BRN enforcement leaders report rising caseloads, hiring steps and data irregularities; investigators say reforms underway

SACRAMENTO — The Board of Registered Nursing’s enforcement and investigations teams reported higher referral volumes, growing investigator caseloads and plans to add limited‑term staff at the board’s Feb. 27 meeting.

Tim Bunder, deputy chief for discipline and probation, reported that recent fiscal‑year statistics show an increase in average investigation cycle time driven in part by lower case‑closure volume in the second quarter of the fiscal year. “For 2024, updated numbers are … the average days to complete was 744,” Bunder said, adding that a lower volume of closed cases with individually longer investigations produced the uptick in average age.

Investigations leadership: Nicole Boles, deputy chief of investigations, said the investigations division received 185 cases in January 2025 compared with 80 in December, a sharp month‑to‑month rise. The division remains bound by a caseload standard established during a prior audit; Boles said full‑time special investigators averaged about 29 active cases each, near the 30‑case audit guideline. The division has hired a limited‑term special investigator in the Southern Region and is pursuing a Central Region hire.

Process changes and audits: Staff told the board they are working with the Department of Consumer Affairs’ Office of Organizational Improvement to map workflows and streamline intake and investigation procedures. Bunder said the board participates in the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) five‑year substance‑abuse study of alternative‑to‑discipline programs and follows evidence‑based program requirements including daily check‑ins, random testing and structured support meetings.

Data corrections: Bunder and staff reported the board corrected previously published statistics in the meeting packet after discovering inaccuracies in some tables for 2024; updated figures were presented to the committee and are reflected in the packet. Bunder said the board’s target is to hold cases pending at the Attorney General’s Office to about 10 percent of total discipline cases; that number stood at 13 percent in the latest reporting window.

Staffing constraints and next steps: Assistant Executive Officer Yvonne Leonard Tapps and senior staff explained limits of hiring under state rules. The board has authority to request permanent positions or seek limited‑term/expenditure authority when caseloads warrant. “Anybody in a blanket position can be eliminated by the Department of Finance,” she said, summarizing state constraints on temporary positions. Staff said they plan a budget concept paper and will continue recruiting while monitoring case volumes.

Public and board concerns: Board members asked for regular five‑year fiscal comparisons and graphical trend charts; they also asked staff to update packet tables to reflect corrected figures moving forward. A member asked whether the spike in citations noted in one table reflected a single event; staff said it likely resulted from a batch of returned mail and address updates that triggered citation processes.

The board did not take action on the enforcement presentations, which were information items, but members asked staff to continue recruitment, update data visualizations, and return with progress reports.

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