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CHARLESTON -- The drug epidemic is a crisis for health care, social services and the economy in West Virginia, a state official Monday told lawmakers during an interim meeting of the Legislature.
The impact on the economy is "mind boggling," Secretary Bill Crouch of the Department of Health and Human Resources Monday told the Joint Standing Committee on Finance.
West Virginia loses $8.8 billion a year because of the drug crisis, more than 12 percent of the state GDP, Crouch said. The next closest state is Ohio at 5.32 percent of the GDP.
The impact on child welfare in the state is "stunning," Crouch said. West Virginia takes more children from their home per capita than any other state, with 84 percent placed in foster care because one or both parents have a substance use disorder, Crouch said.
Crouch said more than the $10 million supplementary appropriation for Substance Use Disorder is needed. According to the department, overdose deaths in West Virginia went from 735 in 2015 to 887 in 2016. The number for 2017 using preliminary data is 934 overdose deaths.
West Virginia's response to the crisis to date is making an impact, however, Crouch said.
When the Legislature passed the Ryan Brown Fund bill in 2017, it allocated $21.6 million to increase the number of treatment beds in the state.
"That was a huge bill," Crouch said. "Adding even more beds is critical."
The Legislature passed SB 272 and SB 273 in 2018, which provided for data collection and quick response teams, Crouch said.
"That was huge too," he said. "It helped turn the spigot off for opioids in our communities."
Of the $10 million allocation, about $1 million is allotted for the distribution of naloxone to first responders; more than 34,000 doses of 2 mg naloxone syringes with atomizers that comply with the statewide protocol have been distributed to EMS personnel. Priority counties are Berkeley, Cabell, Harrison, Kanawha, Mercer, Monongalia, Ohio and Raleigh.
Other allocations include $500,000 for post-partum long-acting reversible contraception insertion, $500,000 for reproductive health care at harm reduction program sites, $750,000 for children's mobile crisis response, $1.45 million for the Partnerships for Success Program to reduce underage drinking and misuse of prescription drugs among youth primarily in 12 targeted high-risk counties, $600,000 to the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion programs, $140,000 for recovery residences, $100,000 for collegiate recovery programs, $1 million for Quick Response Teams, $150,000 for the West Virginia Peer Network, $500,000 for Higher Education Support for Those in Recovery, $500,000 to expand Drug Free Moms and Babies Programs and $2.59 million for the County Recovery and Empowerment Initiative.