State panel backs psychiatric housing

A group of lawmakers voted yesterday to recommend the state spend $24 million to renovate a building near the state hospital for certain mentally ill offenders, including those who are sexually violent.

The commission was formed last year to find a better arrangement to house and treat sexually violent offenders and those considered incompetent to stand trial or not guilty by reason of insanity. The recommendations are expected to lead to proposed legislation for next year.

Currently there's a secure psychiatric unit at the state prison, but its location on prison grounds means the state misses out on millions in federal Medicaid reimbursement for treatment expenses.

By placing it near the New Hampshire Hospital, the state should be eligible to receive as much as $2 million per year in Medicaid funds, the commission concluded.

The Commission to Study the Location of the Secure Psychiatric Unit is recommending the Tobey Building be renovated, providing room for about 68 beds organized into separate "pods."

This plan would eventually free up space at the state prison to address a court order requiring separate housing for less-dangerous inmates who need mental health treatment apart from the general prison population.

The proposal also calls for moving certain mentally retarded sex offenders to the building, allowing state health officials to close a six-bed facility in Laconia.

"This has been a long process," said Health Commissioner John Stephen, praising the commission's unanimous support for the plan. "I think your decision here is also one that will protect the taxpayers."

Besides meeting court requirements at the prison, Stephen said the state needed to provide separate accommodations for people incarcerated for criminal acts and people committed because they're considered a danger to themselves or others.

The state's new sexual predator act is expected to increase the number of people committed because they're considered dangerous even after completing a prison sentence, Stephen said. That has been the experience of other states that passed similar laws, he said.

County jails also have complained about the need for a secure facility to send some of their prisoners for mental health evaluations and treatment, and this facility could meet that need, Stephen said.

The $24 million renovation expense will be proposed for inclusion in the state's capital budget next year. If approved, funding would become available next summer, and construction is expected to take roughly two years.

By ANNE SAUNDERS

The Associated Press