OUT-OF-STATE YOUTH PLACEMENTS COST MILLIONS, OFFICIAL SAYS

CHARLESTON - Sending troubled youths to out-of-state facilities for
treatment of multiple emotional disorders costs West Virginia taxpayers as
much as $18 million a year, a Health and Human Resources official said
Tuesday. Youths are sent across the state line for long-term assistance
because in-state facilities aren't equipped to deal with special needs,
Fred Boothe, commissioner of the Bureau for Children and Families, told an
interims committee meeting.

In a presentation to the Legislative Oversight Commission on Health and
Human Resources Accountability, he said DHHR tracked the progress of youths
sent from the 12-county Region II, stretching from Kanawha to Mingo counties.

Among children surveyed in that region, Boothe said his agency learned 41
percent were placed for conduct and behavioral reasons, while 59 percent
were saddled with mental health problems.

Some in the mental health category also had displayed psychosexual and
substance abuse problems.

"A lot were just in the experimental stage and were not hard-core abusers,"
Boothe said of the drug problems.

In fact, he pointed out, a tiny minority actually was placed for substance
abuse difficulties.

Boothe said treatment spanned from a high of 56 months to a low of three
months, while the average stay was 11 months.

According to the Region II survey, he said, DHHR learned 10 percent of the
youths could be installed directly in community-based settings, while 30
percent need long-term attention in facilities not available in West Virginia.

Yet another 37 percent are in need of long-term treatment that either is,
or might be, available inside the state, he said. The other 23 percent need
placement in three months, then a transfer to less restrictive placement in
the state, Boothe said.

Boothe told the panel his agency plans to look even deeper at
community-based services.

The survey learned that in one category - children sent out of state to a
facility that might be available in West Virginia - the most appropriate
placement recommended was Salem, but youths were sent across the border anyway.

That was evident particularly for youths who didn't progress in adolescent
sex offender treatment programs at either River Park or Chestnut Ridge, he
said.

And in some instances, he noted, children were sent out of state after
completing a residential program because less restrictive environments
weren't available.

Another phase of DHHR's plan to combat the program is development of a
prevention program focusing on children through the age of 6, "so when
children go to school, they're ready to learn," Boothe said.