JAMESTOWN, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) – In a report provided to the Buffalo Bridges Human Service Zone, the average caseload per employee remains average.

Eligibility Program Manager Sean Ryan reports a total of 2,908 individual cases are open for services in both Barnes and Stutsman County.

Ryan says they’re currently staffed with 13 in Stutsman County and looking to hire more.

He also broke down the caseload in Barnes County.

Ryan says the average caseload for Barnes County staff is 220 to 225 cases per employee and 185 to 190 for Stutsman County staff. When asked if these numbers are higher compared to pandemic levels, he says they’re starting to see more traffic.

He says compared to other counties, they are about average with the Stutsman County caseload at a little below average.

Ryan says the redesign goal for state humane service zones is February 1st, 2023. This means they’re tasked to start preparing and practicing at smaller levels for the full redesign process.

He says at this time, they’re analyzing software and ensuring it can handle the cases staff will be seeing. The next step is making both Barnes & Stutsman County a “singular county” where staff will be working on all cases in those counties together as one “eligibility unit.”

Ryan says within the next month, they’ll be fully operating as one zone in a trial run before the February 1st, 2023 deadline. This will include Cass, Richland, Ransom, Sargent, Dickey, Lamoure, Logan, Mcintosh, and Kidder counties.