California needs to improve training of state employees, update desired qualifications for technical and professional classifications and improve training of contract oversight, according to a report issued by the Budget Solutions Task Force.
"This report focuses on how to better use the state’s civil service workforce to cut the amount spent on contracting non-civil service employees," Department of Human Resources spokesman Pat McConahay said in an email.
Representatives from the SEIU Local 1000, the Department of Human Resources (CalHR), the Department of Finance (DOF) and the Department of General Services (DGS) make up the task force. The labor union and the state came together in July 2012 as part of a bargaining agreement to look for cost savings in external contracts.
The task force’s main goals were to identify priority contracts, reduce the use of contractors when state employees could perform the same work at less expense, develop plans to transfer work currently performed by outside contractors to state employees and reduce the cost of contracting out services, according to the report.
Task force members reviewed contracts with the Department of State Hospitals, the Department of Child Support Services (DCSS), the FI$CAL project and California Correctional Health Care Services (CCHCS).
Several state departments already have reduced the role of outside contractors in cases where state employees fulfilled the job requirements for less money.
For example, CCHCS had contracted the equivalent of 98 pharmacy technicians to work in prisons between August 2012 to August 2013, but that number has dropped to 40 full-time position equivalents out of 130 full-time positions.
However, not all departments have been able to cut contractors. The specialized services required for the FI$CAL project will require contractors for the near future, according to the report. The state requires private contractors work closely with state employees and be overseen by civil service staff to ensure knowledge transfer to the state.
DCSS has experienced the most difficulty transferring its $71 million maintenance and operations contract for the Child Support Enforcement System. Even though the labor rates for certain contract positions were "considerably higher" than for civil service, the department has had difficulty getting new state positions approved by the DOF and applicants don’t have the specific skills needed.
The report also recommends the state improve contract transparency and create internal pools to meet short-term staffing needs in situations such as employee retirement or long-term illness.
Read the report here.
