Senate committee approves measure directing agencies to coordinate on public mental health hiring

The Senate Committee on Labor and Technology voted March 24 to pass SCR 67 / SR 51 with amendments directing state agencies that make up the public mental health care system to more closely cooperate with the Department of Human Resources Development to expedite hiring and fill critical vacancies.

Catherine Amer, chair of the State Council on Mental Health, told the committee the state faces a “severe workforce crisis” that endangers access to care for youth, older adults, Native Hawaiian communities and residents on neighboring islands. “We strongly support SCR 67,” Amer said, urging the committee to act to modernize hiring practices and develop targeted recruitment strategies.

The committee adopted language changes suggested by DHRD and added named agencies to the list of cooperating entities, inserting the director of health, the superintendent of education, the Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation, and the chief justice of the courts. The chair said the committee would take DHRD’s suggested amendments and amend the resolution to include those offices.

Committee members cited the urgency of the workforce shortage and the need for complete participation from all agencies that comprise the state’s public mental health system. The committee voted to pass the measure with the amendments; the chair noted senators Ihara and Fevella were excused and recorded no reservations.

Why it matters: staffing shortfalls in public mental health services affect access to care for vulnerable populations and can increase downstream health-care costs; this resolution orders interagency cooperation and a review to identify obstacles and solutions for recruitment and retention.

Votes at a glance: SCR 67 / SR 51 — passed with amendments (committee adopted DHRD’s amendments and added specified agencies).