DATE: Wednesday, November 5, 1997           TAG: 9711050013

SECTION: LOCAL                   PAGE: B10  EDITION: FINAL 

TYPE: Editorial 

                                            LENGTH:   51 lines

MENTAL HEALTH CRITICAL CONDITION

The Chesapeake Bay isn't the only priority that will demand Big Bucks from state government over the next few years.

Mental health care, a victim of cost cutting in the 1990s, has reached a critical state. Spending on expanded community-based care, as well as a fix at problem-plagued Central State Hospital, will cost $152 million more over the next two years than is currently in the budget, state officials say.

That's the amount that's being requested by mental health officials for deinstitutionalization and for the Dinwiddie County hospital as the Allen administration puts together its departing budget recommendations.

The Department of Mental Health, Mental Retardation and Substance Abuse's request for additional spending in other programs has not yet been released. But it's certain to make the total higher.

The cost of upgrading community mental health services - $120 million of the total - stems both from the need to improve care for those already living outside institutions and from state plans to increase their number.

The department hopes to reduce the census at state mental hospitals by 292 patients over the next few years and at training centers for the mentally retarded by 400. That's a good policy, but equipping communities to serve those clients will cost millions.

Meanwhile, much more is needed in the way of care for mentally ill individuals already in Virginia communities. Local community services boards say they need almost triple the amount state officials are urging be spent for such things as improved medications, local housing and outreach programs.

The bottom line is that taking Virginia to where it should be in caring for the mentally ill is a costly proposition.

Nor are mental health and the environment the only areas in which a new administration will face budgetary strains. For instance, estimates on what it will cost to fix a glitch in state computers when the calendar rolls over to the 21st century run to $83 million or higher.

President Clinton's child care initiatives will have a price tag for states. The revamping of Virginia's accreditation system for public schools will come with costs, particularly as certain schools and students start coming up short on achievement tests.

The list goes on. Even before those needs are addressed - and before anyone starts looking at how to finance a property tax cut on cars and trucks - the state must pay for prior commitments that will boost the current biennial budget by about $1 billion.

On the day after an election, the winners deserve a worry-free 24 hours of celebration. But promises made in the heat of a fervent campaign look far more daunting in the harsh light of a post-election morn. Tomorrow, the hard work of reconciling available revenues and real needs begins.

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