Governor Evers Proposing More Staff for the Department of Safety and Professional Services

Friday, February 24th, 2023 -- 11:00 AM

(By Sarah Lehr, Wisconsin Public Radio) As Wisconsin faces complaints from people waiting weeks for months for professional licenses, Democratic Gov. Tony Evers is asking to hire more staff to speed up the process.

According to Sarah Lehr with Wisconsin Public Radio, included in his recently-submitted budget request to state lawmakers are nearly 80 additional full-time-equivalent positions for the Department of Safety and Professional Services, an agency that oversees building safety as well as more than 200 types of credentials for occupations ranging from nurses to barbers to certified public accountants.

The proposed staffing boost is badly needed, said Marc Herstand, who leads the National Association of Social Workers. He says he's heard from social workers who are deterred from working in Wisconsin because they can't afford to wait for extended time periods before they get the credentials needed to start a job.

"Social workers aren't independently wealthy," he said. "They really need to go to work quickly, because they don't have a lot of money in savings." The majority of DSPS' budget comes from fees for license approvals and renewals, and the agency ended last fiscal year with a $47 million surplus. Herstand says it's "infuriating" that Wisconsin lawmakers haven't allocated more of that revenue to processing applications more quickly.

"We have such a crisis in our mental health needs in Wisconsin," he said. "There's no excuse for the Legislature not providing the department with the staff they need." Evers' budget includes $73.9 million for DSPS in fiscal year 2024, a 21 percent increase over the current fiscal year.

That involves $968,700 for 16 new staffers to process applications and $793,000 for 14 additional "customer communication" positions. He's also asking for $113,200 in the next fiscal year to hire two full-time equivalent "license navigators," who will help individuals, employers and higher education institutions understand what credentials are needed to get licenses.

And there's $341,200 requested for five staffers, who will work on license "flexibility," such as by exploring agreements so that licenses can be used in multiple states.

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