This story was produced in partnership with The Frontier.
Oklahoma has a long way to go on a plan to improve wait times for people with severe mental illness in the criminal justice system, and still can't provide an accurate count of how many are stuck in jails waiting for treatment and for how long, consultants said in a new report.
The report, released Friday afternoon, comes more than six months after the state entered into a federal consent decree mandating fixes from the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services and its management of the forensic mental health system.
Consultants found that while the Department of Mental Health has made some progress, the agency's plan to implement reforms was "marred by inconsistencies, inaccurate data, and questionable assertions."
The Department of Mental Health said there were approximately 171 people in custody throughout the state waiting for court-ordered mental health treatment in September, but the agency reported inconsistent figures, the consultants said.
The consultants couldn't determine the average length of time a defendant spent waiting to be transferred from jail for treatment. The Department of Mental Health provided figures ranging from 95 to 215 days, and most recently, said its means of calculating the length of time a person waits for treatment was "incorrect." Consultants said they have repeatedly asked for this data and clarification about how the department calculates wait times.
The department didn't respond to written questions about claims of inaccuracy made by consultants but said in a statement that the agency is "working to implement all recommendations and is committed to satisfying the best efforts requirement of the consent decree."
"ODMHSAS continues to work closely with the court-appointed consultants. We value their guidance to complete a Competency Restoration Plan that will comply with the terms of the consent decree," an agency spokesperson said. "We appreciate the consultant's recognition of our progress. Change of this scale doesn't happen overnight, but the court consultants' advice has been crucial to our progress."
The consent decree ended a 2023 class-action lawsuit that accused the Department of Mental Health of violating the civil rights of people with severe mental illness waiting months in jails for treatment after being found incompetent to stand trial.
Paul DeMuro, an attorney for the plaintiffs in the case, said they could take further legal action due to the lack of progress on reforms.
"The consultant's report is a five-alarm fire. And we're going to proceed accordingly," he said.
DeMuro said he was troubled when a plan to reduce wait times for treatment that the Department of Mental Health submitted in August claimed that the agency has a new program to treat people in county jails. The agency doesn't have such a program, he said, echoing what the consultants said in their report.
"We're extremely alarmed by what we believe are materially false statements about key components of the so-called plan, like in-jail restoration," DeMuro said. "And are completely mystified by how such false statements could be included in a court-ordered, court-supervised plan."
The Department of Mental Health could also begin facing fines for failing to reduce wait times for treatment beginning in October, DeMuro said. The settlement is estimated to cost Oklahoma between $26 million and $45 million, but the final figure will depend on how long it takes the state to fully implement reforms.
Democratic legislative leaders on Friday called on the Department of Mental Health to request additional funding from the Legislature after the consultants released their report. The Department of Mental Health met with legislators in August to talk about plans to cut or reduce funding for 300 service contracts for mental health providers in the state.
"Right now, people are stuck in jail because they're waiting for mental health treatment," Senate Minority Leader Julia Kirt, D-Oklahoma City, said in a press release. "That means victims don't get justice quickly, and people who are accused don't get treated fairly. That's not okay. We need to put more money into programs that actually help."
The Department of Mental Health already missed most of the first set of deadlines that are part of the consent decree, the consultants said in a report filed in court in June. The first deadlines included requirements for the state to develop and begin implementing plans to reduce the time people with severe mental illness wait for treatment.
Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond said in a statement that the report was "alarming" and also called for more funding.
"The consent decree that my office helped broker will save the state untold millions of dollars, but it is critical that the Department of Mental Health actually comply with the plan," Drummond said. "As the Legislature has acknowledged, this will require an investment to ODMHSAS to help redevelop resources that have withered under the Stitt Administration."
Consultants said the department needs to invest more resources to implement necessary changes. The department still needs a senior official tasked with implementing the reforms, as well as funding to hire more people, the report said.
"Administrative forensic service continues to operate with a shoestring staff and limited funding," the consultants said in the report.
Copyright 2025 KOSU
