Commissioner Nelson Smith, who was selected by Governor Glenn Youngkin (R) to oversee the Virginia Department of Behavioral Health and Developmental Services, announced in November that a deputy commissioner’s position is being eliminated from the agency in a bid for the agency to meet to the governor’s expectations.
Nelson (pictured above) told employees across the agency’s departments at some point in November that the position of deputy commissioner for administrative services was being eliminated as part of a broader reorganization effort, according to the Richmond Times-Dispatch. The job cut will apparently help the agency enact Youngkin’s Right Help, Right Now reforms, which the governor stated will help those suffering from mental health crises in Virginia.
As part of the reorganization, the outlet reported Nelson will also create a new Office of Strategic Planning and Execution, which will report directly to the commissioner, and may create a new office to be charged with “delivery of behavioral and developmental disability services at the community level.”
Youngkin signed 24 bills as part of his Right Help, Right Now plan to expand access to mental health resources and modernize Virginia’s mental health laws. The laws sought to improve insurance coverage for mental health, increase private health insurance coverage for mobile crisis teams, and to improve wait times for individuals being held under a temporary detention order.
However, the initiative has struggled to meet Youngkin’s expectations, and funding for the mobile crisis teams the governor did not make into the Virginia General Assembly’s eventual budget.
In October, the Times-Dispatch reported the agency failed meet a “critical goal” tied to Youngkin’s initiative, as the agency failed to ensure individuals were given mental health appointments within 10 days of receiving an initial assessment.
However, the agency provided additional information to the outlet, explaining that the agency has met the 10-day goal 71.8 percent of the time in 2023, which reflected a modest improvement over the 69.6 percent of the time the agency met the goal in 2022.
Youngkin recently indicated Virginia Republicans will attempt to revive legislation that would target fentanyl dealers and distributors with murder charges if their drugs result in a fatal overdose. The legislation was ultimately defeated in February by Democrats who were reportedly concerned the criminal penalties would keep Virginians from calling emergency services during overdoses.
Though the governor only signed the state’s amended budget in September, lawmakers are expected to resume budget discussions in January, when Democrats will once again control both the Virginia Senate and the Virginia House of Delegates.
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Tom Pappert is the lead reporter for The Tennessee Star, and also reports for The Georgia Star News, The Virginia Star, and The Arizona Sun Times. Follow Tom on X/Twitter. Email tips to [email protected].
Photo “Nelson Smith” by Virginia Association of Local Human Services Officials and “Virginia Capitol” is by Tony Fischer CC2.0.
