LOCAL
Ismael Lele, The Oklahoma Eagle
Family & Children’s Services could lose $446,862 in funding as part of the cuts. Photo: Ross Terrell/The Oklahoma Eagle.
Several Tulsa mental health programs are preparing to lose thousands of dollars beginning Oct. 1 due to budget cuts from the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.
A document from a meeting with state legislators, first reported by NonDoc, listed 573 contracts with mental health providers. Of those, 122 will be reduced and 312 will not be renewed. More than $40 million will be cut for the purpose of cost optimization.
“The agency has long provided more services than its budget could support,” Interim Commissioner Greg Slavonic said in a press release days after the list became public. “Our hearts were bigger than our wallet. Now, we are aligning spending with available resources while maintaining essential services.”
Tulsa-based behavioral health center Family & Children’s Services could lose $446,862 in funding as part of the cuts. Christine Marsh, executive vice president of child abuse services, told The Eagle they still don’t know the full extent of the reductions and had no knowledge of the state department’s plans until they received a written notification in late August.
“It doesn’t mean that we’re going to have to stop providing those services,” Marsh said. “It just means that the type of funding that went into it is no longer going to be there. So if we’re going to continue it at the capacity that we’re providing it, then we have to reroute some other funding within our organization to sustain that program, which is what we’re able to do at this time.”
She said the cuts will slow the center’s ability to expand into areas where people don’t have easy access to health care providers.
“At this time, we don’t foresee layoffs or service disruption specifically, but we also can’t hold on to that for a long period of time without having some kind of disruption that we’re not going to be able to withstand any longer,” Marsh said.
Some offerings from FCS include a 24/7 crisis hotline and mobile response team; a children’s call center; and a recovery support service.
In a statement, city spokesperson Michelle Brooks said the city is actively working alongside mental health providers and legislators to understand the scope of the state cuts.
“Proposed funding cuts threaten essential programs that thousands of Tulsans depend on including … alternative response teams and co-response models that directly support public safety,” Brooks said. “The effects of these cuts would go far beyond service reductions, potentially disrupting employment and economic stability for many individuals and families.”
Other health care providers with Tulsa-based locations who will either lose contracts or face reduced funds include:
- Community Treatment Integrations OK
- CREOKS Mental Health Services
- Mental Health Association Oklahoma
- National Alliance on Mental Illness Oklahoma
- The Uma Center Inc. (DBA Uma Tulsa)
- Grand Lake Mental Health Center
None of the above providers responded to requests for comment by time of publication.
