Peter’s Take

Peter’s Take: Reforming Virginia’s Mental Health System, Part II

By Peter Rousselot

Peter’s Take is a weekly opinion column. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.

Peter RousselotIn a January column, I outlined why Virginia’s mental health system desperately needed reform. I mentioned a series of recent tragic incidents of violence perpetrated by mentally ill individuals.

In one of those incidents, the 24 year-old son of state Sen. Creigh Deeds (D-Bath) stabbed his father multiple times, and then shot himself to death. “Gus” Deeds had been released from an expired emergency custody order 13 hours before the incident. He was released because an appropriate psychiatric bed for him could not be found before the emergency custody order expired.

In January, efforts were just getting underway to address some of these issues in this year’s Virginia legislative session. We now have passed the mid-point (known as “Crossover”) in the legislative session. Progress is being made toward enacting some of the mental health reforms that are needed.

Both houses of the legislature are calling for significant new investments in the portion of our mental health system that offers mental health treatment to people in crisis situations. This includes new initiatives to:

  • fund more beds at state psychiatric hospitals for patients who are held under temporary custody orders,
  • fund more therapeutic assessment centers to serve individuals in psychiatric crisis situations,
  • reduce the amount of time law enforcement must devote to emergency custody cases, and

The House of Delegates version of the legislation proposes new funding to add 17 new therapeutic assessment centers in the next two years. These centers are locations to which law enforcement personnel can transport people in crisis for psychiatric evaluation to determine whether they pose a threat to themselves or others. The centers are tied to other proposals — referenced above — to expand the duration of emergency custody orders without placing an undue burden on police and sheriff’s departments who transport people in crisis. These law enforcement personnel now have to wait in the center until the evaluation is complete.

This bipartisan legislative progress deserves our support and praise.

Peter Rousselot is a former member of the Central Committee of the Democratic Party of Virginia and former chair of the Arlington County Democratic Committee.

Peter’s Take: Water Main Breaks

By Peter Rousselot

Peter’s Take is a weekly opinion column. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.

Peter RousselotOn Feb. 7, ARLnow.com reported on two separate water main breaks — one on Arlington Ridge Road and one on Lee Highway.

These two water main breaks illustrate yet another respect in which the County Board’s budget priorities are badly out of whack. The County Board has spent, or is proposing to spend, millions of dollars on extravagant design elements at a dog park in Clarendon and an Aquatics Center at Long Bridge Park, while Arlington’s water mains and classrooms are bursting.

On Jan. 28, ARLnow.com posted another story on water main breaks. That story highlighted the fact that “Arlington has 500 miles of water mains, 60 percent of which are 55 years or older”, with the oldest dating to 1927.

A county video accompanying the Jan. 28 story sometimes strikes a condescending tone. It proceeds from the faulty premise that water main breaks are “unavoidable.” The video’s message: learn to live with them. The video explains why old water mains break. Surprise: it’s because they’re old and decaying!

What Arlington County needs is a much more aggressive program of water main replacement, not the Que Será, Será attitude displayed in this county video. Of course, some water mains would still break even with a more aggressive replacement program. But, we would avoid many other breaks. The County Board knows this. The Board simply is devoting far too little of our money to replace water mains, while devoting far too much of our money to its vanity projects.

In May 2013, the County Board approved a $1.8 million project for water main “rehabilitation.” “These rehabilitation projects help the County extend the life of water mains and lines, stretch tax dollars and prevent expensive and disruptive main breaks,” Walter Tejada boasted.

The county’s press release went on to explain that “every year, the County selects water mains based on age, frequency of main breaks, and reduction in flow capacity for rehabilitation at a fraction of the cost of new construction and with minimal disruption to the community.”

Translation: we are putting lipstick on a pig because we are squandering your money elsewhere. We are adopting this rehabilitation program because we don’t have enough money left over to replace our aging water mains as fast as we should.

“Rehabilitating” water mains and providing more “relocatable” classrooms is a cop out. Arlington County needs to get back to basics by prioritizing the needs of its core services like water mains and schools.

Peter Rousselot is a former member of the Central Committee of the Democratic Party of Virginia and former chair of the Arlington County Democratic Committee.

Peter’s Take: Back to Basics

By Peter Rousselot

Peter’s Take is a weekly opinion column. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.

Peter RousselotThe possible cancellation of construction of a new South Arlington elementary school demonstrates yet again why Arlington must refocus its budget priorities on basic core services like schools.

ARLnow.com recently posted a story about a plan by Arlington Public Schools to scrap the construction of the new Glencarlyn Elementary School. The story explained that APS is “looking at diverting that investment to prepare for middle school overcrowding in the coming years, which is projected to be more serious than the capacity issues in elementary schools.”

APS CAPITAL BUDGET

If middle school overcrowding is projected to be more serious than elementary school overcrowding, and if Arlington can’t address the future capital needs at both the elementary and middle school levels, well then the decision to scrap the construction of this elementary school might make sense. But, that would be true only if we assume APS is getting the share of Arlington’s overall capital budget that APS deserves.

APS certainly is not getting the share of Arlington’s overall operating budget it deserves. And, APS cannot be getting the share of Arlington’s overall capital budget it deserves so long as Arlington persists in wasting our money on the extravagant features of the proposed Aquatics Center and other vanity capital projects.

APS OPERATING BUDGET

It still remains unclear whether the Arlington County Board will step up to the plate to restore to APS the share of Arlington’s operating budget APS must have in order to provide a 21st century education and to address the classroom impacts of the enrollment surge.

In trying to prop up its crumbling justification for the Aquatics Center, the County Board keeps saying Arlington “needs” a “world class” facility like the Aquatics Center. But, the County Board hasn’t been willing to give APS the resources APS says it needs to extend the Foreign Language in the Elementary School (FLES) program to all the elementary schools that lack FLES.

The County Board says extending the FLES program is a policy decision for the School Board, while the School Board says it can’t extend FLES without additional money from the County Board.

The children at the elementary schools that lack FLES are stuck in the middle.

This is not a world class way to govern.

Peter Rousselot is a former member of the Central Committee of the Democratic Party of Virginia and former chair of the Arlington County Democratic Committee.

Peter’s Take: Reform Virginia’s Mental Health System

By Peter Rousselot

Peter’s Take is a weekly opinion column. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.

Peter RousselotA tragic incident in Bath County, Va. — in which the son of State Sen. Creigh Deeds attacked his father with a knife and subsequently shot himself to death — once again has exposed the many flaws in Virginia’s public mental health system.

In another tragedy earlier last fall, a mentally-unstable employee of a government contractor, who had worked on many assignments around the Metro area (including in Arlington), shot multiple victims to death at the D.C. Navy Yard.

The Deeds incident brought into sharpest focus flaws in Virginia’s record keeping regarding the availability of openings to hold mentally ill individuals who might pose a danger to themselves or others. It also highlighted the need to re-examine standards for involuntary detention. However, I believe the mental health area that is most in need of reform is the longer-term care and treatment of individuals who cannot afford care for themselves.

At various points during their lives, large numbers of the mentally ill can be:

  • in school
  • in hospitals
  • in jail
  • living in a home
  • homeless
  • employed part time
  • unemployed

In any of those settings, these individuals can be: improving, stable, declining, or dangerous to themselves or others.

The challenge for Virginia is to develop a mental health system that provides comprehensive, consistent and continuous treatment for all eligible residents — regardless of in which of the above categories they happen to fall at any given time.

One key to improving treatment is to develop an electronic records system to capture critical information about diagnoses, past treatment and recommendations for the future. We must avoid a “silo” approach in which one or more Virginia public or non-profit institutions treat an individual for mental health issues, and then keep the information stored away where it cannot be accessed later by other mental health professionals. With due deference to patients’ privacy rights, such a records system must be accessible electronically by subsequent treatment providers.

A second key to improving treatment is a combination of increased state and local funding so that eligible individuals can receive appropriate care while living in the setting that best fits their mental health status.

Any of us could be the next victim of an act of violence perpetrated by a mentally-disturbed person. Let’s work together in a bipartisan way to reform Virginia’s mental health system.

Peter Rousselot is a former member of the Central Committee of the Democratic Party of Virginia and former chair of the Arlington County Democratic Committee.

Peter’s Take: Aquatics Center Sinks Even Deeper

By Peter Rousselot

Peter’s Take is a weekly opinion column. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.

Peter RousselotSeveral weeks ago the news broke that the annual operating subsidy Arlington would have to provide to the Aquatics Center had ballooned from $1.9 million to $3.8 million. Just three years ago, the County’s “high” estimate of the annual operating subsidy was $450,000.

On Dec. 12, I recommended that the County Board direct the County Manager to “halt all further work on the Aquatics Center… and develop a new, cost-effective design for a sensible recreation center at Long Bridge Park (including a swimming pool).” Little did I know when I wrote that December column that the construction bids to build this facility also would come in so much higher than anticipated.

In the face of more and more new information about the vastly higher operating and capital costs of this facility, it is very disappointing that some of our current elected leaders, and some of those who want to succeed them, stubbornly cling to the belief that all of the design elements in this project are sacrosanct.

For example, ARLnow.com quotes County Board Chair Jay Fisette as attempting to justify his continued support for the project because “more than a decade was spent on the Center’s design” and “exaggerations about the exact extent of the cost increases have been ‘celebrated by long-time opponents of the facility.’”

Our elected leaders should be offering us a contrite acknowledgement that despite over a decade of planning, they have allowed the current design to proceed laden with so many extravagant features. Planning should be judged by the wisdom of the final decision—not the length of time it takes to make it.  In the new normal of Arlington’s economy, with 20 percent commercial office vacancy rates and our public schools bursting at the seams, sticking with the current design is a luxury we cannot afford.

Similarly out of touch is Alan Howze — one of the candidates for the Democratic nomination for the County Board seat soon to be vacated by Chris Zimmerman. ARLnow.com quotes Howze as saying there “clearly is a need in the community” for the Aquatics Center, and “we should move forward… if we can do it within the budget we’ve allocated for it”. With so many other competing priorities, the community does not “need” this gold-plated Aquatics Center, and we should not move forward with it even if we could do so within the whopping $80 million price tag we thought it would cost as recently as one month ago.

It’s long past time for the Aquatics Center to downsize or die.

Peter Rousselot is a former member of the Central Committee of the Democratic Party of Virginia and former chair of the Arlington County Democratic Committee.

Peter’s Take: Support the Virginia Dream Act

By Peter Rousselot

Peter’s Take is a weekly opinion column. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.

Peter RousselotIn last week’s column, I outlined the reasons to support Medicaid expansion in the 2014 session of the Virginia legislature. Today, I’d like to highlight the reasons why Virginia should pass the Dream Act this year.

The Virginia Dream Act will enable a student who is a child of undocumented immigrants to pay the in-state tuition rate at Virginia colleges and universities—if that student meets certain criteria. In a bill proposed by Arlington Democratic Delegate Alfonso Lopez, a student will be eligible for the in-state tuition rate if he/she:

  1. has attended a Virginia public or private high school for at least three years;
  2. has graduated from a Virginia public or private high school or received a General Education Development (GED) certificate in Virginia;
  3. has registered as an entering student or is enrolled in a public institution of higher education in Virginia;
  4. has provided documentation that the student has been approved for Deferred Action for Childhood Arrivals by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security; and
  5. has submitted evidence that the student (or, in the case of a dependent student, at least one parent, guardian, or person standing in loco parentis) has filed Virginia income tax returns for at least three years.

Fairfax Republican Del. Tom Rust again will work with Del. Lopez to generate bipartisan support for this legislation.

The moral reasons to support this legislation include:

  1. These students were brought to the U.S. at a young age by their parents, and had no say in the decision to come here. They never made a choice to disregard U.S. immigration law; and
  2. The vast majority of these students are as American as native-born citizens. They speak English, and understand American life and culture.

As explained by Delegate Lopez, we also should support this legislation because Virginia currently has invested taxpayer dollars in these students “from kindergarten through 12th grade, but put up a barrier after graduation that only serves to drive away top talent from Virginia.”

Let’s support passage of the Virginia Dream Act.

It’s right for Arlington and right for Virginia.

Peter Rousselot is a former member of the Central Committee of the Democratic Party of Virginia and former chair of the Arlington County Democratic Committee.

Peter’s Take: Support Medicaid Expansion in Virginia

By Peter Rousselot

Peter’s Take is a weekly opinion column. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.

Peter RousselotOne of the most important issues to come before the Virginia Legislature in its 2014 session is whether to expand Medicaid. There will be an enormous financial impact regardless of whether Virginia expands Medicaid or not.

Fairfax County has prepared a helpful three-page white paper summarizing the issues at stake. You can access that white paper here.

I support Medicaid expansion, as does our Arlington legislative delegation. I am particularly hopeful that a bipartisan coalition of Republicans and Democrats in the Virginia House of Delegates can form to work with Governor-elect McAuliffe to expand Medicaid.

As a practical matter, it’s very hard to see a bill that can pass both branches of the legislature and be signed by the Governor if the only test every politician applies is: “I will automatically oppose Medicaid expansion if I opposed the Affordable Care Act,” or “I will automatically support expansion if I supported the ACA.” Instead, the most constructive way for our legislators and our governor to approach Medicaid expansion is: “regardless of what I think of the ACA, what is the right way now to analyze the benefits and costs of expanding or declining to expand Medicaid?”

The Virginian-Pilot editorial board got it right when it concluded that the cost of resisting Medicaid expansion in Virginia would be “ruinous.” Citing Bill Hazel, the highly-respected Health Secretary originally appointed by Bob McDonnell, and recently re-appointed by Terry McAuliffe, that editorial board summarized our choices this way:

Virginia lawmakers can preserve the financial health of hospitals across the commonwealth, save state tax dollars, strengthen local and state economies, extend managed health-care to nearly 400,000 people, many of them working poor, and recoup nearly $10 billion in federal taxes paid by Virginians over the next five years.

Or they can continue the reckless political theater destined to grow more costly with every passing year, a play that will cause a financial crisis at hospitals all across Virginia.

The right choice for Virginia is to expand Medicaid.

Peter Rousselot is a former member of the Central Committee of the Democratic Party of Virginia and former chair of the Arlington County Democratic Committee.

Peter’s Take: The Five Most Revealing Stories of 2013

By Peter Rousselot

Peter’s Take is a weekly opinion column. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.

Peter RousselotThe past year was filled with revealing stories about Arlington and Virginia politics and government. Here are my top five:

5. NSF Leaves Arlington

The National Science Foundation (NSF) announced it was moving its headquarters from Arlington to Alexandria. Arlington’s public reaction was troubling. County Manager Barbara Donnellan foolishly questioned whether NSF properly understood its own self-interest. Board member Jay Fisette admitted he underestimated the new competitive environment for commercial office space. Every current and aspiring County Board member needs to understand the significant negative implications for Arlington of the large, long-term glut of commercial office space.

4. McDonnell & Cuccinelli Ethics Scandals

Bob McDonnell and Ken Cuccinelli were crippled by scandals involving the CEO of a dietary supplement company. The scandals highlighted the laxity in Virginia’s ethics laws. Closer to home, the Arlington School Board demonstrated strong leadership by tightening its ethics policies. Regrettably, the County Board failed to follow suit.

3. $1 Million Superstop Fiasco

ARLnow.com broke the story of Arlington’s $1 million Superstop. The story led to national ridicule. It exposed major weaknesses in the ways in which Arlington decides upon and oversees major transportation projects. Arlington promised an independent review of this fiasco, but nine months later no plans regarding reforms have been made public.

2. Extremism of Republican Statewide Ticket

Using a convention process dominated by a handful of party extremists, the Republican Party of Virginia nominated a statewide ticket far outside the mainstream. The views of moderate GOP leaders like former Congressman Tom Davis and former Arlington School Board member David Foster were disregarded. All three Republican statewide candidates lost in November. Democrats now hold all five statewide offices. The jury is out as to whether Republicans have learned the correct lessons.

1. Arlington’s Flawed Budget Priorities

The most revealing story of 2013 is the persistent failure of the Arlington County Board to adopt budget priorities which reflect Arlington’s values. Despite cascades of new information exposing the many fatal flaws in projects like the Columbia Pike streetcar and the Aquatics Center, the County Board seems determined stubbornly to plow ahead with them. At the same time, the Board continues to devote far too small a share of the County’s budget to Arlington Public Schools.

*****

Let’s turn things in a better direction in 2014.

Peter Rousselot is a former member of the Central Committee of the Democratic Party of Virginia and former chair of the Arlington County Democratic Committee.

Peter’s Take: Strengthen Arlington’s Social Safety Net

By Peter Rousselot

Peter’s Take is a weekly opinion column. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.

Peter RousselotDuring this holiday season, please consider making a contribution to an organization of your choice that helps those who struggle to survive in our community.

We read often about how many wealthy people live in Arlington, but perhaps not often enough about the needs of others who live here too.

During the past year, I’ve profiled two organizations that work hard to keep our social safety net strong: the Arlington Food Assistance Center and the Arlington Free Clinic.

Today, let’s look at Arlington Thrive.

Arlington Thrive provides emergency financial assistance to county residents who experience sudden financial crises such as temporary unemployment or illness. Most clients are the working poor, elderly and disabled people on a fixed income, and the homeless and formerly homeless. In many cases, Arlington Thrive’s assistance prevents homelessness. Last year, 630 households that had received eviction notices were saved from becoming homeless.

Arlington Thrive’s clients are among Arlington County’s most vulnerable residents. Families with children are given the highest priority, and one-third of the individuals served by Arlington Thrive are children.

Arlington Thrive’s Daily Emergency Financial Assistance program employs trained volunteers who fulfill requests from Arlington County and private social service caseworkers on behalf of their clients. Some of the private organizations are Arlington Street People’s Assistance Network (A-SPAN), Doorways for Women and Children, the Alexandria-Arlington Coalition for the Homeless (AACH), and Northern Virginia Family Services. Arlington Thrive’s Carter-Jenkinson Housing Assistance program is used exclusively to prevent the eviction of families and individuals.

“Sharon” [not her real name] is an example of a client recently helped by Arlington Thrive. Sharon is a 57-year-old, single Arlington resident who had been economically self-sufficient all her adult life.  When her company downsized, she was laid off after 19 years at her job.  She is working with the Arlington Employment Center to find a new job, but has been unable to keep up with her bills while job-seeking.

When Sharon received disconnect notices for both her gas and electric services, Arlington Thrive paid these bills to keep her utilities connected.  She can now focus on finding employment and getting back on her feet.

You, or I, or someone we know could find ourselves in a situation like Sharon’s. If you can, please contribute to an organization that helps those in need.

Peter Rousselot is a former member of the Central Committee of the Democratic Party of Virginia and former chair of the Arlington County Democratic Committee.

Peter’s Take: Cancel the Aquatics Center and Start Over

By Peter Rousselot

Peter’s Take is a weekly opinion column. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.

Peter RousselotEnough is enough.

The Aquatics Center hasn’t been built yet, and it shouldn’t be built. The County Board should scrap its Olympian pretensions and its desire to build King’s Dominion North at the expense of Arlington taxpayers. The board should explain its decision as follows: “We have made a mistake, and we are going to fix it. We have new information, and we are going to act on it.”

The board immediately should direct the County Manager to halt all further work on the Aquatics Center. The board should notify the manager that the board no longer wishes to build this facility. The board should direct the manager to develop a new, cost-effective design for a sensible recreation center at Long Bridge Park (including a swimming pool).

The latest chapter in this problem-plagued project began when the Sun Gazette posted a story stating that “what had been an expected annual operating deficit of $1 million to $1.3 million has now ballooned to more than $4 million.” It’s not clear at the moment whether the ballooning deficit is due to lower than projected revenues or higher than projected expenses or a combination of both.

More than 80 percent of respondents to a recent ARLnow.com poll said that the Aquatics Center should not be built if this latest $4 million annual operating deficit projection turns out to be accurate. As I have written previously, this is just the latest in a string of warnings about the countless flaws in this project.

Commenting on the ARLnow.com Aquatics Center story that accompanied the latest poll, James Breiling nailed it:

“Office building occupancy has dived,” he writes. “The county is close to the set limit on bond borrowing. Taxpayers are rightly concerned about tax increases. So, funds are constrained. Accordingly, I suggest that THE question is the relative priority of the aquatics center via other things, in particular, providing facilities and staff needed to educate the surge in ACPS enrollment.”

That is, indeed, THE question.

THE answer: the Aquatics Center has far too low a priority and should be cancelled.

Peter Rousselot is a former member of the Central Committee of the Democratic Party of Virginia and former chair of the Arlington County Democratic Committee.

Peter’s Take: Budget Guidance Fails

By Peter Rousselot

Peter’s Take is a weekly opinion column. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.

Peter RousselotThe Arlington County Board’s budget guidance for FY 2015 fails to provide appropriate guidance on important issues. The guidance was adopted after a flawed process. The guidance reflects a status quo mindset in an era crying out for a new direction.

Process

The County Board needs a completely different, more open and more transparent process for adopting its annual budget guidance. Here is an example of a better process:

  • publish a draft set of guidelines 60 days prior to the target date for final adoption;
  • invite all citizens and citizens advisory groups and committees, like the Fiscal Affairs Advisory Commission, to comment in writing within 30 days of publication of the draft guidelines;
  • post all such public comments on the County website;
  • hold a public hearing on the draft guidelines and all written comments, then
  • adopt final guidelines.

Substance

In significant part because of the flawed process the County Board followed, this year’s budget guidelines fail to provide appropriate guidance on important issues.

Here are some examples of important issues that are not adequately addressed, or not addressed at all, in this year’s guidelines:

  • the seriousness and long-term nature of Arlington’s escalating office vacancy rate;
  • the impact on Arlington’s residential tax payers of the long-term stagnation in the valuation of Arlington’s commercial tax base;
  • the long-term declining share of Arlington’s operating budget dedicated to Arlington Public Schools even before enrollment increases are taken into account;
  • the need to devote a higher share of Arlington’s operating budget to APS (even higher than historic levels) to account for surging enrollment;
  • the need to introduce rigorous, unbiased cost/benefit tests to evaluate major capital projects like the Aquatics Center;
  • the impact on the operating budget, and Arlington’s AAA/AAA credit rating, of the rising debt payments needed to finance the escalating cost of Arlington’s capital projects;
  • the failure to impose adequate cost controls or caps on Arlington’s long-term commitment to affordable housing;
  • the adverse impact of all of the foregoing trends on Arlington’s ability to fund basic social safety net services, and
  • why all of the foregoing trends lead to the conclusion that Arlington needs to re-focus its budget to ensure that core government services are given priority for funding.

Conclusion

The County Board is treading water at a time when it needs to swim vigorously and resolutely in a better direction.

Peter Rousselot is a former member of the Central Committee of the Democratic Party of Virginia and former chair of the Arlington County Democratic Committee.

View More Stories