Mental health funding cuts to shut schools

Two alternative high schools for students with mental illnesses are scheduled to close this fall, part of a series of drastic cuts planned for mental health services in Spokane schools and the larger community.

“These are students with serious psychiatric disorders,” said Bob Brandon, program administrator for MAP and New Bridge alternative schools, which enrolled about 50 students a year. “I don’t see how they are going to survive in traditional school environments.”

Spokane Mental Health, which jointly operated the schools with Spokane Public Schools, lost approximately $3.3 million in funding from the county’s public mental health system. About 10 percent of that was spent on services to schools.

In addition to the proposed closures, Spokane Public Schools estimates it will lose $700,000 earmarked for therapy programs in schools across the district this year.

Superintendent Brian Benzel said although his staff was aware of a possible reduction in funding, the county’s Regional Support Network, which oversees the public mental health system, failed to inform them of the scope of the cuts until late Friday.

Spokane schools open on Sept. 6.

“I am stunned that we would not have been notified of this problem sooner,” Benzel said. “We’re scrambling. We will do everything we can to work with the families to provide a place for their children to be in school in two weeks.”

The planned cuts have abruptly alerted Spokane officials and mental health providers to the potential magnitude of a budget shortfall now projected at $7.5 million for the year – about 25 percent of the total budget for public mental health programs. Each day, the county estimates, it is more than $20,000 short of the money needed to operate those programs.

The funding picture for Washington’s mental health system is so muddled that state and local officials have been unable to reach a consensus on the size of the funding crisis, or indeed, whether one even exists.

“We are still not in agreement on the effect that it has had on the total amount of money that is being distributed,” said Glenn Kuper, spokesman for Gov. Christine Gregoire. “Our perception is that there was not a decrease. That’s what we’re trying to figure out with Spokane.”

New enforcement guidelines from the Bush administration have dramatically shifted the cost of Washington’s mental health program to the state level.

In response to the new guidelines, the state Legislature approved $80 million for the next two years to support programs previously funded by Medicaid, the state-federal program that historically paid nearly 90 percent of the state’s public mental health system.

Sen. Lisa Brown, D-Spokane, said despite the unprecedented allocation, the state was unable to completely replace the lost federal funds. However, she has not been able to verify the $7.5 million shortfall projected by Spokane County.

“I personally think the county is jumping the gun here,” Brown said. “We need to be on the same page in terms of what the numbers are.”

Spokane officials are not alone in their concern: King County informed the governor’s office it will lose $7 million by the end of 2006 as a result of the state’s reallocation of mental health money.

But as officials spar over the details, a sketch of the potential seriousness of Spokane’s situation is quickly emerging.

In a proposed budget released by the county late Friday, more than $450,000 a month will be cut from mental health providers. Even with the cuts, the county’s expenses will exceed its revenues by more than $2.7 million in the next six months, according to the proposed budget.

Edie Rice-Sauer, administrator of the county system, said the agency is facing declining Medicaid reimbursement rates, as well as new federal regulations that changed which types of services could be charged to the program.

“We’ve worked for a number of weeks to make sure we are clear about the revenue,” Rice-Sauer said. “We believe our projections are accurate.”

If the budget holds, Lutheran Community Services Northwest will lose $80,000 a month, beginning in October. Sacred Heart Medical Center will lose $19,000 a month, and Catholic Charities will lose $12,000 a month.

“The entire system is taking a huge cut,” said Dennis McGaughy, regional vice president of Lutheran Community Services, which expects to serve about 200 fewer clients. “It is probably the biggest cut Spokane has seen in its services delivery system.”

Spokane Mental Health’s school programs and Spokane Public Schools will collectively lose $50,000 a month, affecting not just the alternative schools but existing therapy – not counseling – programs in mainstream public schools.

Rice-Sauer said the financial situation forced the county to evaluate which mental health services it was required to provide under state law. The alternative schools did not meet the county’s criteria.

On Tuesday, employees of MAP, an acronym for Multi-Agency Adolescent Program, began calling students and their families to inform them the school will be closed.

“I’m just sick about it,” said Julie Cruz, a Spokane Mental Health therapist who has worked at the school for nine years. “This school was founded because these kids weren’t making it in traditional schools. For that service not to be there for them, I think it will be devastating to them, to their families and to the community.”

The school opened in 1989, and New Bridge, which specialized in students who had been involved in the criminal justice system, opened in 1994. The schools were considered an innovative merger of public education and mental health programs for students.

Jenifer Van Dusen, 18, learned of the MAP school’s closure on Tuesday. Van Dusen, who said she has been diagnosed with bipolar disorder with schizophrenic tendencies, said her illness had led to violent encounters with other students during her time at a public school.

“I get into a fight, and I can’t stop,” Van Dusen said. “I snap.”

She said the MAP school, which places therapists in the classroom, was “the only place I’ve ever excelled.”

Kristina Strode, 17, learned of the closure in an emotional phone call with Cruz, her therapist.

“People don’t understand what MAP does,” said Strode, who was diagnosed with severe anxiety and depression. “They don’t know that our program has helped so many students. They really work with everyone. They don’t push and shove you. They help you.”

Lynda Klymko, whose 17-year-old son attended MAP, said she was surprised by the announcement.

“It’s only two weeks until school starts,” Klymko said. “What are we going to do?”