Published: January 28, 2007 10:59 pm      

Director worries about Courtesy Patrol’s future

Did you know the West Virginia Courtesy Patrol program is recognized as one of the best welfare-to-work programs in the nation? Did you know this award-winning program has been selected for numerous awards on both the state and national levels?

Despite the program’s success, state officials are considering shifting the cost to operate it from the State Road Fund to another source or possibly cutting funding.

Jennifer Douglas, director of the Courtesy Patrol with the Citizens Conservation Corps of West Virginia, the agency that operates the program, says reports coming out of the state Capitol have her worried.

“It’s fair to say that the West Virginia Courtesy Patrol program is in jeopardy,” Douglas said. “I don’t know what is going to happen at this point. I don’t know if we will have funding cuts, have the program moved to another state department or if they are considering eliminating it.”

In 1998, the West Virginia Department of Transportation reinstated the Courtesy Patrol as a result of Senate Resolution No. 30.

It is the only patrol program in the country that employs welfare-to-work participants through a contract and collaborative effort with the Citizens Conservation Corps of West Virginia, a nonprofit organization.

Supporters of the program say it reduces the number of state residents on welfare, while simultaneously promoting the safe use of West Virginia’s roads.

Douglas said lawmakers must look past bottom lines when considering the program’s return on investment.

“Look beyond Road Fund and look at the big picture,” she said. “Look at the number of people it takes off welfare, the assistance it gives to law enforcement and emergency personnel.”

The Courtesy Patrol also provides assistance to stranded motorists who travel the state’s 767 miles of interstate and corridor highways. Since its reinstatement, patrol personnel have logged more than 44.5 million miles on West Virginia’s roadways, answered nearly 1.6 million calls and assisted approximately 183,000 motorists.

The program has provided employment for more than 1,400 former welfare recipients, while maintaining a job retention rate at six months of nearly 80 percent, one of the highest rates in the nation.

“The Courtesy Patrol responds to emergencies from motorists and assisting in any help needed,” Douglas said. “It’s a program that all West Virginians have access to and benefit from.”

Currently, Douglas says, the Courtesy Patrol costs $3 million to operate every year in West Virginia. Most of that money is federal funding, but she says about $600,000 of that comes from the State Road Fund.

She said “$600,000 represents half a mile of highway, so continuing to fund the Courtesy Patrol does not take away from large-scale roadway construction and maintenance.”

Last year, the program was cut from 24 hours a day to 16, Douglas said. The state also eliminated 45 full-time jobs, she added.

“Additional cuts or moving the program would be another blow to a program that has already been cut,” she said. “We would like to see the program go back to 24 hours a day, but we definitely cannot take another cut.”

Douglas says the Courtesy Patrol is not on the roads from 7 a.m. through 3 p.m., meaning State Police and other agencies must pick up some of the roadway hazards they had handled in the past.

She said 911 dispatchers “have told us they are not able to take on this load and void that is left when we are not out there. They may cut funding from us, but costs will pop up if we are not there.”

The Courtesy Patrol is involved in the state’s Amber Alert program for missing and/or abducted children, and patrolling drivers and central information systems play a vital role in Homeland Security initiatives statewide.

“The Courtesy Patrol is FBI-trained to respond and adjust to various levels of alert, while also monitoring bridges, overlooks, interchanges and reporting suspicious activities,” she said. “They act as the eyes and ears on the roadway.”

The program has helped earn more than $40 million in matching funds from the U.S. Department of Labor and in federal bonuses for the Department of Health and Human Resources, Douglas added.

“Many drivers are enrolled into the AmeriCorps Educational Awards program and receive educational vouchers worth up to $4,725 to go toward his or her educational goals,” she said.

The economic impact and social benefits of the program are enormous to West Virginia, Douglas said.

“We want to educate lawmakers and the public about the program,” she said. “This is a program that all of West Virginia can be proud of and I don’t think the state can afford not to have this program or to cut its funding again.”

Douglas said it makes no sense to put a transportation-oriented service under the Division of Tourism.

“It’s a transportation program,” she said.

Douglas said you can put a price on saving a life.

“I would like those in Charleston who will be making the decisions on the future of this program to remember a quote I once heard, which is, ‘A true cynic knows the cost of everything, but the value of nothing.’ This program may cost the state $600,000, but its value is worth far more than that amount.”

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