AUGUSTA — Relatives and caretakers of mentally retarded Mainers pleaded with lawmakers Tuesday to increase salaries paid to employees who work directly with this vulnerable population.

“We can’t attract quality workers if we don’t pay a quality wage,” said Robert Lawler of Cumberland, whose 20-year-old daughter is mentally retarded.

Lawler and others were addressing a joint meeting of the Appropriations and Human Services committees, who were reviewing the proposed budget by the Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse Services.

Melodie Peet, the department’s commissioner, had included a $2.8 million increase in its budget for next year to pay for salary increases, but Gov. Angus King did not include it in his proposed budget. Peet sat quietly amid the overflow audience.

One woman who testified asked legislators to consider how they would feel if their son or daughter had four or five different teachers during a school year.

“What would that say about a community’s commitment to education?” she asked. The same question can be asked about the state’s commitment to its mentally retarded residents, she said.

The number of mentally retarded residents receiving state-funded services has been increasing. The number of mentally retarded people assigned to caseworkers increased from 3,362 in 1995 to 3,702 at the end of last year.

According to Arthur Lerman, who testified on behalf of the Maine Association of Rehabilitation Services and the American Network of Community Options and Resources, employee turnover has become a critical problem. He said that member agencies have been reporting annual staff turnover rates of 30 to 70 percent.

Lerman is executive director of Port Resources in Cumberland County, whose 150 employees work with disabled individuals. In 1998, Port Resources hired 50 employees who were needed as a direct result of turnover. The agency spent more than $20,000 in training new employees.

Last year Lerman served on a task force convened by the department of mental health that examined the wages paid by agencies receiving state funding for the care of the mentally disabled. The task force found that the average wage for employees who work directly with clients — work that can be anything from helping someone to dress to helping people shop for groceries — was $7.47 an hour for people with four years’ experience.

The task force report noted that a livable wage is defined as between $8 and $11.50 per hour, based on family size.

According to the task force report, starting salaries in other human service settings, nursing homes and hospitals are often higher than those found in the field of mental retardation. The report estimates that an increase of one to two dollars an hour in starting pay for employees in agencies working with mentally retarded clients would make agencies competitive.

But some members of the appropriations committee were not convinced that agencies had scrutinized their own budgets thoroughly enough.

“I’d like to first see appropriate pressure to other areas of your budget,” said Rep. Richard Nass, R-Acton. Nass also asked if agencies actively pursue community financial support, rather than rely solely on state dollars.

Lerman said that it would be unrealistic to expect agencies to raise much money by annual fund-raising events.

The chair of the appropriations committee, Sen. Michael Michaud, D-East Millinocket, said he was concerned about the Legislature acting to set wages.

The committees will discuss the issue more thoroughly during a coming work session.