With a few exceptions, the message from the 45 people who spoke Wednesday in Williamsburg to a panel of state legislators about the state’s budget was the same: Spend more money on services for children, the disabled and the mentally ill.
The panel of six legislators also heard repeated requests from the speakers to boost funding for services to those with traumatic brain injuries, substance abuse issues, mental health problems, physical disabilities, foster services and early intervention for children.
Three Hampton Roads school superintendents — representing Poquoson, Chesapeake and Hampton — also spoke at the hearing hosted at the College of William & Mary, each requesting the legislators increase funding to local schools.
The legislators did not offer comments about the remarks made during the public hearing other than Del. Chris Jones (R-76), who said that while the House of Delegates has tried to increase funding for Medicare Waivers — used to help pay for people who need in-home care — their cost has proved to be a challenge.
The hearing was one of five public hearings held across the state Wednesday for members of the House Appropriations Committee and the Senate Finance Committee to gather feedback from citizens and groups about budget proposals set to be considered in the 2015 General Assembly session, which begins next week.
Most of the speakers and all of the legislators were from outside the Historic Triangle.
Two people told the legislators of young members of their families who had died while in the care of unlicensed childcare workers. One was the mother of the 16-month-old girl who deputies from the York-Poquoson Sheriff’s Office say choked to death when in the care of an unlicensed childcare worker in the Landings at Langley neighborhood. That worker has since been charged with second-degree murder.
“While the charges against this woman will prevent her from caring for children, it will not change the law,” she said, urging the legislators to support legislation requiring all childcare workers to be licensed. Current law requires licenses only if the worker has six or more children under 13 in his or her care at a private home or two or more children under 13 at a business like a daycare center.
Almost a quarter of the people who spoke had at some point in their lives suffered severe brain injuries. They each urged the legislators to increase funding to help people with severe brain trauma.
Several representatives of Community Services Boards from throughout Hampton Roads spoke during the hearing, each requesting an increase to the amount of money sent to their boards. CSBs act as an entryway into the state’s system of mental health, intellectual disability and substance abuse services.
“I’m saddened it takes a tragedy like Virginia Tech [or the attack on state Sen. Creigh Deeds] to strengthen services,” said Mark Green, a citizen who spoke during the hearing.
Some changes were made to the state’s mental health system during the 2014 General Assembly session, such as the creation of an electronic bed registry to allow mental health professionals search for available places to send people in crisis for treatment. Another law extends the length a person in crisis may be held on an emergency custody order.
Green and several other speakers said more work remains to be done to shore up the state’s mental health system. Some suggested the creation of regional crisis response teams to help people suffering through a mental health crisis find the services they need in short order.
Two speakers suggested cutting spending. Both offered up the Governor’s Opportunity Fund as an example of “corporate welfare” and “crony capitalism.” The fund is used by the governor’s office to fund benefits used to lure companies to locate to Virginia to do business.
The hearings are part of a process to gauge reaction to Gov. Terry McAuliffe’s proposals for how to shape the budget for the upcoming fiscal year, which starts July 1. Complicating the process is a projected $2.4 billion shortfall, much of which has already been closed through spending cuts.
The governor’s budget leaves spending on both secondary and higher education untouched. It also seeks an additional $20 million for the Governor’s Opportunity Fund and money to give a raise to deputies of sheriff’s departments across the state.
McAuliffe’s proposals will be considered in the next month as the General Assembly session progresses. The General Assembly will then forge a budget document and vote on it.
The state legislators at the hearing were Jones, Dels. Daun Hester (D-89), Mamye BaCote (D-95), Johnny Joannou (D-79) and Sens. Kenneth Alexander (D-5) and Frank Wagner (R-7). The delegates are members of the House Appropriations Committee, and the senators are in the Senate Finance Committee.
