LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska prison officials will continue offering $2,500 hiring bonuses to find new guards for prisons in Lincoln and Tecumseh.

The bonuses were scheduled to expire, but Corrections Director Scott Frakes announced they will be extended to Jan. 2.

The bonuses are paid out quarterly over a new employee’s first year of service.

Since the bonuses began on Oct. 2, Frakes said 50 new staff members have been hired at the two prisons.

Frakes says adding more guards should reduce the need for mandatory overtime at both prisons.