Part 11: Cost to taxpayers

Alcoholism levies
huge hidden cost
November 21, 1999
By Eric Newhouse
Tribune Projects Editor
HELENA — Alcohol costs state government — and Montana taxpayers — dearly.

Female prisoner appears in Cascade County court on several parole violations, including using alcohol.
-- Tribune photo by Larry Beckner
Montana spends nearly $19 million a year to regulate the sale of booze and treat some of the obvious alcohol-related problems.
That‘s greater than the annual budget for the Montana Highway Patrol, which is about $16.6 million.
Since most alcoholics deny they have a problem, however, hidden costs drive the state‘s spending up significantly.
Hidden costs may total an additional $135 million, according to a Tribune analysis. That‘s more than the state spends on the university system, about $120 million a year.
"I can‘t quarrel with your numbers," said Dave Lewis, director of the governor‘s budget office. "It‘s certainly eye-opening to see the amount of money that alcohol costs the state."
State liquor revenues
This year, Montana expects to receive $21.8 million through liquor sales, selling liquor licenses and taxing liquor, wine and beer.
After subtracting the administrative costs of issuing liquor licenses and collecting the taxes, that leaves the state roughly $21 million in profit.
Here‘s how we spend it — and much more.
Treating abuse
State health officials spend millions of dollars treating substance abuse, primarily alcohol but also drug abuse. Some of those programs use federal funds that are administered by the state.
Montana spends $5.5 million on substance-abuse treatment programs, said Dan Anderson, administrator of the state health department‘s Addictive and Mental Disorders Division.
It also spends $2.5 million to operate the Montana Chemical Dependency Center in Butte, plus an additional $1 million on regional and county centers.
Anderson said $3 million is spent on a federal alcohol-prevention program, and another $163,000 on an indigent youth treatment program.
In addition, the division spends about $850,000 on dealing with high-risk pregnancies and caring for the young children of high-risk mothers. The program served 1,400 women across the state, of whom 25 percent reported alcohol abuse and 9 percent illicit drug use, so one-fourth of the funding for high-risk pregnancies could be considered a hidden cost.
Known costs: $12.2 million.
Hidden costs: $212,500.
Foster care
Montana spends about $40 million on adoption assistance, foster care and assisted independent living programs.

Montana spends about $23 million on adoption assistance, foster care and assisted independent living programs.
-- Tribune photo by Larry Beckner
Montana has 2,000 to 2,200 children in foster care on any given day, said Shirley Tiernan, chief of the health department‘s family services bureau.
"Alcohol use is a big factor in children being removed from their homes," said Tiernan. "Most of our foster care cases are related to alcohol."
Roughly three-quarters of the cases have underlying chemical dependency issues, estimated Chuck Hunter, head of the health department‘s Division of Child and Family Services.
That‘s a hidden cost of about $30 million, but even cutting that in half could be a cost of $15 million.
Known costs: None.
Hidden costs: $15 million.
 
Family violence
The state spends $703,000 to counsel children on domestic violence.
How much of that can be attributed to alcohol abuse?
"Most of our domestic abuse cases involve alcohol, either by one or both parties," said Great Falls Police Chief Bob Jones.
"Alcohol plays a great part," the chief added. "People get angry, don‘t try to defuse the situation, and that leads to assaults."
Last year, Montana instituted a Domestic Violence Program with a statewide budget of $652,000.
According to figures provided by the YWCA Mercy Home, domestic abuse costs Montana businesses more than $10 million a year in absenteeism and medical bills.
Again, Hunter estimated that about three-quarters of the domestic abuse cases have underlying chemical dependency causes.
Three-quarters of the costs of domestic abuse would be $8.5 million. To be conservative, cutting that figure in half would be $4.25 million.
Known costs: None.
Hidden costs: $4.25 million.
 
Counseling
Montana spends $260,000 a year on its Employee Assistance Program, which says that only 4 percent of the state workers report substance abuse problems.
That seems low in light of the fact that the health department estimates that 9 percent of the adults in the state need substance abuse treatment.
And Great Falls counselor Wava Goetz recently reviewed the 700 cases she has handled over the past five years and came to a startling discovery.
Two-thirds of her cases were alcohol-related.
Known costs: $260,000.
Hidden costs: None.
 
Welfare
There‘s also the welfare world
The state spends $89 million in federal Medicaid funds, $52.4 million on food stamps, and $26.7 million on the FAIM (Families Achieving Independence in Montana) program.
It spends an additional $16 million on child-care funds to cushion the transition from welfare to entry-level job wages, plus $185,000 to stock the state food bank network.
State health department officials estimate that 25 percent to 50 percent of their clients are unable to hold jobs because of their alcohol abuse. The low end of that estimate would be $46 million.
Known costs: None.
Hidden costs: $46 million.
 
Mental illness
The state spends $84.4 million on treating mental illness. Much is not related to alcohol, but some is.
"There are clearly some people suffering from mental illness due to alcohol or drug use, either by themselves or by their parents," said Anderson.
"And it‘s often impossible to determine which is the primary problem," he added.
Anderson noted that 26 percent of the patients admitted to state mental hospitals have a dual diagnosis with a mental illness and chemical dependency. That percentage of the mental health budget would be $21.9 million, but halving that cost to be conservative would be about $11 million.
Known costs: unknown.
Hidden costs: $11 million.
 
Developmental disabilities
The state spends about $38 million to fund developmental disability centers in each county, as well as the Montana Developmental Center and Eastmont, but alcohol and drug abuse aren‘t a significant problem, said Joe Mathews, who heads the heath department‘s Disabilities Services Division.
"FAS/FAE patients are present, but not in a significant number," Mathews said.
Known costs: None.
Hidden costs: Low.
 
Voc rehab
Vocational rehabilitation serves about 7,000 Montanans a year, but only 150 of them last year had alcoholism as a primary diagnosis, said Mathews.
The department doesn‘t track those who have alcoholism as a contributing problem, he said.
"My guess is that a fairly substantial number of people we serve have a secondary diagnosis of alcoholism," he said.
"But that‘s strictly a professional guess," he added. "We don‘t track that and I don‘t have the data to back that up."
The vocational rehab program is budgeted to spend $14.9 million this year, and Mathews estimated that 25 percent to 30 percent of that could be attributed to alcohol abuse.
Known costs: None
Hidden costs: $3.7 million.
 
Special education
The state Office of Public Instruction spends $1.9 million a year on an alcohol- and drug-free educational program for students.
And it spends $33 million educating children with various disabilities, including fetal alcohol syndrome and fetal alcohol effect — both of which are caused by mothers who drink while they are pregnant.
Only a small percentage of the students have FAS/FAE, but educators note that attention deficit disorder has the same symptoms as FAE, except that there‘s no proven cause.
Proving FAE "requires mothers to admit that they‘ve been drinking during pregnancy," said Gail Cleveland, who‘s in charge of the Great Falls school district special education program. "So they deny it, and the physicians don‘t press the issue."
Education officials can‘t estimate what percentage of the special education budget may be attributable to alcohol abuse, but a conservative 10 percent would be about $3 million.
Known costs: $1.9 million.
Hidden costs: $3 million.
 
Justice Department
The state Department of Justice spends about $3 million each year on substance abuse programs, including the cost of the D.A.R.E. programs in public schools.
And it underwrites a DUI Task Force to the tune of about $250,000 a year.
In fiscal 1999, Montana Highway Patrol officers wrote 3,300 tickets for driving under the influence of alcohol, about 6.5 percent of the 50,400 tickets written that year.
And about 29 percent of the drivers involved in fatal auto collisions had been drinking, down from about 50 percent a decade ago, according Col. Craig Reap, former head of the highway patrol.
The highway patrol budget is about $16.6 million a year, so 6.5 percent if its budget — $1.1 million — could be considered a hidden cost.
Known costs: $3.25 million.
Hidden costs: $1.1 million.
 
Courts
State district courts cost taxpayers $3.4 million a year. It‘s impossible to break out what percentage of this is alcohol-related.
Known costs: None.
Hidden costs: Unknown.
 
Corrections
Since the Legislature made felonies of all DUI offenses after the third conviction, Montana spends more than $1 million a year locking away drunken drivers.
And a number of prisoners were released on probation or parole, but imprisoned again because their continued drinking violated the terms of their release. The Department of Corrections could not give a specific number because it does not track the reasons for parole or probation revocation.
The state spends $34,000 for a substance abuse program at Pine Hills, plus $265,000 more on a similar program at the Montana State Prison.
But that‘s only a drop in the bucket for the juvenile and adult justice programs, which total $64 million.
A health department study several years ago found that 60 percent of all prison inmates had a lifetime alcohol disorder, compared to about 9 percent of all Montanans.
But a prison study showed that 85 percent of its inmates had substance abuse problems, were imprisoned for crimes committed while they were drunk or high, or committed crimes to get the money to buy alcohol or drugs.
"I know a few people here who are not addicted to alcohol and drugs, but they are very rare cases," said inmate Randy Pretty Weasel, an alcoholic who is serving a 10-year assault sentence.
"They‘re a very small percentage of our prison inmates," added Pretty Weasel.
Taking the lower of the estimates, 60 percent of the Corrections Department $89 million budget could mean hidden costs of $53 million.
Known costs: $1.3 million.
Hidden costs: $53 million.
 
How big is the problem?
"We have no idea," said Roland Mena, who heads the state‘s chemical dependency program. "This is something that state government has never tried to determine.
"Your articles (in the Tribune) have served as a catalyst to force us to look at this problem in a new way."
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