McDonnell offers way to pay for behavioral health transfers

Virginia faces a $2 billion cost to upgrade its care of people with intellectual disabilities, and Gov. Bob McDonnell hopes to sell vacant state-owned property to help meet the expense.

Bill Hazel, state secretary of health and human resources, disclosed the possible price tag Wednesday as he told legislators about a U.S. Department of Justice report that said Virginia must move intellectually disabled residents out of Central Virginia Training Cen-ter and other institutions.

Sen. Steve Newman, R-Lynchburg, speaking on the Senate floor Wednesday, described the likely impact of the DOJ report on CVTC’s residents, who “are the least among us” and need legislators’ protection.

Sens. Richard Saslaw, D-Fairfax, and Harry Blevins, R-Chesapeake, endorsed Newman’s remarks.

“There is no way some of those individuals could be moved into a community setting,” Saslaw said.

McDonnell sent legislation to the assembly Wednesday that offered at least a partial answer for members of the House of Delegates’ Appropriations Committee, who wanted to know how much it would cost to comply with the DOJ’s wishes and how quickly they needed to act.

Hazel called his answer a “ballpark” figure, and said a more accurate number than the $2 billion would be available in late summer after the state negotiates with DOJ about how quickly it needs to build group homes and intermediate-care facilities for CVTC resi-dents and others.

The DOJ report accused Virginia of moving too slowly in transitioning residents out of its institutions and into smaller facilities. The report followed a three-year DOJ investigation that focused on CVTC and spread to other training centers.

Del. Bud Phillips, D-Wise County, asked Hazel, “Who is determining the price tag of those reforms?”

Hazel replied that Virginia health officials have worked alongside DOJ inspectors in CVTC and other institutions and knew what to expect in the federal agency’s report, which came out last week.

“If everything goes the way we would expect it to go, we are looking at upwards of $2 billion” over several years, Hazel said.

When Phillips asked Hazel about consequences if Virginia fails to meet DOJ’s deadlines, Hazel said, “Most likely they would take us to court and we would end up with a court-ordered settlement.”

Del. Kirk Cox, R-Colonial Heights and the House sponsor of McDonnell’s legislation, said it would set up a fund for transferring residents, and the bill “contemplates closing a wing or closing a facility.”

Money that was being used for residents of the closed facility could be used for new homes, Cox said.

“It’s not a revolving fund, per se, but it has some of those characteristics,” Cox said.

Hazel replied that the state would be able “replenish the fund as facilities are downsized and land is sold.”

Hazel also said Wednesday that he did “not have a vision” on whether CVTC would be closed in coming years.

Draft language for McDonnell’s legislation said that the “sale of any vacant buildings and land shall … be used to deliver behav-ioral health and developmental services within the same service area where the sold buildings and land were located.”

Central Virginia Training Center, in Madison Heights, has more than a dozen unused buildings and about 350 acres on a site that once housed 4,000 people, but now is down to about 400 residents.

Cox and Sen. Ralph Northam, D-Norfolk, will sponsor McDonnell’s legislation.