The DMH hemorrhaging of staff continues… Recently, as of March 19th, 2008, the staff of the Springfield Regional Center (Office) was told by their Center Director that: 1. There will be “no… money” for new services for people with developmental disabilities. 2. Central Office in Jefferson City believes we have entered an economic recession; “It will go to 2012”. 3. “These are scary times for us”. 4. “You should look out for yourselves!” 5. “As people leave (service coordinators) their positions will go to the Greene County Senate Board 40”. {This also means, approximately $80-100,000.00 in targeted case management funds per slot will go to the Greene County SB 40 and not to the general fund in Jefferson City."Jeff Grosvenor, MRDD—DMH analysis showed the percentage rate would be 18% to be returned to the Trust Fund to make up the $5.5 M shortfall DMH will encounter when it no longer provide any case management"- MACDDS minutes from Web site"}. 6. We are not downsizing, “we are rightsizing.” It is further noted that as of this date, 4/7/08, the Springfield Regional Office has lost two more service coordinators. The SRO is now down from 33 to 19 service coordinators. What this means is the service coordinators remaining at the center are handling more people on their caseloads, which is used as a major part of the argument for outsourcing to the SB 40’s. This is self created evidence by DMH management to support their downsizing (rightsizing) activities. (Schafer said the plan was born out of a need to reduce the workloads of caseworkers to no more than 40 clients each. Now, he said, those ratios exceed 70 in some regions of the state, Post Dispatch 11/8/07). The Springfield Regional Office was nearing 40 per caseload before Mr. Keith Schafer, and then in turn, Mr. Bernie Simons started their “rightsizing” campaign. What are some possible reasons for “rightsizing”??: “Schafer said outside groups can hire workers more economically than the state. Those savings largely come from lower employee benefits, compared to the state's expensive health and retirement plans, he said. Post – Dispatch 11/8/07.” Could another reason for this expedited “rightsizing” plan be the 36 or so articles that appeared in the St. Louis Post Dispatch in 2006-7 pointing fingers at the Mental Health Commission, the Department of Mental Health and the MRDD division, and coinciding with Mr. Bernie Simons being brought in from Tennessee?