MENTAL HEALTH CUTS AFFECT CAPE AGENCIES

Over $30 million slashed from Missouri's mental health budget will hit two Cape Girardeau agencies, but officials said Friday they don't yet know how hard.

Roger Henry, executive director of the Community Counseling Center, said, "It hasn't trickled down yet just how it will kill us."

Henry said calls to Jefferson City have not yielded much specific budget information.

The Community Counseling Centers offers many mental health services through state contracts and subcontracts. Henry said about 45 percent of the agency's budget comes from state contracts.

"We also do services with the Division of Family Services, the Board of Probation and Parole. When they get cut, it hurts us because of our subcontracts with them."

Fred McDaniel, who supervises Department of Mental Health operations in Southeast Missouri, said, "Cottonwood (Treatment Center) will not have any layoffs that we know of."

But he said the agency could experience some personnel changes because of a "bumping" policy the department has. Senior staff members in the state may opt for other jobs rather than being laid off. Thus, they could bump an employee with less seniority at Cottonwood, for example.

"At this point it's too early to tell what effects that will have," McDaniel said.

The Missouri Department of Health received a $31.5 million budget cut from Gov. John Ashcroft Thursday. The governor cut a total of $216.3 million for the entire state budget.

After Thursday's budget action, the mental health spending plan will total $448 million, much of which matches federal funding.

Due to cuts, 550 of the department's 11,000 employees will be laid off. Another 400 vacant jobs will not be filled. Ashcroft also cut funding for programs serving hundreds of mental-health clients.

McDaniel said the major impact on community agencies, like the Community Counseling Center, will be increased demands by the Department of Mental Health.

"They are going to be expected to pick up a lot more programming for people who would have gone to state facilities," he said. "They will also be asked for different programming for more severe cases."

But Henry said the Community Counseling Center doesn't have additional money to begin new programs.

"They already cut $60,000 from us last year," Henry said. "We've already adjusted to that, but a $60,000 cut is a lot.

"What it boils down to is that folks who come in and need the state to pay won't be getting that service. We are talking about cutting out service to clients," Henry said.

He said for some clients a disruption in their counseling sessions can be devastating.

"When we don't take care of the small problems as they come up, the client can end up in the hospital," Henry said. "We could have put on a band aid and some antiseptic, then we wouldn't have to cut the arm off.

"With the university's cuts, a lot were buildings. The total cuts for them won't come out of salaries," Henry said. "For us, budget cuts will mean reduction in programs and perhaps personnel.

"It's a major hit on the operation of our department," McDaniel, with the Department of Mental Health, said.

As a result of the cuts, he said, "We're closing the inpatient facility at Nevada State Hospital," he said. The state hospital has 100 beds, about half the size of the hospital at Farmington.

The St. Joseph State Hospital will be phased down to 108 beds. "A little over a year ago it had 300 beds," McDaniel said.

Patients in hospitals throughout the state will be shuffled to other hospitals or to community settings in an attempt to meet the budget cut.

For example, a number of older patients will be moved from state hospitals to licensed nursing care facilities, McDaniel said.

"It's all a rather complex and worrisome project," he said.

With some of the new arrangements, clients will be eligible for federal reimbursement through Medicare. "That's the only way we could make it work," McDaniel said.

"We had known for a few months we would have withholdings," McDaniel said. "I don't think anyone dreamed they would be of this magnitude."

He said several days before the governor's announcement, the department was told to come up with a plan to cut $31.5 million from their budget.

"We were asked to do this so rapidly all we have is a number of positions to be cut. Over the next month we will begin developing exact position lists. Then we will go through the lay-off process and we have to give employees 30 days notice.

"Then we have the bumping. That will take some time. The effects of these cuts will be spread out over the fiscal year."

"Our budget has been reduced five years in a row," McDaniel said. "We have run out of options."

"These cuts are going to have direct impact on people's lives, and no one is more aware of that than us. It makes this whole situation more upsetting to us."