NYAPRS Note: Our colleagues at the Association for Community Living have released the results of an October member survey showed that the statewide job vacancy average was nearing 15%; it then grew to 19% in May 2021, and again to more than 23% in October 2021. This means that nearly one in four positions statewide are vacant. Additionally, the survey noted that when the vacancy and unavailability rates were combined, 34% of the staff positions were unfilled that week — meaning one in three positions required coverage. That unavailability rate was even starker in the Capital Region at 45 percent. See ACL’s letter to the Times Union and yesterday’s Times Unio article below. Advocates are accelerating the pressure on an almost daily basis to see that a 5.4% COLA and $500 million investment in NYS community behavioral health services are included in Governor Hochul’s first budget.
Letter: Hochul’s First Budget Must Include More Funds For Mental Health Housing
Albany Times Union November 20, 2021
With no industry immune from workforce shortages, the staff vacancy rate in New York state’s mental health housing system has only gotten worse. Last October, the statewide vacancy average was nearing 15 percent; this October, it stood at more than 23 percent. Nearly 1-in-4 positions statewide are vacant.
The Association for Community Living represents mental health housing providers who employ thousands of staff throughout the state. These caregivers are essential workers; they deserve to make a living wage. Unlike fast food owners who can raise wages to compete, mental health housing providers’ reimbursement rates are fixed by the state; they cannot raise wages. Further, housing staff supports the recovery of more than 40,000 New Yorkers with severe mental illness — a job where much more can go wrong due to understaffing than if someone got the wrong sandwich.
Sebrina Barrett Executive Director for the Association for Community Living
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NYS Assembly Holds Public Hearing on Mental Health Workforce Staffing
Saratogian November 21, 2021
ALBANY, N.Y. — Before the COVID pandemic, demand for mental health services was high.
This trend has continued to increase due to stay-at-home orders, isolation, and other fallout from the pandemic. Yet, in New York, there is significant concern that there are not enough mental health professionals to meet the need of the ever-growing demand for services. During a recent hearing, members of the New York State Assembly sought to address the capacity and long-term sustainability of the mental health workforce and service system in New York state.
The National Council of Behavioral Health (NCBH) reported that 77% of counties in the United States are experiencing a severe shortage of mental health providers and the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) estimates that by 2025, there will be a shortage of more than 250,000 mental health professionals. In New York State, service providers have reported drastic staffing shortages which have led some programs to be eliminated or scaled back.
The New York State Office of Mental Health (OMH) was allocated supplemental Community Mental Health Services (CMHS) Block Grant funding of nearly $47 million under the Coronavirus Response and Relief Supplemental Appropriations Act and $80 million under the American Rescue Plan Act. Of this funding, Gov. Kathy Hochul recently announced that OMH has allocated $21 million in workforce recruitment and retention funds.
The hopes were that the hearing would provide the committee an opportunity to assess the need for mental health professionals statewide, gather additional information on workforce strategies related to CMHS Block Grant funding, as well as, examine and consider legislation and other initiatives that would aim to build workforce capacity for the long-term sustainability of the mental health service system.
Testifying on the need to improve those conditions was Sebrina Barrett, Executive Director for the Association for Community Living (ACL).
ACL is a statewide membership organization of not-for-profit agencies that provide housing and rehabilitation services to 40,000 people diagnosed with serious and persistent psychiatric disabilities.
“The past 20 months have been incredibly challenging for the mental health housing workforce, causing many of them to seek employment elsewhere. For those who remain, the need to work extra hours to fill the gaps is taking its toll, and is unsustainable,” Barrett said regarding the shortage.
“While no industry seems immune from workforce shortages seemingly related to the pandemic, the staff vacancy rate in New York State’s mental health housing system was a concern before COVID, and it has only gotten worse,” Barrett noted.
According to Barrett, a survey of their members showed that last Oct. the statewide vacancy average was nearing 15%; it then grew to 19% in May 2021, and again to more than 23% in October 2021. This means that nearly one in four positions statewide are vacant. Additionally, the survey noted that when the vacancy and unavailability rates were combined, 34% of the staff positions were unfilled that week — meaning one in three positions required coverage. That unavailability rate was even starker in the Capital Region at 45 percent.
“Practically speaking — what does this look like? How do housing providers keep their programs open without more than one-third of their workforce? Executives and other senior-level employees are filling direct care roles,” Barrett remarked on stretching resources.
“Imagine that you are short-staffed and, instead of being here today, to hear our testimony, you have to be in your office, sorting mail, filing documents, and circulating bill memos. Not only is this inefficient, these tasks, while necessary, are not the best use of your time,” Barrett continued.
“That is what is happening in mental health housing. Chief Operations Officers, Chief Financial Officers, HR Managers, and Program Managers are all working direct care shifts. They are transporting residents to medical appointments, helping them manage their medications, and ensuring their living environments are safe. These are all important tasks, but not what these individuals were hired to do,” Barrett explained on conditions.
“Not only does this negatively impact the operation of these housing agencies, but it also negatively impacts the residents and their recovery. Residents deserve consistent and competent caregivers with whom they can build trust. Further, when programs are short-staffed, health and safety become significant concerns. Serious illness and even death can occur when there are not enough staff to ensure residents’ well-being,” Barrett noted on the impact of the staffing shortage.
Additionally, Barrett made the case for why organizations like hers are in vital need of more funding.
“We were pleased to see Governor Hochul’s announcement of $21 million to fund mental health workforce recruitment and retention; however, residential programs are not eligible for this funding. Our understanding is there will be separate federal funding available to residential programs that rely on Medicaid, but that will only benefit about 25% of the mental health housing workforce, leaving the majority of the staff out and causing inequities that could lead to much worse vacancy rates in the programs that do not receive these funds,” Barrett explained.
“With rising inflation and wages, an across-the-board adjustment is needed to prevent further erosion of funding. Due to decades of neglect, rising inflation, and fair market rent values rising sharply, these programs need $177 million just to make up for years of underfunding. Further, it is imperative that the 5.4% human services COLA be funded, so that we can move toward providing these essential workers with a living wage. We need funding to raise wages and support other recruitment and retention incentives. We can’t wait for action. The time to address the workforce crisis is now,” Barrett added on the immediate need for additional funds.