Social service advocates on Wednesday praised Gov. Sonny Perdue’s plan to restructure the state’s health and human services superagencies, if only because they say the services couldn’t get much worse.

“There are so many issues with so many of the programs, it can’t help but help,” said Linda Lowe, a consumer health-care advocate.

The plan announced by the governor Tuesday aims to improve services to the most vulnerable Georgians – the elderly and mentally ill, and abused and neglected children. Some of the agencies responsible for assisting them have been wracked with scandals, lawsuits and federal reviews.

The plan, which requires the Legislature’s approval next year, would separate mental health into its own department, apart from its current umbrella agency of the Department of Human Resources. The plan also would combine under a Department of Health agencies overseeing public health, the regulation of health care providers and the administration of health insurance plans like Medicaid for the poor.

Supporters hope the restructuring also improves the health of Georgians in general. They stressed the desperate need to do so; Georgia routinely ranks among the worst states for obesity, cardiovascular deaths, infectious disease and diabetes.

The agencies slated for change track illnesses, prevent the spread of disease, enable the elderly to live satisfying lives, ensure that restaurant food is safe, and create public health policies.

State Rep. Mark Butler (R-Carrollton), who served on the task force that formed the recommendations, said all citizens benefit when the state takes care of its most vulnerable residents, such as the mentally ill.

“If the state doesn’t take care of these people,” Butler said, “they end up committing crimes, sometimes property damage, sometimes hurting people. They end up in our jails.”

Lowe, a health-care advocate for 30 years, said the state’s Division of Public Health has been neglected as its parent agency, the Department of Human Resources, has focused on the scandals over mental health and children’s welfare.

“Public Health protects us from hazards, whether it’s bioterrorism or infectious disease,” she said. “The general public needs all of that.”

Supporters of the restructuring said, though, that they see numerous hurdles ahead for the plan. Public hearings this fall will precede the filing of legislation in January, Butler said.

Opposition could come from those who see the plan as adding on to government due to the creation of a separate mental health department, Butler said. But he said the structure for a separate mental health agency is largely in place, and that he does not expect the restructuring to cost the state more money.

If anything, Butler expects the restructuring will lend itself to a top-to-bottom review of services, aiming for greater efficiency and cost savings.

While some social service advocates praise the plan, a few have expressed concerns that splitting up various services could hamper communication between agencies and their assistance to people.

The restructuring itself could be rough, Butler said, coming at a time of reduced state money, and could lead to “turf wars” as agencies fight to hold onto their funding.

If the Legislature passes the restructuring bill by the start of the next state fiscal year in July, some changes and funding shifts could begin soon after, Butler said. The entire restructuring of the health and human services could be in place by the middle of 2010, he said.

– Staff writer Andy Miller contributed to this report.