Government

State's workforce down 20 percent in a decade

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By MATTHEW HALL
Capital News Service
LANSING – The number of state employees fell by more than 12,000 between 2002 and 2012, a drop of more than 20 percent, according to Civil Service Commission data. There were about 61,500 state employees in 2002, which fell to 47,800 in 2012. That excludes employees of the 15 public universities. The decrease occurred steadily through both Democratic and Republican administrations under Govs. John Engler, Jennifer Granholm and Rick Snyder.

Government

Overworked caseworkers report threats, frustrations

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By QUINCY HODGES
Capital News Service
LANSING – Rising numbers of welfare, food stamp and Medicaid clients are causing state workers to struggle with caseloads and recipients to become frustrated. One result is a growing number of threats, employees of the Department of Human Services (DHS) testified at legislative hearing. They said they are overwhelmed, and some of the people seeking help are taking out their frustrations over delays and lack of attention on workers. Many of the 83 DHS field offices are swamped with clients, making it highly possible that paperwork goes missing or some money isn’t managed correctly, said Rep. Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit. DHS reports an average of about 700 cases per worker in its field offices.