Virginia cuts aid for indigent burials

PORTSMOUTH

William R. Gardner recently kept an elderly woman's body at his funeral home in Portsmouth for more than a month.

She came from a nursing home with no money and no known family. After weeks of searching, one of Gardner's directors found a relative, but the person couldn't afford to, or didn't want to, pay to dispose of the remains.

In a case like that, taxpayers pick up the tab. Beginning Thursday, there will be a lot less money available for the job.

The General Assembly cut state assistance for indigent burials as part of a larger $2.4 million reduction in general relief aid to localities. Cities must now decide how much to spend on their own.

In Portsmouth, the total available will drop to $250 from $750. That's barely enough to cover a $50 medical examiner's fee and minimal cremation expenses, Gardner said. Funeral homes often donate services in such cases, but Gardner fears dwindling public assistance will lead to more unclaimed bodies, and he said he isn't sure what happens then.

"It's an embarrassing situation waiting to happen," said Gardner, president of Sturtevant Funeral Home. "I think they need to stop and think about what they're doing. This isn't some feel-good social program."

The cases are called indigent burials, but that is often a misnomer because many end in cremation. Until now, cities in South Hampton Roads provided a maximum amount of assistance of $500 to $750. The state covered 62.5 percent of the cost.

Virginia Beach and Chesapeake will continue to offer up to $500, officials there said. Suffolk, which also offers $500, was undecided as of last week on whether it would stick with that amount, a spokeswoman said.

It's a more expensive decision in Norfolk, where indigent burials are far more common. The city spent about $50,000 on 296 cases in the fiscal year ending June 30, said Jan Callaghan, a spokeswoman for the city's Department of Human Services. It also received $83,500 in state-allocated funds, she said.

Portsmouth reported the second-most cases in South Hampton Roads, with 107 by early May at a local cost of $26,750. The city budgeted $38,000 for the service next fiscal year.

Tommy Graves, president of Graves Funeral Home in Norfolk's Huntersville area, estimated he gets about three indigent cases a month.

"You're just seeing more and more and more of it," he said. "In days gone by, people were more prepared for death."

Families in Norfolk can provide up to $1,500 of their own money and still get $500 in public assistance, Graves said. That might be enough for a burial if they have a free cemetery plot and a funeral home is willing to work with them, he said.

"The casket company doesn't have to look at this family crying. I do," Graves said.

Public assistance varies across the country.

In North Carolina, the state leaves the assistance to the counties, which pay only if the body is unclaimed; otherwise, the funeral home or crematory often must absorb the cost, said Paul Harris, executive director of the North Carolina Board of Funeral Service.

In West Virginia, the state reimburses up to $1,250. In North Dakota, the state doesn't pay, but counties must provide at least $1,500, and some offer more.

Many states and counties have struggled with the cost of indigent burials over the past two years because of tightening budgets, said Jessica Koth, a spokeswoman for the National Funeral Directors Association.

In Virginia, the state is projected to spend about $610,000 in the fiscal year ending today on the assistance, according to the Virginia Department of Social Services.

Gardner, the Portsmouth funeral home director, said some people abuse the help, but for many it's a necessity. Area funeral home staff said eligibility requirements vary by city.

For an indigent cremation, Gardner provides a cardboard box with a plywood slab on the bottom to transport the body. The state requires a container, so a sheet or bag won't do, he said.

The funeral home also must get a death certificate for the medical examiner, who must review and sign off on a body before cremation. If the body can be transported to the examiner's district office in Norfolk, the $50 fee will be waived for indigent cases, said Dr. Leah Bush, the state's chief medical examiner.

Documents from Virginia Beach Circuit Court showed the work that can go into disposing of someone who dies poor, alone or both.

A baby girl was stillborn on April 18, 2009, at Sentara Leigh Hospital. The police investigated and an autopsy was done. A funeral home kept the body while the sheriff's office exhausted its options.

In August, the baby's mother signed a release form saying she was unable to make final disposition arrangements for her daughter. The medical examiner's office said the remains were not suitable for scientific study in the State Anatomical Program.

In September, a judge ordered that the body be properly disposed of in accordance with state law, at the city's expense.

Pilot writer Jen McCaffery contributed to this report.

Dave Forster, (757) 446-2627, dave.forster@pilotonline.com