TOPEKA — A top Kansas social services official has outlined proposals for nearly $17 million in additional spending at the state’s two mental hospitals.
Department for Aging and Disability Services Interim Secretary Tim Keck discussed the proposals Monday during a meeting of a legislative oversight committee on social services.
Keck said he’s asking Gov. Sam Brownback’s budget staff to include the spending in his proposals for legislators to consider. Lawmakers return April 27 from their annual spring break to wrap up their business for the year.
Most of the money would be spent at Osawatomie State Hospitals in eastern Kansas. It would cover pay raises for nurses and mental health technicians.
But the proposals include a pay raise for mental health technicians at Larned State Hospital in western Kansas.
