TULSA, Okla. — Tulsa County officials are backing a proposed settlement in a lawsuit against the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS). This legal action, initiated by four unnamed residents in March 2023, challenges the state’s failure to provide timely court-ordered mental health support.
District Attorney Steve Kunzweiler highlighted that the delay in providing mental health care to incarcerated individuals has been a long-standing issue, persisting for nearly a decade.
“We had to say, ‘please, you need to get them out of our jail, this is not a treatment facility, this is a jail,’” Kunzweiler stated. “The Department of Mental Health placed them on a waiting list, leaving them to languish for days, weeks, and months in a facility not designed to meet their immediate needs.”
Frustrated by the inaction, Kunzweiler emphasized that legal intervention became necessary to compel ODMHSAS to fulfill its responsibilities. “It took citizens who are victims to force a lawsuit to get us to this point, so our ask is just do your dang job,” he asserted.
The proposed settlement mandates that ODMHSAS provide mental health care within 21 days to any county jail inmate deemed incompetent by a court.
Sheriff Vic Regalado pointed to a lack of available beds in mental health facilities as a critical issue. “These people deserve to receive mental health competency treatment in a place other than a jail,” Regalado said. “Law enforcement can no longer shoulder the responsibility of addressing the mental health crisis in Oklahoma. We need long-term treatment facilities, proper funding for mental health treatment, and a substantial increase in public mental health beds.”
Efforts to contact ODMHSAS for a response were unsuccessful. However, the agency released a statement on its website expressing concerns that the lawsuit could divert necessary funds from treatment programs and require up to $100 million to build and maintain new forensic beds, which they claim is unnecessary.
Regalado countered this claim by noting the limited availability of public mental health treatment beds in Oklahoma. “In 2020, there were only 559 public beds for mental health treatment across the state,” he said, attributing the issue to the state department’s lack of initiative.
Regalado proposed using a 93-person pod at the Tulsa County Jail for mental health competency restoration, a suggestion ODMHSAS initially supported in discussions but has not acted upon.
Kunzweiler criticized the agency’s lack of action, despite its significant budget. “It’s just inconceivable to me that people appointed to take care of their fellow Oklahoma citizens would try to figure out ways to ignore and neglect them,” he remarked.
In January, Governor Kevin Stitt appointed Allie Friesen as the new commissioner of ODMHSAS. Kunzweiler expressed hope that Friesen’s leadership would bring necessary changes, urging her to take decisive action to address the longstanding issues.
The settlement now awaits approval from US District Judge Gregory Frizzell and the Oklahoma Legislature. If accepted, a 90-day planning period will be initiated to implement the changes outlined in the settlement, aiming to improve mental health care for those in custody.
Related topics:
