The numbers are hidden deep in a published report about a discussion of current problems with this state's treatment of people suffering from mental illnesses. But that doesn't make them any less alarming. An estimated 182,000 people in West Virginia are believed to be mentally ill. That's nearly one of every ten residents.
When you add in the equally important estimate that another 152,000 West Virginians have some degree of substance abuse problem, the magnitude of the issue for legislators and health officials alike becomes readily apparent.
This state once had 11 state-run psychiatric hospitals with more than 5,000 people "housed" in deplorable conditions that were exposed in a series of articles by a Charleston Gazette reporter. That prompted the Legislature to create a new Department of Mental Health in 1957, but there were five different directors appointed by the governor in the first four years before Dr. Mildred Mitchell Bateman was named to the position in 1962.
Former Raleigh County Delegate W. W. (Jackie) Withrow, who served from 1961 to 1978, conducted public tours of the deplorable conditions while she was chairman of the legislative committee responsible for these facilities. So in the early 1970s, Bateman decided many of those housed in these mental hospitals could be treated better by putting them back into the community.
Recently, though, funding has also been cut drastically for the 13 comprehensive community behavioral health centers where many of these individuals are supposed to be accommodated under that decision.
As a result, the state now has only two mental hospitals. One in Huntington, named for Dr. Bateman, who served 16 years as mental health director until the agency was placed back under the Department of Health 30 years ago, has 90 beds. The other one in Weston, named for longtime Sen. William Sharpe, D-Lewis, has 150 beds.
The two facilities, however, have 90 of their combined 240 beds, or nearly 40 percent, reserved for forensic patients -- those facing criminal charges who have either been found not guilty or cannot be tried for their crimes because they are mentally ill. These individuals must be kept separate from the other residents.
Because of the persistent overcrowding at these two facilities, the state has been spending millions each year to divert many of those who are mentally ill to private hospitals in Beckley, Charleston, Huntington and several other locations that will accept psychiatric patients.
The state's prisons are overflowing as well, so there's no apparent hope to shift any of the forensic patients to those locations. That's why state health officials are now considering a number of options, including the now-closed former Rehabilitation Center at Institute just off the I-64 interchange in Kanawha County. But whatever option or combination of proposals is finally chosen, it's going to be expensive because of the alarming number of those who need this care.
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Meanwhile, it's not just Gov. Joe Manchin's latest move to freeze a potential increase in the state's gasoline tax next January that is causing the state Division of Highways to finally publicly admit to legislators last week in Charleston that it is shifting its operations from highway construction to highway maintenance.
All of the state's road-user taxes are dipping because of not only the increasing cost of gasoline but the overall economic climate that affects not only gasoline consumption by West Virginia motorists but declining sales of more expensive, gas-guzzling vehicles that translate into decreasing revenues from the vehicle privilege tax that also helps finance the 36,000-mile state-run highway network.
So the actual dollars expected from state road user taxes is expected to drop in the next couple of years while federal highway funds are also dropping sharply. Transportation Secretary Paul Maddox is worried that federal highway money for this state could drop by $119 million next year. Even worse, the state's share of Appalachian Regional Commission money for highway construction is likely to dip from $85 million to $32 million.
And even the shift to maintenance mode and the effort to keep existing roads and bridges in good repair will become a real challenge because of the soaring increases in costs of materials and equipment for those operations.
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Finally, officials in the Department of Natural Resources insist hunting and fishing in West Virginia is a billion-dollar-a-year industry that needs to be encouraged more. So they want legislators to also consider incentives to private landowners who allow out-of-state hunters and fishermen to use their land for these activities.
One suggestion is to copy Michigan, a state that gives landowners a property tax break if they allow public access to their property. But some lawmakers here are quick to note that would reduce tax revenue for county governments, so the state should be willing to reimburse the counties.
Tom Miller is a retired state government reporter for The Herald-Dispatch. He is a regular contributor to The Herald-Dispatch editorial page.
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