly this issue should rise to the A-list for discussion in the coming contract negotiations between the state Department of Public Safety and the labor representatives of the officers, the United Public Workers. The current contract is due to lapse by mid 2009.

The approach to the problem will have to be a multifaceted one. Management says the prisons are not understaffed, but they may need to reconsider whether staffing formulas need adjustment to cover reasonable contingencies. For the immediate future, the process for claiming sick leave may need to be tightened to curb the temptation for abuse.

But in the longer term, there may also be a need to improve the career track for these employees, beyond renaming them "adult corrections officers" as opposed to "prison guards." Training needs to emphasize their role in the corrections process itself, rather than simply providing the security buffer between inmate and community.

In short, the department needs to find ways to enhance its recruitment of officers; filling vacancies, even under current staffing levels, has been an uphill battle.

In the meantime, there may be creative solutions to staffing shortages. Kat Brady, coordinator for the Community Alliance on Prisons, has proposed that volunteer help from the law-enforcement retiree community could be tapped. This may take some retraining to ensure safety standards are upheld, but it's an idea worth exploring.

In a climate of budget cutting, this staffing challenge may seem daunting. But maintaining a healthy visit schedule for inmates will reduce recidivism. That will ultimately lower costs and enhance public safety — surely in the community's best interests.