Missouri State Auditor Tom Schweich announced today that the Missouri Department of Mental Health has "made improvements" after a follow-up of their December 2010 audit.
The "follow-up" is a first for Schweich's office.
According to a press release from the Auditor's office:
In the 2010 audit of DMH, the auditor's office found that for the 3 years ended June 30, 2010, DMH paid employees approximately $47.8 million in overtime department-wide.
So, after the initial audit, Schweich recommended that the Department of Mental Health do the following:
Do a cost-analysis to determine if overtime payments were the most efficient use of taxpayer dollars.
Create more stringent overtime policies.
After the follow-up, Schweich said that those objectives have been partially addressed.
"I am grateful for the cooperation and enthusiasm we have seen at the Department of Mental Health," Schweich said in a statement. "Although there is still work to be done, it is obvious that the department has taken substantial steps to implement the recommendations made by my office and improvements have been made."
The release also mentioned that the DMH has continued to focus on responding to complaints of client abuse and neglect in a timely manner.