The Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services has yet to disburse funds for State Question 781 programming for Fiscal Year 2026, which began July 1, prompting at least one county to temporarily cover costs out of pocket.
The Legislature allocated $12.5 million to the County Community Safety Investment Fund for FY 2026, the same amount as the previous two state budgets. The money is designed to help county governments develop programs to deal with the downstream effects of State Question 780, the successful 2016 ballot initiative that reclassified several drug and property crimes from felonies to misdemeanors.
Sean Presley, operations manager for Tulsa County Alternative Court Programs, said the county has been paying out of pocket for SQ 781 services since July. Tulsa County has used its $2.02 million allotment to offer a variety of programs and resources, including GED courses in the Tulsa County Jail and expanded treatment court dockets.
He said county officials are hopeful there will be a resolution soon and the county will be reimbursed, but the agency has made no guarantees.
“Right now we’re OK, but we can only have so many delays,” Presley said.
Suzanne Williams is the executive director of the Oklahoma Alliance for Recovery Resources, an Oklahoma City-based nonprofit that connects individuals with substance abuse issues to recovery home placement. The organization has SQ 781 contracts for sober housing placement in nine counties, including Comanche, Haskell and Jackson counties.
Williams said some counties aren’t yet in a crunch, because their contracts were awarded later in the fiscal year and cover 12 months. For instance, Comanche County should have the necessary funding to continue 781 programming through December. But similar to Tulsa County, the situation could become much more uncertain if the agency doesn’t issue clear guidance soon.
“Counties are reliant on the 781 funds to continue the projects they started,” she said. “I think really the conundrum is that nobody knows. They haven’t been told, ‘Hey, the RFP is coming out this date,’ and it’s just a lack of communication that becomes frustrating for the counties and providers.”
Department of Mental Health spokesperson Maria Chaverri said the delay stems from Interim Commissioner Gregory Slavonic’s decision to extend contracts from FY 2025 by 90 days to allow for a line-by-line review. That extension is set to expire this week, with contract renewals for State Question 781 programs expected to go out in the coming weeks, she said.
Chaverri said the temporary pause has allowed the agency to make several improvements to the SQ 781 program, including streamlining renewal and reporting requirements and allowing funds to carry over each fiscal year. Additionally, several rural counties will see their allotment increase thanks to Senate Bill 251.
“We did let people know what was happening,” Chaverri said. “But with everything going on, I understand why it would be confusing.”
Financial issues within the Department of Mental Health have been widely reported. In May, agency officials warned the Legislature that it might not have enough cash on hand to meet payroll. Broad cuts to nearly 300 mental health programs will take effect Oct. 1, said Slavonic, who has defended the spending reduction as necessary for the agency to restore its financial footing.
State Question 781 programs should have been exempt from the 90-day pause, Williams argued, because the money is separate from the agency budget. The Office of Management and Enterprise Services was initially tasked with managing the 781 grant program until a 2023 bill shifted responsibility to the Department of Mental Health.
“Being a former director at ODMH, their financial troubles that they may or may not be in currently should not impact any of the 781 projects,” Williams said.
While several counties await the renewal application, nearly three dozen have yet to seek a share of the money.
As of August, 33 of Oklahoma’s 77 counties had not submitted a request, according to a joint report from the Oklahoma Policy Institute, Healthy Minds Policy Initiative and Oklahomans for Criminal Justice Reform.
Advocates hope the bill increasing payouts to rural counties, as well as streamlined communication from the Department of Mental Health, will boost statewide participation.
“We need to educate all of our county commissioners,” said State Rep. Eddy Dempsey, R-Valliant. “I didn’t know there was money out there. Apparently it’s been out there for years.”
The program has already reaped positive results in Custer County, Sheriff’s Office Lt. Latasha Goodwin said. The county, with a population of 28,513, used its $95,403 allotment to provide part-time psychotherapy and mental health stabilization through Turn Key Health Services.
“It’s been absolutely amazing,” Goodwin said. “Normally, we would send these people to OFC (Oklahoma Forensic Center) and have to wait for eight months to a year just to get them in. Now they’re getting stabilized earlier, which has helped the judges and made our lives a lot better.”
Keaton Ross covers democracy and criminal justice for Oklahoma Watch. Contact him at (405) 831-9753 or Kross@Oklahomawatch.org. Follow him on Twitter at @_KeatonRoss.
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