Report 2009-608 Recommendations and Responses in 2014-041
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 2013-041 Response | Not Implemented as of Most Recent Response |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Department of State Hospitals | 5 | 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
As previously indicated, the Department of State Hospitals has the in-house expertise to evaluate its current staffing models. The Department has launched its staffing study project with an initial focus on the nursing classifications and anticipates completion of this phase in fiscal year 2015-16. As an update to the Department's complement IT project, the Automated Staff Scheduling and Information Support Tool (ASSIST), the first round of User Acceptance Testing was completed on October 9, 2014 and Department-wide implementation is scheduled to be completed in the spring of 2015.
- California State Auditor's Assessment of Status: Not Fully Implemented
- Completion Date: 2015-16
- Response Date: October 2014