JEFFERSON CITY — Following an ongoing pattern, Gov. Mike Parson’s administration is paying a global consulting firm to determine how to boost the pay of frontline workers in the state’s troubled child welfare agency.
The $500,000 contract with Accenture is one of several arrangements with consulting firms that have become commonplace during the governor’s tenure. And, it comes despite lawmakers budgeting more than $2 million to provide raises for the same workers in the fiscal year beginning July 1.
Parson vetoed that money saying the General Assembly shouldn’t single out specific agencies for pay raises.
The maneuver, which was briefly outlined in a contentious hearing between lawmakers and the Missouri Department of Social Services Tuesday, is the latest example of the administration practice of spending taxpayer dollars on consultants.
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Rep. , R-Arnold, who chairs the House Children and Families Committee, said the revelation of another consulting contract was eye-opening.
“There are a lot of follow-up questions about that,†Coleman told the Post-Dispatch Wednesday. “I’m concerned about that and find it very frustrating.â€
Coleman said the Legislature, led by the House, has attempted to help the Department of Social Services address problems at the agency, including the issue of low pay.
“We have seen those tools not utilized or rejected,†Coleman said.
Along with the Accenture contract, state payroll documents show the consulting firm Protiviti was hired last year to help support the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations’ call center and to process unemployment claims and appeals related to business-related shutdowns.
Parson also hired a Virginia-based consulting firm to help the state respond to the pandemic.
Parson has said the money paid to the McChrystal Group has helped on numerous fronts, including planning for the distribution of medicine across the state and the creation of computer models that help track the spread of the deadly disease.
More than 11,000 Missourians have died from complications related to COVID-19.
Parson also paid Deloitte Consulting nearly $800,000 to design a new pay plan for state workers. In 2020, lawmakers refused to fund the blueprint.
But earlier this year the Legislature inserted money into the budget to implement Deloitte’s work, but Parson vetoed the funds.
The state also has paid McKinsey & Co. $2.7 million to study how Missouri could save money on the state’s Medicaid health insurance program, known as MoHealthNet.
As governor, Parson has attempted to increase employee pay in the state, calling on the Legislature to approve incremental 2% raises for all state workers during his tenure.
Departmental budgets submitted to the governor’s budget office show agency heads are continuing to try and bring up the pay of the state’s workers.
The current low pay rate has contributed to a high rate of employee turnover in the state’s child welfare agency, which is under fire on a number of fronts, including for its handling of runaway foster children.
In 2020, the agency, which employs about 2,000 people, had 26% turnover. Budget documents show the division was able to roll over $1.6 million from “increased turnover†of children’s service workers last year.
It’s not clear whether the $2.1 million vetoed by Parson would have tamped down the number of workers who depart for higher-paying jobs.
But, it also isn’t clear in budget documents whether the work by Accenture will be included in any push for higher wages by Parson when he unveils his budget proposal in January.
Accenture was paid more than $10 million by the state in the most recent fiscal year. This year, the firm has received more than $1.8 million for work at a handful of state agencies.
In the Capitol, the company is represented by lobbyist Andy Blunt, the son of U.S. Sen. Roy Blunt, and Noel Torpey, a former member of the Missouri House.
Coleman said her committee plans to have another hearing with the Department of Social Services before issuing a report designed to fix problems at the agency.
That report could yield legislative action when lawmakers return to the Capitol in January.