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BRN enforcement and investigations units report caseload declines from recent peak, staffing limits remain
Summary
BRN enforcement and investigations leaders reported that the agency has reorganized reporting materials and continues recruitment and process improvements while investigators and probation monitors operate near agreed workload limits.
BRN enforcement and investigations leadership presented updated dashboards and operational changes to the committee, including separate reporting tables for enforcement, investigations and intervention to make workloads and performance measures easier to track.
Shannon Johnson, enforcement division chief, said the board separated enforcement, investigations and intervention reports in the packet to allow for focused review. She told the committee the board joined the National Council's five‑year pilot study tracking participant outcomes, and that BRN has shifted to Complaint Prioritization and Referral Guidelines (CPRG) to triage intake before cases go to DFI or BRN investigations.
Johnson highlighted several metrics: probation monitors carry an average caseload of approximately 51 participants per monitor; the discipline unit reported that, as of Dec. 17, only 13% of cases had been pending at the Office of the Attorney General for over a year; and BRN added clearer tables comparing fiscal quarters back to 2020. Johnson emphasized that Department of Consumer Affairs' processing target for discipline cases is 540 days but that delays in investigations and AG hearing scheduling — the AG hearing time averages roughly 300 days — can push total timelines beyond that goal.
Nicole Bowles, deputy chief of investigations, reported that full‑time special investigators have an average of 28 active cases as of Jan. 3, 2025, and the division is actively recruiting for one full‑time special investigator in the central region and a limited‑term investigator statewide. Bowles said the historical maximum workload agreed among healing‑arts boards was set at 30 cases per investigator; investigators report 20 cases as a more comfortable workload, and staffing shortages leave some cases pending assignment.
Investigations received 80 cases in December 2024, down from 104 in November. Staff attributed some complaint spikes in 2024 to social media calls for individuals to file complaints; those influxes are included in total complaint counts but may not reflect sustained investigative workload.
Committee members asked for clarification on tables and noted improvements in overall processing compared with 2017–2018, when average processing time exceeded 1,200 days. Bowles and Johnson said BRN is working with the Office of Organizational Improvement to map workflows and with Deputy Attorneys General on regular trainings for investigators. Johnson said the probation unit is preparing FAQs and a video for the BRN website to help participants understand probation processes.
The reports were presented as information only; no formal committee action was taken on enforcement or investigations items.
