Oregon audit finds its MH system is failing children, staff

The Oregon Secretary of State Audits Division revealed this month that the state's mental health system is failing children and families at a time when they need it most, Willamette Week reported Sept. 21. An audit report listed failings that ranged from a chronic workforce shortage to lack of performance measurements, which prevents the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) from catching shortcomings in its own work. Auditors discovered high turnover among mental health staff, which sometimes retraumatizes patients. The report says employees leave because of low pay and a high‐stress work environment — and the high turnover puts a strain on the staff members who stay. (Staff also reported not getting support from management who have made it clear they are replaceable.) In‐depth training is required to efficiently improve children's mental health issues, but various OHA mental health staff told auditors that new hires are not receiving the proper training to help high‐risk children. This puts staff at risk from traumatized children who can become aggressive and violent in an instant. OHA responded by agreeing to all 22 recommendations made by the auditors and set a target date for implementing each one.