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N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – District 24 State Senator Larry Robinson of Valley City said the budgeting process this session has been especially challenging. Revenue shortfalls have resulted in significant decreases to budgets. In some cases, you have to wonder if we are indeed being Penny Wise and Dollars Foolish. All too often, we find ourselves in a situation of paying now or paying later.
The Senate Appropriations Committee spent three days last week hearing the budget for the Department of Human Services. The budget for the Department of Human Services totals $3.8 billion dollars. Included in the budget is funding for the State Hospital in Jamestown. The bill recommends cutting 51 positions statewide including 11 from the State Hospital. Those reductions will impact the Sex offender Treatment and Assessment Program, resulting in the closure of an 8-10 bed patient care unit. Dr. Rosalie Etherington, Superintendent of the State Hospital, expressed strong concern that the budget reductions will impact have a negative impact on behavioral health services, where there is already a serious shortage. Staff retention and recruitment has been a challenging issue for the hospital.
On average it takes 142 days to hire a nurse, 545 days to hire a psychologist, and 905 days to hire a psychiatrist. At the present time the hospital has psychologist and psychiatrist vacancies at 50% and nurse vacancies at 17%. The vacancies have resulted in contracting with out of state specialists. Those hires don’t come cheap! The forensic psychologist shortage is the most critical, according to Etherington. At the present time, there are three long term vacancies. The positions are necessary for court ordered criminal responsibility, criminal competency, and sex offender evaluations.
These reductions come at a time when the overall budget for he Department of Human Services will experience a increase in the total budget largely due to reimbursement rates for Nursing Homes and the Developmental Disabilities Division. Overall the budget for the State Hospital portion of the budget will decrease from $70.6 million to $67.6 million. The budget is a challenging one to work on because behind the numbers are people, many of whom are vulnerable and in need of services. Others have multiple medical challenges requiring specialized care and around the clock attention.
There is much more to discuss. Our next legislative forum is this coming Saturday, March 25th at the Commons area of the Lisbon Public School. The forum will began at 9:00 a.m. and conclude at 11:00. We will be joined by the legislative delegation from District 26. We hope you will join us. We welcome your thoughts and/suggestions. Until then, I can be reached at lrobinson@nd.gov.
District 24 State Senator
Larry Robinson