Report 2009-608 Recommendations and Responses in 2015-041
Report 2009-608: High Risk Update—State Overtime Costs: A Variety of Factors Resulted in Significant Overtime Costs at the Departments of Mental Health and Developmental Services
| Department | Number of Years Reported As Not Fully Implemented | Total Recommendations to Department | Not Implemented After One Year | Not Implemented as of 2014-041 Response | Not Implemented as of Most Recent Response |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Department of State Hospitals | 6 | 6 | 1 | 1 | 1 |
Recommendation To: State Hospitals, Department of
To ensure that all overtime hours worked are necessary, and to protect the health and safety of its employees and patients, Mental Health should implement the Legislative Analyst's suggestion of hiring an independent consultant to evaluate the current staffing model for Mental Health's hospitals. The staffing levels at Mental Health should then be adjusted, depending on the outcome of the consultant's evaluation.
Response
The Automated Staff Scheduling and Information Support Tool (ASSIST) has been deployed at all Department of State Hospitals (DSH) facilities and is currently in the process of retiring paper-based scheduling methods and transitioning to paperless schedule management. Plans are in place to transition to Maintenance and Operations by September 30, 2015. Future enhancements may be continued as post project enhancements.
The DSH is currently conducting a clinical staffing study to assess staffing methodologies and staff to patient ratios within core clinical functions. This assessment will review current staffing standards to determine appropriateness; propose new population driven methodologies to adequately support our current populations; assess current relief factors to ensure they continue to reflect our coverage needs; and review staffing levels within core clinical functions.
The initial phase of the staffing study will focus on the following areas: Hospital Forensic Departments, 24 Hour Care Nursing Services, Protective Services and Treatment Planning and Delivery. On August 26, 2016 DSH entered into a contract with the Cooperative Personnel Services (CPS) to provide an independent review and validation of DSH's staffing study efforts. As each staffing study is completed it will be validated by CPS. The staffing study and validation will be completed by September 2016.
- California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Not Fully Implemented
- Completion Date: September 2015
- Response Date: September 2015