JEFFERSON CITY — Staffing problems at Missouri’s mental hospitals, often linked to the state’s low worker pay rates, have left hundreds of people needing treatment sitting in county jails for months.
Nearly 160 people are awaiting admission to the state’s psychiatric hospitals under orders from judges to receive “competency restoration,†according to the Missouri Department of Mental Health.
Another 65 individuals who, as of Jan. 20, have been evaluated and found to be incompetent to stand trial are awaiting new court orders that could lead to potential admission to state mental health facilities.
But even then, they will remain in jail until more space opens in a treatment center.
“Upon receipt of court orders, these individuals will be added to the waiting list,†said DMH spokeswoman Debra Walker.
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The backlog, which is averaging about six months, has forced the department into a triage mode, pushing some with acute mental health issues to be treated in jails via mobile teams, if those teams are available, Walker said.
The waiting list at the department is just one result of a high turnover rate of employees in state government that has triggered a call by Gov. Mike Parson to give all state workers a 5.5% raise, while also lifting the base hourly pay rate for state employees to $15 per hour.
The lack of workers is not limited to the Department of Mental Health. At the Missouri Veterans Commission, officials have capped the number of military veterans it can care for at its seven nursing homes.
A lack of snowplow operators at the Missouri Department of Transportation has resulted in the agency planning to send mobile teams from around the state to help parts of the state that need assistance clearing roads.
And at the Missouri Department of Corrections, officials have closed housing units and moved inmates to accommodate staff shortages at various facilities.
Walker said the raises could help address the backlog.
“If the proposed cost of living increase in the supplemental budget passes for state employees, it will make DMH more competitive for recruiting and retaining needed staffing,†Walker said.
At the Fulton State Hospital, the state’s job postings include open positions for support care assistants with a base pay of $25,000. A job for a food service assistant also is open at an hourly rate of $12 per hour.
In a briefing with reporters last week, Parson’s budget chief, Dan Haug, said state facilities in Fulton, including the state’s primary mental hospital, are competing for workers with a Dollar General warehouse operation.
It’s not clear yet when or whether those raises will pass muster with members of the Republican-controlled Legislature.
In December, Parson announced his plan for the raises and said they need to be in place by Feb. 1 to address a situation that has seen more than one-quarter of the workforce leave their jobs this fiscal year.
In the House, the Budget Committee is still mulling the increases, which would cost at least $91 million in the current fiscal year.
Under the current timeline, it will be difficult for both chambers to get the emergency spending legislation to the governor’s desk by his deadline.
Rep. , D-Independence, said he expects a vote in the House next week.
“I believe there will be bipartisan support for approving that increase,†Rep. , R-Rocheport, said Monday.
But Rep. of St. Louis, who is the top Democrat on the House Budget Committee, said Republicans are dragging their feet because some members oppose pay raises.
“I think that’s a sign of pushback,†Merideth said.
Meanwhile, the governor is requesting an additional $2.7 million and 46 additional mental health workers in his regular operating budget, which would go into effect on July 1.
The spending plan says the money and staff would “accommodate increased demand for psychiatric care of individuals requiring inpatient services.â€
In addition, the budget calls for moving 25 workers in one division of the agency to help fill staffing needs at Fulton State Hospital.
Updated at 3:45 p.m. Monday, Jan. 24.