JACKSON - The head of the state Department of Human Services says Mississippi's social worker shortage won't go away without legislative action.
DHS executive director Janice Broome Brooks says lawmakers appropriate more money to fill vacant positions.
"The reality of the situation is you have an agency, Human Services, that has been underfunded over the years," Brooks said. "There comes a time that it is time for there to be some adjustments made … to keep up with the rising caseload that the agency has."
Gov. Ronnie Musgrove's recent budget recommendation would give DHS $89.5 million, $15 million more than last year. Brooks requested $97.3 million for fiscal 2004 and is still seeking $19.8 million to cover a budget shortfall from last year. The Legislature's budget would give DHS extra money to hire more social workers.
Brooks said her agency has streamlined its programs to cut costs, mentioning changes to the transportation program that is expected to cut its estimated $28 million operating cost by 45 percent.
That program was changed so that DHS only pays for miles that are actually used to transport a person, where in the past the agency also paid "dead miles" when passengers weren't in a vehicle.
The department is enlisting students' help to cushion the staffing shortage. Brooks said her agency is working with the state's seven public universities that offer social work programs to create the Mississippi Child Welfare Institute.
Students studying social work would have their tuition paid and receive a small living stipend while interning at DHS, Brooks said in an interview with The Associated Press. She said in exchange, students would agree to work at DHS when they graduate.
"There actually is a shortage of social workers on a national level and that is still the case here in Mississippi," Brooks said. "Right now, we have 53 vacant positions in our social work program."
"This program would allow us to look at trying to fill a pool of social workers, not for just right now, but also in the future."
Brooks said budget issues are still being worked out for the institute, funded by the state and participating public universities, that is set to kick off in the first week of January. She said the state has already committed $250,000 to the effort.
Q: If DHS gets additional state funding in the next fiscal year, why are these funds necessary and what would be the priority for these added funds?
A: What state dollars do for us, because we are an agency that operates off of federal grants and the federal grants allow us to have matching ratios, in some instances as much as 3-1. … With the additional state dollars, we can use those dollars to draw down. In some instances for every dollar in state money you get three from the feds. … The priority for that would be to apply to those grants to direct services such that we can have more resources available.
Q: Help us with the perception some people have that DHS is a bottomless pit, always needing more money. What is DHS doing to do more with less?
A: The federal government in some instances provides incentives, bonuses, to states … who have employees who are performing at a level such that they can be beneficiaries of those incentives.
I think you may recall recently our eligibility workers, who in addition to determining eligibility for Medicaid, CHIP health benefits as well as food stamps, brought Mississippi national acclaim as being No. 4 in the nation (in food stamp accuracy). Out of that came $4.7 million which was bonus money and that was put right back into the agency.
Right now you're looking at an agency whose funding over the years has decreased, not increased, and what the agency has been able to do - without cutting services - is to use those (federal) incentive dollars every year.
In our Division of Child Support we were not able to (qualify for incentive dollars) this year, because of the lack of staff. But we have in the past been able to be the beneficiaries of incentive dollars that go back into the operation of the program.
Q: What is the status of an ongoing federal investigation into the inadequate medical care and sexual misconduct by guards with juveniles at the state-run Oakley and Columbia training schools?
A: We have secured a small measure of funding, a grant through the Department of Corrections and Public safety. … We are in the process of hiring 12 more juvenile corrections officers.
What we have been saying, for well over a year now, is in the face of not having sufficient staff, we are looking at circumstances where, as employees take on more responsibilities, then you have a fatigue factor setting in, a stress factor setting in. And we have not been able to provide the degree of medical services that we want to provide.
What we have pretty much been doing is engaging in emergency response but we want to be in the position to be able to provide more preventive care. And I can share this because this is our side.
I'm not speaking to the investigation. I can't speak to that, but these are some of the things we were pointing to, by virtue of our needs, even before the investigation started.
Q: What steps are being taken to monitor the DHS transportation program?
A: In terms of looking at the log - that's an ongoing daily review that the agency engages in before money is paid out. … We have people at the county level who are out there, who pretty much know the route, to be our first eyes and ears in terms of looking at where a person is being placed, where they are going to and roughly the distance it would take. …
In terms of monitoring the activity … We made changes in the log such that there has to be signing off.
When somebody steps in the car, it's signed off and there's a log of the miles, where you went, and what the odometer read at that time.
So just the improvements in the log really helps us to track actual, in the car, point A to point B travel.
Q: Is the new electronic benefits transfer system (EBT) statewide for welfare recipients?
A: That is a program the state of Mississippi has been trying to get off the ground for over 10 years and we were able to accomplish that on time. It was due Oct. 1. We brought it in on time and we are now statewide.
Q: So food stamps have been eliminated?
A: We are out of the paper (food stamps) business and the retailers love that, as well as our customers, because just as you would go to a grocery store and pull out your ATM card or debit card, they can do the same … And for the retail community, that allows them to get the benefit of a purchase instantly as opposed to having to bind those coupons up and then ship them off. They don't have to do that any more.
Copyright 2002 Associated Press. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
