To: Board of Supervisors
From: DHHS: Administration
Agenda Section: Consent
SUBJECT:
title
Extension of Extra Help Hours Past the 960 Hour Limit
end
RECOMMENDATION(S):
Recommendation
That the Board of Supervisors:
1. Approve the extension of extra help hours for the following employees:
a. Ronald Allen, Community Health Outreach Worker I to 1920 hours through June 30, 2019;
b. Rana Avery, Community Health Outreach Worker I to 1920 hours through June 30, 2019;
c. Emily Barnes, Nurse Case Manager to 1920 hours through June 30, 2019;
d. Roxanne Cameron, Medical Office Assistant to 1920 hours through June 30, 2019;
e. Morgan Chapman, Mental Health Maintenance Custodian to 1920 hours through June 30, 2019;
f. Dylan Degraff, Staff Services Specialist to 1920 hours through June 30, 2019;
g. Petar Demirev, Departmental Information Systems Technician to 1920 hours through June 30, 2019;
h. Jessica Fox, Mental Health Case Manager I to 1920 hours through June 30, 2019;
i. Anita Fullbright, Public Health Nurse to 1920 hours through June 30, 2019;
j. Haylee Gaston, Mental Health Worker to 1920 hours through June 30, 2019;
k. Carlos Gonzales-Bobadilla, Mental Health Clinician I to 1920 hours through June 30, 2019;
l. Aenoi Khounsinavong, Mental Health Cook to 1920 hours through June 30, 2019;
m. Tyler Jennings, Mental Health Worker I to 1920 hours through June 30, 2019;
n. Cathy Lubin, Environmental Health Technician I to 1920 hours through June 30, 2019;
o. Terri Majors, Peer Coach I to 1920 hours through June 30, 2019;
p. Constance Mitchell, Public Health Nurse to 1920 hours through June 30, 2019;
q. Brianna Penner, Mental Health Case Manager I to 1920 hours through June 30, 2019;
r. Shaun Peterson, Health Education Specialist to 1920 hours through June 30, 2019;
s. Shawna Reckinger, Psychiatric Nurse to 1920 hours through June 30, 2019;
t. Silvia Ramirez, Nutrition Aide to 1920 hours through June 30, 2019;
u. Alexander Scherbatskoy, Mental Health Clinician I to 1920 hours through June 30, 2019;
v. Linda Shepard, Nutrition Aide to 1920 hours through June 30, 2019;
w. Melissa Smith, Office Assistant I to 1920 hours through June 30, 2019;
x. Sarah Smith, Social Worker III to 1920 hours through June 30, 2019;
y. Kristi Todd, Office Assistant I to 1920 hours through June 30, 2019; and
z. Christiana Yee, Mental Health Worker I to 1920 hours through June 30, 2019.
Body
SOURCE OF FUNDING:
Mental Health Fund
Public Health Fund
Social Services Fund
DISCUSSION:
In support of the 24-hour Psychiatric In-Patient Hospital and Emergency unit are Mental Health Clinician Alexander Scherbatskoy, Mental Health Workers Haylee Gaston, Tyler Jennings, and Christiana Yee, Nurse Case Manager Emily Barnes and Psychiatric Nurse Shawna Reckinger. Extra help staff support the In-Patient Hospital and Emergency units by providing mandated staffing ratios should regular staff be out due to illness or vacation. Extra Help Mental Health Maintenance Custodian Morgan Chapman is currently maintaining coverage for 24 hour shifts for staff out on extended leave and other approved leaves. Mental Health Cook Aenoi Khounsinavong is currently maintaining coverage for vacant positions and for staff leaves. The department with the assistance of County Human Resources continues to recruit heavily for additional extra help staff for the in-patient and emergency units; however, it is often difficult to find sufficient numbers of licensed persons interested in back-fill type positions. Should the department be able to increase the extra help pool it would eliminate the need to extend hours.
Mental Health Clinician I Carlos Gonzales-Bobadilla carries a caseload and provides coverage at the Children and Family Services clinic.
Peer Coach Terri Majors supports the Hope Center by providing client transportation and reception duties. Terri is currently maintaining coverage for staffing shortages and leaves.
Mental Health Case Manager Brianna Penner supports Transition Age Youth providing 1:1 contact with mental health clients as well as providing coverage for our drop in space.
Mental Health Case Manager Jessica Fox provides support for the Dual Recovery Program by providing support to clients in Early Recovery. Jessica is currently maintaining coverage for staffing shortages and leaves.
Environmental Health Technician I Cathy Lubin currently supports Environmental Health within Public Health Branch. This assignment has been instrumental in providing support to Environmental Health and their electronic reporting and enforcement efforts. Cathy’s role has expanded to include coordinating our quarterly outreach and training events for the regulated community.
Office Assistant Melissa Smith supports the Environmental Health office with phone and reception desk coverage. Melissa is currently maintaining coverage for staffing shortages and leaves.
Community Health Outreach Workers Ronald Allen and Rana Avery, and Health Education Specialist Shaun Peterson support outreach activities around HIV/AIDS education and prevention.
Medical Office Assistant Roxanne Cameron provides office support including reception, patient scheduling, obtaining patient documentation and conducting review of financial status of patients for eligibility in the Women, Infant and Children’s (WIC) program. Nutrition Aides Silvia Ramirez and Linda Shepard screen applicants for WIC Eligibility, conduct enrollment and recertification appointments, issue food vouchers and provide nutrition and health information to applicants.
Public Health Nurse Anita Fulbright conducts immunizations, TB testing and lead case management for the Public Health Clinic.
Public Health Nurse Constance Mitchell provides nurse case management for Children’s Medical Services programs: California Children’s Services (CCS) and Child Health and Disability Prevention (CHDP).
Staff Services Specialist Dylan Degraff supports the DHHS facilities unit by creating, assigning, directing and completing work orders necessary to maintain our facilities. Dylan provides coverage for staffing shortages and leaves.
Social Worker III Sarah Smith supports Adult Protective Services (APS). APS is a mandated program which keeps elders and dependent adults in Humboldt County safe. Sarah assists with intake and investigations. Sarah is providing coverage for staffing shortages and leaves.
Office Assistant Kristi Todd supports Child Welfare Services clerical. Kristi is providing coverage for staffing shortages and leaves.
Departmental Information Systems Technician Petar Demirev is working on a special project deploying computers throughout DHHS as well as upgrading the remaining Windows 7 computers to Windows 10.
Extra help staff are used for special projects, covering 24 hour shifts, vacations and leaves of absence and expertise in meeting mandates. Additional allocations for full time positions will be reviewed during the budget process. The experience and training of these extra help employees necessitate the extension of hours.
FINANCIAL IMPACT:
Mental Health assignments of Emily Barnes, Morgan Chapman, Jessica Fox, Haylee Gaston, Carlos Gonzales-Bobadilla, Aenoi Khounsinavong, Tyler Jennings, Terri Majors, Brianna Penner, Shawna Reckinger, Alexander Scherbatskoy and Christiana Yee will be funded through Federal, State and Local revenues. The cost of extra help hours for 12 Mental Health positions is estimated to be $321,522.10 for the balance of fiscal year (FY) 2018-19. There is sufficient appropriation in DHHS Mental Health Administration fund 1170, budget unit 424 due to funded vacant positions to accommodate these additional extra help hours.
Public Health assignments of Ronald Allen, Rana Avery, and Shaun Peterson will be funded through North Coast AIDS Project (NorCAP) grant funds. The additional extra help hours are needed as the grants for these services has increased as well as staffing shortages. The anticipated cost of salaries and benefits is $59,443 for the additional hours in Fund 1175, Budget Unit 437 NorCAP. A supplemental budget will go to the Board of Supervisors at Mid-Year Review for FY 2018-19.
The Public Health assignments of Cathy Lubin and Melissa Smith in Environmental Health will be funded through fees collected for service in Fund 1175, Budget Unit 411 Hazardous Materials and Budget Unit 430 Local Oversight program. The anticipated cost of salaries and benefits is $29,597 for the additional hours. There is sufficient appropriation in these budget units to cover this cost in the FY 2018-19 approved county budget.
The Public Health assignments of Roxanne Cameron, Silvia Ramirez, and Linda Shepard in the WIC program is federally funded in Fund 1175, Budget Unit 415 WIC. The anticipated cost of salaries and benefits is $57,310 for the additional hours; there is sufficient appropriation in this budget unit to cover this cost in the FY 2018-19 approved county budget.
The Public Health assignment of Anita Fullbright in the Public Health Clinic is funded through fees and local funds. The anticipated cost of salaries and benefits is $47,235 for the additional hours in Fund 1175, Budget Unit 422 Clinic Services. There is sufficient appropriation in this budget unit to cover this cost in the FY 2018-19 approved county budget.
The Public Health assignment of Constance Mitchell is funded through CCS and CHDP grant funds. The anticipated costs of salaries and benefits is $49,631 for the additional hours in Fund 1175, Budget Units 418 CHDP Administration and 493 California Children’s Services. There is sufficient appropriations in these budget units to cover this cost in the FY 2018-19 approved county budget.
The overall cost of the increased extra help hours for Public Health is $243,214.
Social Services assignments of Dylan Degraff, Petar Demirev, Sarah Smith, and Kristi Todd will be funded through Federal, State and Local revenues. The increased cost of the extra help hours for the four Social Services staff is estimated to be $93,728 for FY 2018-19. There is sufficient appropriation in fund 1160, budget unit 511 - Social Services due to funded vacant positions for these additional extra help hours.
All extra help employees working beyond 960 hours are subject to paying into the California Public Employee Retirement System (PERS). The additional costs for PERS have been included in the above mentioned estimated salary costs. The department is aware that in accordance with the Affordable Care Act (ACA) extra help employees who have been identified as a full time employee under the ACA guidelines will be given the opportunity to enroll in the county’s health insurance. Those employees will be identified by using the standard measurement period and associated stability period annual cycle set forth by those guidelines.
Approving the extension of extra help hours supports the Board’s Strategic Framework by providing community-appropriate levels of service and creating opportunities for improved safety and health.
OTHER AGENCY INVOLVEMENT:
None.
ALTERNATIVES TO STAFF RECOMMENDATIONS:
Your Board may choose not to extend hours; however, this is not recommended due to staffing levels and the workload.
ATTACHMENTS:
None.
PREVIOUS ACTION/REFERRAL:
Board Order No.: N/A
Meeting of: N/A
File No.: N/A