DMH caseworks will remain on state payroll

Department of Mental Health caseworkers in Southeast Missouri will remain on the state payroll and will not be privatized, DMH Director Keith Schafer wrote in a letter to state legislators late last month.

Plans to transition case managers to local control were met by an onslaught of concerns raised by parents, who worried they would lose services, and caseworkers, who feared they would lose their jobs.

A packed and emotional town hall meeting was held Nov. 7 in Poplar Bluff to discuss the plan, which would have left 484 caseworkers in Missouri out of state jobs. After the meeting, DMH officials decided Poplar Bluff and Sikeston Regional Center caseworkers would not be outsourced.

Instead, the current caseworkers will continue to be part of the regional centers. Any new positions that become available will be transitioned to local control.

"The voice of the people was heard. I'm very pleased that they've decided to back off it and that the trained case managers will be able to keep their positions," said Susan Wallis, the assistant secretary of Mentally Retarded Citizens of Missouri.

Check back for updates or read Tuesday's Southeast Missourian.