Therapist: Closing Cottonwood will create 'chasm' for children

When Gov. Jay Nixon recently froze more than $1 billion in the state's budget, the Department of Mental Health took a $34 million hit.

It made some difficult decisions with its own budget cuts, which ultimately sealed the fate of Cottonwood Residential Facility in Cape Girardeau. The facility is scheduled to close by the beginning of next year.

Bob Dale, director and therapist at The Dale & Hancock Center in Cape Girardeau, said closing the facility that treats children with serious psychiatric disorders is the wrong decision for many reasons. If it's finances the state is worried about, he said officials should definitely reconsider shutting down Cottonwood.

"It's the wrong answer," Dale said. "It's not going to fix [the budget issues], it's going to cost more money."

Treating mental illness is easier in young patients, he said. The longer the illness is allowed to develop unchecked, the harder it becomes to treat successfully. Medications are costly and there's a high probability those who do not receive proper treatment will become homeless or enter the prison system. All of these costs then fall on taxpayers, Dale pointed out.

He also pointed to a 2011 analysis of Cottonwood and Hawthorn Children's Psychiatric Hospital, the other state-run children's mental health facility, which is in St. Louis. Conducted by the Department of Mental Health, Division of Comprehensive Psychiatric Services -- now called the Division of Behavioral Health -- it says closing Cottonwood would result in $125,051 in savings. Dale said the number is likely a little higher now, considering inflation and rising costs for supplies and services, but probably not by much.

He also noted there's much more to the issue than money.

He said closing the 32-bed facility would "further break a broken system" and goes against the rhetoric often heard from elected officials.

"This is not just allowing people to fall through the cracks, this is creating a chasm and pushing children into it," Dale said.

When the closing of Cottonwood was announced last month, officials from the Department of Mental Health said about 56 private agencies statewide provide 1,900 beds that are "somewhat comparable to what Cottonwood provides," meaning they offer intensive residential treatment to children with severe disorders. Children still would be able to seek treatment at these facilities as well as Hawthorn.

Dale contacted the office of mental health director Keith Schafer and asked for the list of facilities. Then, he worked with a group to contact them individually.

"The 1,900 beds simply do not exist," he said, "not that I can find, anyway."

Some of the facilities are alcohol and drug rehabilitation centers. Others have restrictive criteria, such as whether a child was in foster care or if they have disabilities such as autism. A few facilities on the list are out of business and Dale and the group were unable to find four of them to make contact.

Many of the beds they did find available are in the Kansas City, Missouri, area, he added.

But none of those facilities offer the same services as Cottonwood, Dale said. It doesn't restrict children with mental disabilities or substance abuse issues, he said, and it focuses on successfully reintegrating children into the community.

For example, the facility educates children in-home but still in a classroom setting. The children sit at desks and the teacher sets and follows a curriculum. Dale said it's intentionally structured this way to make the transition into the actual classroom easier for the children.

Dale said he's made an effort to speak with "anybody and everybody that will listen" about Cottonwood, including State Sen. Wayne Wallingford and State Rep. Kathy Swan of Cape Girardeau. The two are working on a plan to keep the facility open.

Dale believes it's possible to save Cottonwood from closure if the governor and state mental health officials are willing to look at cost-cutting strategies and ways to make the facility more self-sustaining.

"I would like to see a feasibility study to determine what burden Cottonwood has on the budget," he said. "I know there are some costs ... but the benefits to society far outweigh the costs."

srinehart@semissourian.com

388-3641

Pertinent address:

1025 N. Sprigg St., Cape Girardeau, Mo.