News

City manager asking Council for $900K to solve Alexandria’s mental health staff shortage

By James Cullum
Alexandria City Hall (staff Photo by Jay Westcott)

Alexandria is experiencing a shortage of mental health staff, and City Manager Jim Parajon is asking City Council for $900,000 to solve the problem.

Tonight Council will consider releasing the funds from contingent reserves to pay for strategies to hire and retain the city’s mental health staff.

As of April, there were “64 vacancies out of the 301 direct service positions and 128 mental health professionals left the Department of Community and Human Services (DCHS) since calendar year 2022,” according to the city.

The city also found that its salaries for DCHS mental health positions were on average $20,000 lower than neighboring jurisdictions.

These strategies include:

  • The increase in one grade in compensation for all mental health staff
  • A $3,000 signing bonus for new staff
  • The engagement of an outside firm to assist in targeted recruitment
  • The appointment of a temporary administrative staff member to assist in key elements of the internal hiring and onboarding processes

The city’s human resources department would also complete a review of steps and grades for 103 mental health positions.

About the Author

  • Reporter James Cullum has spent nearly 20 years covering Northern Virginia. He began working with ALXnow in 2020, and has covered every story under the sun for the publication, from investigative stories to features and photo galleries. His work includes coverage of national and international situations, as well as from the White House, Capitol, Pentagon, Supreme Court and State Department. He's covered protests and riots throughout the U.S. (including the Jan. 6 riot at the U.S. Capitol), in addition to earthquake-ridden Haiti, Western Sahara in North Africa and war-torn South Sudan. He has photographed presidents and other world leaders, celebrities and famous musicians, and excels under pressure.