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Human service centers report steady hiring but persistent gaps in licensed staff and addiction counselors
Summary
Regional human service center directors told the Appropriations Committee they have improved retention and expanded "grow your own" programs, but vacancies for licensed clinicians and addiction counselors remain a major constraint on service capacity.
Regional directors for North Dakota's human service centers told lawmakers they have had measurable hiring and retention wins over the past year but still face persistent shortages of licensed clinicians and addiction counselors that constrain services.
Directors from Badlands, Southeast, Northeast and West Central human service centers said they are using recruitment and retention bonuses, tuition reimbursement, internships and internal career ladders to "grow our own" staff while relying on partnerships with UND and other training programs to expand candidate pools.
Badlands Regional Director Jessica Oderman said Badlands is funded for "71½ positions overall" and had 13 vacancies as of Dec. 1, but recently reduced…
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