Battle against heroin being fought on many fronts

April 16--BUTLER COUNTY -- Finding additional long-term treatment beds, creating a detox center and taking advantage of a little-used law that allows parents or spouses to force their drug-addicted family members to get help are just a few of the projects Butler County leaders are proposing to attack the area's heroin problem.

Local leaders and state legislators are working together to find solutions and funding to throw at the heroin epidemic that is ravaging cities throughout the region and the country.

Probate Court Judge Randy Rogers said worried relatives are always calling various agencies in the county, such as the Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services Board (ADAS), asking how they can get help for their family members. Sen. Bill Seitz, R-Green Twp., provided an avenue for that two years ago with Casey's Law. But Rogers said he knows of only one instance when the bill has been utilized because it is cumbersome and perceived as costly.

The law states a parent, spouse or guardian can petition the probate court for a civil commitment if a doctor determines a person is a danger to themselves or others, and the family must put up half of the cost of treatment up-front and promise to also pay the balance of the bill.

"For that reason, Casey's Law has been regarded by most people as a series of laws that can only be utilized by people of means, wealthy people that can put down that amount of money," Rogers said.

It can cost in the neighborhood of $20,000 for a 90-day residential treatment program, according to ADAS Board Executive Director John Bohley. Intensive outpatient treatment can cost $400 to $500 a week and regular outpatient services run about $80 a session.

Rogers has conferred with other judges around the state on his own interpretation of Casey's Law, and they concurred that petitioners should only be responsible for the portion of the treatment bill that is not covered by Medicaid or private insurance. He said about 90 percent of the people who go through the public systems, such as the ADAS board, are eligible for Medicaid coverage.

"The key is estimated cost of treatment, and I've arrived at the conclusion that, that is for the court to determine, in terms of how you arrive at that," Rogers said. "The conclusion I have arrived at is that estimated cost of treatment takes into account third-party sources... I view the statute within the context of the actual world we live in, and the reality is most treatment is paid for by either insurance or Medicaid."

The group of a dozen or so county leaders and others who are affected by the heroin plague are working out the nuts and bolts of getting the option of using the probate court to get help for more heroin addicts. Bohley said it's another tool, but it remains to be seen if loved ones will want to take their family members to court.

"How many people will actually feel comfortable taking a legal process to mandate their loved one into treatment? I don't know," he said. "We'll have to see about that, but it's another tool."

Meanwhile, the county is working on turning part of the Butler County Care Facility into a drug rehabilitation center to triage addicts. Dr. Anubhav Mital and his mother Dr. Chetna Mital have offered to help in the fight. Anubhav Mital said the pilot program to get addicts clean and start therapy is only a piece of the puzzle.

"One of the big things that I have issue with is not trying to get people off heroin in terms of a biological dependence; no, that's actually, relatively speaking, the easier portion of this," he said. "The thing I have a problem with is once we get them off of it, how do we fix some of the social issues that prevent people from staying clean?"

He said many heroin addicts are jobless, they have no education and have no hope. That is why they do the drug, Mital said, because it dulls the senses. If they get an addict clean and put them back in the same environment, they are likely to go right back to the drug that kills the pain and hopelessness. Help in that regard is going to take money both from the county and the state, Mital said.

Sen. Bill Coley, R-West Chester Twp., is well aware of the efforts going on in his county. He said he is currently working to get a proposed provision in the governor's mid-biennium budget adjusted because it seeks to take back money from local jurisdictions for programs that could help with heroin.

"Last year, we designated responsibility to the county boards the responsibility for enacting programs," Coley said. "Now in the governor's MBR, there is a proposal to pull some of that back up to the state, which is usually problematic. I'm not sure that is the best use of resources, so we're dealing with that issue... We are trying to address this problem, but it is a nasty problem."

Butler County Administrator Charlie Young said financing for heroin solutions will not be pulled from the general fund, but there are any number of funding sources the county can tap into. Children Services and public safety funds are already engaged in the heroin battle, and there are state and federal grants available. He said the battle needs to be collaborative.

"We've got to look at all the different ways we can combat this," Young said. "Bringing all the different resources to bear that we have, I believe those are going to be considerable and sufficient."

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