AUGUSTA, Maine - Leaders of the Maine Legislature have allowed a bill into the current session that would increase the salaries of direct care workers at the Riverview Psychiatric Center.
Sen. Roger Katz, an Augusta Republican, who is sponsoring the bill, says direct care workers include mental health workers and acuity specialists. "Mental health workers who are doing very difficult jobs at some physical risk to themselves, and the entry level pay is less than what they can get at Wal-Mart - there is a problem."
The bill will likely have a significant price tag, but Katz says how much it will cost depends on the minimum pay levels the bill sets.
He says those details are yet to be determined and will likely be changed during the committee process to reflect available funding.
