Chenango County on the hook for sudden $104,000 Valley Ridge bill
NORWICH – Chenango County officials have been taken back by a $104,500 bill from Valley Ridge CIT for the treatment of one individual who was convicted of several felonies last fall.
The county’s Health and Human Services Committee first heard about the unexpected burden earlier this month. According to Mental Hygiene Services Director Ruth Roberts, the individual – a Chenango County resident – has received care at Valley Ridge Center for Intensive Treatment for the last six months after being deemed by County Judge Frank Revoir to not have the capacity to understand charges against him or participate in his own defense.
That individual was ordered to one year of treatment at Valley Ridge; and now, since his crime occurred in Chenango County, county taxpayers are on the hook for payment and there’s no way around it.
Worse still, another bill is expected in six months to cover the second half of the individual’s one-year restorative treatment order.
“It appears we have to pay it,” said County Attorney Allan Gordon, noting New York State law verified by the Office of Persons with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) that says local taxpayers have to pony up for treatment in such instances.
“It’s just another example of us paying bills where we have no control over what’s happening,” said Gordon. “We don’t get to control the treatment or the placement, but we have to pay the bill.”
The good news, he added, is that New York State has a history of paying up to half of like bills in the past while Valley Ridge accepts the other half of payment – approximately $52,000 in this case – from the county.
“This was a surprise to us,” said Roberts. “We weren’t aware that this person was sent on for restorative services because typically those services occur in the Office of Mental Health system, where this individual was referred to OPWDD.
Roberts additionally noted that the person’s current order expires in October but could be extended. She explained to county leaders last week that the theory of OPWDD in these cases is to hold individuals for treatment until they’re deemed capable of understanding what’s happening in court and can return to face charges.
Roberts also voiced skepticism over the order of “restorative treatment” when the county doesn’t get regular progress reports from Valley Ridge or OPWDD.
“When somebody is mentally ill, we can restore that often through medications. When somebody is intellectually and developmentally disabled, we can’t fix that. So my question to the state is, what are we trying to restore and how are we measuring that progress?” she said. “The state has always been quite closed in terms of giving counties information … I would like a status report from month to month how this individual is doing toward making progress.”
The county’s Health and Human Services Committee first heard about the unexpected burden earlier this month. According to Mental Hygiene Services Director Ruth Roberts, the individual – a Chenango County resident – has received care at Valley Ridge Center for Intensive Treatment for the last six months after being deemed by County Judge Frank Revoir to not have the capacity to understand charges against him or participate in his own defense.
That individual was ordered to one year of treatment at Valley Ridge; and now, since his crime occurred in Chenango County, county taxpayers are on the hook for payment and there’s no way around it.
Worse still, another bill is expected in six months to cover the second half of the individual’s one-year restorative treatment order.
“It appears we have to pay it,” said County Attorney Allan Gordon, noting New York State law verified by the Office of Persons with Developmental Disabilities (OPWDD) that says local taxpayers have to pony up for treatment in such instances.
“It’s just another example of us paying bills where we have no control over what’s happening,” said Gordon. “We don’t get to control the treatment or the placement, but we have to pay the bill.”
The good news, he added, is that New York State has a history of paying up to half of like bills in the past while Valley Ridge accepts the other half of payment – approximately $52,000 in this case – from the county.
“This was a surprise to us,” said Roberts. “We weren’t aware that this person was sent on for restorative services because typically those services occur in the Office of Mental Health system, where this individual was referred to OPWDD.
Roberts additionally noted that the person’s current order expires in October but could be extended. She explained to county leaders last week that the theory of OPWDD in these cases is to hold individuals for treatment until they’re deemed capable of understanding what’s happening in court and can return to face charges.
Roberts also voiced skepticism over the order of “restorative treatment” when the county doesn’t get regular progress reports from Valley Ridge or OPWDD.
“When somebody is mentally ill, we can restore that often through medications. When somebody is intellectually and developmentally disabled, we can’t fix that. So my question to the state is, what are we trying to restore and how are we measuring that progress?” she said. “The state has always been quite closed in terms of giving counties information … I would like a status report from month to month how this individual is doing toward making progress.”
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