The Oklahoma State Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS) is tens of millions of dollars in debt.

The revelation comes as many mental health service providers said they’re shocked by sudden program cut proposals.

There are two big controversies happening at the State Capitol right now.

There was first the firing of the State Forestry Service director and while that was playing out, state lawmakers said some wild things began to come to light about a completely separate agency, ODMHSAS.

“We have to put out the fire that’s going right now at the department of mental health,” said State House Speaker Kyle Hilbert (R-Bristow).

All eyes are now on the budget for one state agency, ODMHSAS.

“We have to figure out what in the world is going on in the department of mental health,” Hilbert said.

The department is tens of millions of dollars in debt and state lawmakers said some funds are missing altogether.

“We are concerned especially in the mental health department where we have some funding where we don’t know where it’s gone. We are in the middle of a crisis,” said State Rep. Cynthia Roe (R-Lindsay).

Last Wednesday, the agency announced it was suddenly cutting off funding for certain programs across the state. One of the biggest impacts would be felt in Tulsa.

In a statement, the department accused many groups like Grand Mental Health, CREOKS and Family & Children’s Services, all based out of Tulsa, of not being transparent in their spending.

Mental Health Commissioner Allie Friesen stated, “For too long, these entities have been allowed to grow and scale without the necessary accountability. Oklahomans rely on these services, and we must ensure that taxpayer dollars are being spent responsibly.”

Gov. Kevin Stitt then accused the agencies of paying their leadership too much money.

“Why don’t get give more money to the community group that charges the state $2600 per patient versus $6700? They don’t pay their CEO $1.3 million is one thing,” Stitt said.

But the three Tulsa metro groups mentioned said they were blindsided by the accusations and cutbacks.

“Certainly shocked and also still trying to wrap my mind around what it all means and we still have more questions than answers. We also know there are good people all over trying to help us figure this out,” said Adam Andreassen, CEO of Children & Family Services

Andreassen said his organization has been transparent the whole time and is concerned real harm will come to those who need these services that it seems the state can’t afford.

“All of us are part of this fabric of protection to the public. If one of the partners alongside us loses funding, it’s going to have an effect on all of us and our community and everyone who depends on these systems to be part of the safety net,” Andreassen said.

Just before our interview Monday, the state said that Family & Children’s Services’ COPES program slated to be cut will be funded through June while a path forward on all mental health care services is still being worked out.

COPES is a free 24-7 mental health care program for Tulsa County adults and children in psychiatric crisis.

“We just want to make very clear that transparency and accountability are already everyday terms that we engage with as we operate in a space that is already so scrutinized and rightfully so,” Andreassen said.

But the department’s financial troubles don’t stop there. Hilbert said ODMHSAS has been tweaking contracts with vendors all the way back to last fall after services have already been performed to try to save money after the fact.

“These are services these providers have already rendered. They have done a service in a contractual way with the state and the state is saying, ‘Yes, you performed that work, but we’re not going to pay you for it,‘” Hilbert said.

Hilbert said there are better ways to be efficient without tanking the state’s business reputation and getting sued.

In a separate statement, Grand Mental Health in Tulsa said they too were shocked and blindsided by the governor’s comments.

They said the CEO doesn’t make what the governor said he makes and they feel hurt because the governor has lifted up Grand Mental Health as a shining light of what the state and a nonprofit can do when they work together in the recent past.

You can read the full statement from Grand Mental Health below:

“We are aware of and surprised by the comments made by Governor Stitt during his recent news conference - particularly given our ongoing relationship with his office and his previous recognition of our service and impact. We are aligned with the Governor in continuing our search for organizational efficiencies, including reducing leadership salaries significantly in 2024. The current CEO annual salary is $850,000, not $1.3M as previously mentioned, which aligns competitively with other CEO compensation at Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs) of comparable size and scope, both in Oklahoma and nationally. Total executive salaries total $4.5M, not $7M as previously mentioned.

GRAND is committed to the state and Oklahomans to deliver the highest standards of care while trying to navigate the ever-increasing costs associated with healthcare, and specifically mental healthcare. While we work to better understand the numbers Governor Stitt presented, we continue to coordinate with his office, the department of mental health and substance abuse services, and our state legislators to assure uninterrupted, vital mental health and crisis services to those in need across our state.”

One important thing a lot of organizations say is if you use any of their services, please keep going to your appointments and keep using the programs you’re a part of.

Some people have already started not going to things, thinking they’re closed already.

But right now, they’re operating as normal while things are being figured out.