JEFFERSON CITY — Gov. Mike Parson’s administration wants to hire five new workers at a cost of $1.6 million to help workers in the state’s mental health facilities who have undergone traumatic experiences on the job.
The proposal, along with boosting wages, is aimed at reducing employee turnover in jobs that work directly with patients who can be combative.
“We need to expand this effort if we are going to retain employees,†Missouri Department of Mental Health Director Valerie Huhn told members of the House Budget Committee Monday.
Money for the program, which is included in the agency’s $4.2 billion spending plan for the fiscal year beginning July 1, is among dozens of attempts in the overall $53 billion budget blueprint to address high rates of turnover among state employees.
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Parson, for example, is seeking 3.2% raises in the next fiscal year, after winning agreement from lawmakers to increase salaries over 20% since taking office in 2018.
According to the Department of Mental Health, there were 456 worker compensation claims for injuries sustained while on the job last year, representing 20% of all injuries across 17 departments in state government.
The injuries, of which nearly half were caused by being hit by a patient, cost the state $9.9 million and resulted in more than 8,000 lost working days.
The turnover rate at the department is hovering at 30%, but can be higher for employees in high stress positions.
“Like military, law enforcement, and other first responders, mental health employees experience trauma on a daily basis while at work. These traumatic events can have long lasting impact on their lives,†budget documents note.
Plans call for the expansion of a new peer network to respond to workplace trauma by hiring a program manager and four specialists for all 28 facilities operated by DMH.
Those workers also will train an additional 120 volunteers to help their peers.
There also could be “wellness space†created at the facilities to help employees relieve stress.
After hovering near the 50,000 worker level for many years, the governor’s Office of Administration says the current workforce is 44,100 as of the November payroll. There were about 3,700 vacant positions at that time.
In the previous year, there were about 42,000 full-time workers and more than 5,800 vacancies.
Huhn said a recent round of wage hikes has helped stabilize an agency that has been unable to fully function because of a lack of workers.
Lower paid direct care workers in state psychiatric hospitals have begun to rebound.
“It’s not a steep curve but we are trending up,†Huhn said
But, the agency still has to search for outside contractors to fill positions such as psychiatrists, dieticians, psychologists and security personnel.
“Nursing is still a struggle for us too,†Huhn said.
House budget writers are expected to finalize their work in mid-March, with an eye on getting their spending package to the Senate before they leave for a weeklong spring break.