Panel Targets Funding Gap in Va.

Lawmakers Stress Need for Resources For Mental Health

RICHMOND, June 18 -- Several top lawmakers in the Virginia House of Delegates called Monday for a significant infusion of money into the state's mental-health system to address shortcomings exposed after Seung Hui Cho killed 32 people at Virginia Tech two months ago.

The comments came at the first of several planned hearings by the House Welfare and Institutions Committee, one of three entities in the state looking into gaps in Virginia's community-based mental health network.

The committee, which oversees legislation related to social services, heard from a raft of mental-health experts for four hours. But the hearing began in somber tones as Joe Samaha, whose daughter Reema was killed by Cho, addressed the panel.

"Gentleman, the opportunity is now, and it's time that you become responsible and proactive -- not reactive -- on legislation that will . . . fund mental-health care, with the coordination of education, policies and administration of the laws," said Samaha, a Fairfax County resident.

The Virginia Supreme Court formed a commission in the fall to recommend broad changes to the state's mental-health system, and Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) appointed a task force after the April shootings to investigate all aspects of the massacre. The three panels are expected to finish much of their work before next year's General Assembly session, when many lawmakers plan to propose changes.

Legislators said Monday that laws and procedures may need to be changed to better monitor some people with mental illnesses, but ultimately what is needed is more money.

"If [mental health] is indeed a priority and we need to address it, then we have to have the resources," said Del. Philip A. Hamilton (R-Newport News), the committee chairman. "We can make all the policy changes we want, but if we don't allocate adequate resources to address the policy changes, then we've actually done nothing."

Virginia spent $423.4 million on community-based and institutional mental-health services in 2006. The state ranks near the bottom in funding of community-based services. The National Alliance for the Mentally Ill gave Virginia a "D" grade in 2006 for its overall performance for its mental-health services, estimating that the state ranks 30th nationally in per capita spending at $68 a year. By comparison, the District ranked first, spending $414 per capita.

Hamilton declined to say how much new funding was needed or where it would come from, but he suggested that shifting money away from other state programs was a possibility.

"Within a $74.2 billion budget, I don't believe there's no possibility that we can't find funding for mental health from some other areas," he said.

A leading Democrat said that although funding will be a priority in the 2008 legislative session, there also needed to be a focus on clarifying state law to ensure that mental-health professionals are clear about their responsibilities.

"We need to make sure that training is a component so there's no misunderstanding about what mental-health professionals are supposed to do," said Del. Brian J. Moran (D-Alexandria), chairman of the House Democratic Caucus.

"Where the funds come from, it's premature to say," he added.

Calls for increased mental-health funding, an annual event with mixed results in Richmond, have gained new urgency since Cho killed 27 students and five faculty members in the deadliest massacre by a single gunman in modern American history.

Cho encountered the state's mental-health system when he was referred to the New River Valley Community Services Board in 2005, 16 months before the shootings. Virginia Tech police said that he had harassed two female students and that he was suicidal. The board, the government mental-health agency that serves Blacksburg, found that Cho was "mentally ill and in need of hospitalization," according to court papers.

The next day, a special justice assigned to Cho decided that he was "an imminent danger to himself as a result of mental illness" and ordered him into involuntary outpatient treatment. But three law enforcement sources familiar with Cho's medical records have said that Cho never received treatment. There was no follow-up from the community services board or the courts.

State law says community services boards are responsible for setting up treatment plans for mentally ill people receiving outpatient care, but for years lawmakers and mental health officials have said there has been confusion over who is responsible for people who do not show up for treatment.

Finding money may be difficult as Kaine puts together his first biannual state budget this summer and fall. Already the state is $300 million short of its budget projections as it completes the fiscal year. And aides to the governor have long said that Kaine plans to focus next year on some of his campaign promises, such as preschool for all children.

"We're in the early stages of budget development in what appears to be a tight budget environment," said Kevin Hall, Kaine's spokesman. "It would be premature to talk about funding levels."