With still ten days remaining in the 2024 legislative session, some committees are completing their work and many bills have been through both the House and the Senate already. We continue to monitor bills that would address the Extraordinary Barriers List, as they make their way to the Governor.
As we have noted here and during testimony at the General Assembly, the disAbility Law Center of Virginia has grave concerns about the number of people who are in state hospitals but no longer meet the standards for involuntary commitment. The Extraordinary Barriers List, or EBL, is a list of people – often up to 200 — who no longer need hospital level of care, but who are unable to return to the community.
There are some proposals in the legislature that attempt to deal with this. The problem is complex, with many different kinds of barriers preventing discharge. The bills in the legislature this year deal only with the responsibility of Community Services Boards to develop discharge plans in a timely manner. The Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services has offered to launch some pilot program in selected state hospitals, using hospital staff trained in discharge planning to assist with more challenging discharge plans. Here are the bills that support that offer:
HB 515 (Hope) states that the Commissioner of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services has the authority to discharge someone who is ready for discharge, with an appropriate plan, after 15 days over the objection or delays by the community services board. This bill was converted into a pilot program for just one hospital. It was approved by both the House and the Senate and now goes to the Governor for approval. The Fiscal Impact Statement suggests that this specific pilot will take place at Catawba Hospital. Since the Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services has indicated support for the bill, we expect the Governor to approve it.
SB 179 (Favola) and HB 314 (Hope) allow the state hospital, rather than the CSB, to develop a discharge plan for any individual who has been in the hospital for 30 days or less. The bills have been converted into pilot programs at three hospitals proposed by the Department. The Senate Bill was approved by both the Senate and the House and now goes to the Governor. The House bill was approved in Senate Education and Health, but was sent to Senate Finance, even though there seems to be no budget impact by the pilot programs. This pilot programs are expected to take place at Central State Hospital, Southwestern State Hospital and Southern State Hospital.
The mission of the disAbility Law Center of Virginia is to advance independence, choice and self-determination; protect legal, human and civil rights; and eliminate abuse, neglect and discrimination of people with disabilities through zealous and uncompromising legal advocacy and representation.
Please let us know of any legislative proposals or budget issues that you think we should be following. Contact us at ga@dlcv.org or info@dlvc.org or by calling 1-800-552-3962 or 1-804-225-2042.