The future of the Cottonwood Residential Treatment Center is looking a little bit brighter, but the Cape Girardeau facility is not completely off the chopping block yet.
Missouri Governor Jay Nixon released $241,404 on Friday to fund the 32-bed facility that treats children will severe emotional and mental disorders. The release comes after the Missouri legislature did not override most of Nixon’s vetoes of some tax-cutting bills.
But the released funding is only half of the amount the governor withheld this summer, according to Representative Kathy Swan of Cape Girardeau.
“This is just a part of what it takes to run Cottonwood and keep Cottonwood open,” Swan said. “I know the Governor is interested. He’s interested in the mental health treatment of children and has indicated so and has indicated so in the past several times. But he also is interested in how to run things more economically and more efficiently.”
Swan worked with fellow Representative Donna Lichtenegger and state senator Wayne Wallingford to present a plan to the Missouri Department of Mental Health to cut costs and enhance revenue for Cottonwood. Swan says the funding that was released on Friday is not quite enough to keep the facility open, but she remains optimistic.
"We’ll have to see. We’re going to have to work through some things and some details to determine what this plan is going to look like,” Swan said. "We’re still working on details of that. But we should know shortly.”
Swan said representatives from the Department of Mental Health will tour Cottonwood on Monday.