South Central Human Service Center details crisis coverage, residential transitions and workforce gaps

Chairman Nelson and members of the Human Resources Division heard a briefing from Ashley Japka, clinical director of the South Central Human Service Center in Jamestown, on the region’s crisis response, residential transitions and staffing pressures.

Japka said the center serves nine counties and is expanding residential capacity after taking over some programs from the state hospital. “We currently have 89 funded positions, 63 of which are filled,” she told the committee, and she described about 26 vacancies as the region scales up services and staffs new state-run transitional and recovery facilities.

The staffing shortfall is concentrated in direct-care and crisis roles, Japka said. She told the panel that the center typically has one staffer on call for evenings and weekends in its crisis service and that “we only have 1 person that is providing those services on evenings, weekends, and non holidays.” The center recently added a third overnight crisis position to reduce mandatory overtime and spread coverage.

Why it matters: lawmaker questions and written materials showed the region is shifting higher-cost institutional…