By Debra Jasper
Columbus Enquirer Bureau

COLUMBUS - Saying officials must stop forcing parents to give up custody of their children to get them help, Gov. Bob Taft on Thursday announced a new plan to overhaul the state's mental health system.

Taft said the reforms were prompted by a March Cincinnati Enquirer series that revealed Ohio parents have given up custody of as many as 1,800 children in the past three years so the government would pay to treat their mental illnesses. But instead of getting help, some kids have been sent to treatment centers where they were abused, molested, improperly drugged or forced to live in wretched conditions.

"The series highlighted serious problems in the system, and gave us a new sense of urgency in dealing with these issues," Taft said. "We need to introduce public accountability ... and get children with mental illness the help they need."

Taft sent letters to three agency directors this week telling them to work faster on reforms and do more to keep mentally ill children safe. He wrote to Michael Hogan, director of the Ohio Mental Health Department, demanding that the agency implement a plan within 60 days to track the number of children injured inside treatment centers.

He also told Hogan to increase unannounced inspections of treatment centers and develop a plan within 60 days to reduce injuries to kids who live in them. "I recognize that extreme behavior can occur, but children and parents should have an expectation of safety when they are in professional care," the governor said.

He added, "I know that you agree with me that the delays and frustrations faced by many families and children in wrestling with the problems of a complex and fragmented delivery system are not acceptable."

Hogan called the assignments challenging, but said, "We will get them done on time."

Taft told the Ohio Family and Children First Council to report within 60 days with a plan to improve the system. He noted that he met in October with agency officials and wrote, "In light of the recent Cincinnati Enquirer stories, I ask that you accelerate your efforts."

The governor also told the council to move more quickly to improve a bill introduced by Sen. John Carey, R-Wellson, so it could pass the legislature. The bill would force counties to pay for treatment of mentally ill children - without taking custody.

At least 38 of Ohio's 88 counties acknowledge taking custody from parents, who give up their right to say where their children are sent, how long they stay or what kind of medication they are given. Some county officials have said taking custody is the only way they can get federal funding to help pay costs as high as $160 to $1,000 a day for treatment.

Taft expressed support in a letter to Carey: "I will work with you to make sure no parent is put in the unacceptable position of trading custody for care."

The governor gave the mental health department 60 days to address the shortage of child psychiatrists in Ohio. And he ordered Tom Hayes, director of the Ohio Department of Job and Family Services, to overhaul the way the agency tracks spending on mental health care.

Taxpayers shell out hundreds of millions of dollars a year for mentally ill children to live in treatment centers, records show. Yet so many different agencies pay for care for one child that state officials say they don't know if centers are double-billing or if tax money is being wasted.

Taft said Thursday he hopes state Auditor Betty Montgomery will audit privately run treatment centers.

Joe Case, Montgomery's spokesman, said she plans to meet with Senate President Doug White next week to develop a plan of action. "This is a priority with her," he said.

Advocates and agency officials praised the governor.

"I'm very happy these issues are on his radar screen," said Gayle Channing Tenenbaum, a lobbyist with the Ohio Public Children Services Association. "He's clearly taking this seriously, and there is an urgency to totally reforming the mental health system."

Terry Russell, executive director of the Ohio National Association for the Mentally Ill, also applauded the governor for pushing to get quick reforms.

He and other advocates are pushing for a parity bill to require insurance companies to cover mental illness the same way they cover physical illness. Most insurance plans now limit mental-health coverage to 20 to 30 days.

"Families are losing everything because their insurance won't cover their children's mental health care, and that's one of the major reasons for all these problems in the first place," Russell said.

Hogan said cost makes a complete overhaul impossible.

"The governor and lawmakers have to decide on the resources we get," he said, "and we're in a tough environment right now."