Todd County County Attorney staff is “burning out” with the backlog due to COVID-19
by Karin L. Nauber
There is no doubt that the COVID-19 pandemic has created a lot of problems that stem far beyond people getting sick and dying.
On a day-to-day basis, it has caused job losses and a lot of other job-related stressors.
One of those stressors—employee burnout—was addressed at the latest Todd County Board of Commissioners’ meeting when County Attorney Chuck Rasmussen lamented the fact that he and his staff are struggling to catch up with the backlog of cases due in large part to COVID-19 closing down the court systems.
Rasmussen said that as the caseloads for his attorneys continue to grow, his department needs another assistant attorney to help them at least try to get caught up.
“I could put three full-time attorneys on criminal cases alone,” said Rasmussen.
But it isn’t only criminal cases that are running them ragged. It is also juvenile cases and CHIPS (Child in Need of Protective Services) cases which Assistant Attorney Jane Gustafson handles mostly on her own.
The pandemic pushed cases back and the cases are not getting settled. . .