Most of you will have little interest in the complaint resolution numbers because you don't have a pending complaint against you (count your blessings!). Nevertheless, I want you to realize that the major progress BHEC is making in this area is an indicator of the type of progress they're also making in other areas that do affect you on a regular basis, like licensing and renewals.

2Q BHEC Update on Complaint Resolution

First, you need to know that BHEC's Fiscal Year begins in September of each year. So the 1st quarter of fiscal year 2022 began in Sept of 2021. It's an accounting thing. Just know that the language being spoken here is not in calendar year terms. Simple enough.

Can You Just Bottom-Line This For Me?

Yep, I can. The long and the short of it is that the number of pending complaints is trending downward, and fast! The number of new cases is trending sideways in a very manageable range, and the number of cases resolved, both new and pending, has been massive and the curve appears to be flattening out.

Can You Elaborate on the Pending Complaints?

That downward velocity in the number of pending complaints may level out soon as the BHEC staff clears out the easily triaged and baseless cases. Once that's accomplished all they're left with are the new cases that come in monthly and the chronic, "won't-go-away" cases that have some aspect making it difficult to clear them from the docket. But that has always been the case, and anticipated.

Anything Else to Know About # of New Cases?

The number of new cases looks to have a fairly flat trend-line meaning the average number of new cases is remaining within a fairly consistent range. In other words, no major spikes one way or another. Reducing the number of new cases each month is almost totally out of BHEC's hands since it's not BHEC that gets you/me in trouble! That's on us. The only way to reduce the number of complaints is through better counselor education on the issues that drive these complaints in the first place. Did I mention we do workshops for this very reason?

What Else You Got on # of Cases Resolved?

The number of cases resolved was massive in the 3rd and 4th quarters of FY 2021 and has declined substantially since then.

“Well, that's bad!”

No, that's good. The reason is that the overall number of pending complaints has been greatly reduced each month since BHEC took over. Since the number of pending complaints is getting (relatively) low, and the number of new complaints each quarter is remaining in the practical-to-reasonable range, there's simply not as many cases to resolve now as there was Sept 1, 2020-to-date!

That's not to say all of the backlog work is done, it's not, but the numbers are saying that we're getting caught up. The flood water has subsided, the clean-up work is well underway and the numbers prove it. Oh, and the number of complaints that are outright dismissed before they enter the investigative pipeline is through the roof.

Summary

There's more to know and as I get it figured out, I'll let you know. For now, just know that the three major metrics are all headed in the right direction, and quickly. The backlog is disappearing at a much faster clip than the new complaints are coming in, the vast majority of new complaints are being outright dismissed before they get legs underneath them, and the pile of pending complaints is shrinking daily. This is good news.

Kudos to the BHEC staff and its fearless leader, ED Darrel Spinks, who all agreed to take on this herculean task. Thank you for cleaning up someone else's mess and putting up with who knows what along the way. Job well done.

Plan Smart. Be Safe. Serve Others.

Kathleen Mills, LPC-S, CEAP