Workforce Shortage
“I have considered leaving. I did leave. I retired. And they call you back...I'm finding all my senior friends that have retired are getting called back, and we're serving some function to fill in some gaps in the workforce.”
Focus group participants shared that there are not enough people working in the IECMH field who have the skills and willingness to do the work that’s needed. They were mostly frustrated by two things: high turnover rates and the challenge of keeping staff, as well as the difficulty of hiring new employees.
They identified several root causes of this instability, including low pay, the stress of heavy caseloads, burnout, the demanding nature of the work, the required or expected education levels, and the lack of opportunities for professional growth.
“I haven't been able to figure out how to keep a lot of people long, long term. Because it's hard. It's just really really hard work, and it doesn't feel like we're getting recognition from the County, State, and Federal government for the work that we do.”
Call to Action & Connection to Other Topics
There is no simple solution to the workforce shortage. Participants shared that high turnover and the challenges of hiring new staff are closely connected to other root issues. The chart below shows how the workforce shortage relates to other commonly mentioned topics. The numbers show how often the topics were discussed together. To solve the workforce shortage, these topics must be addressed. Click on the links below for a deeper look into those topics.
