More than a year after it was due, the state’s plan to provide court-ordered treatment for Oklahoma defendants found incompetent to stand trial has been approved by the consultants overseeing a high-profile consent decree.
After the state mental health agency slashed contracts to address overspending, nonprofits say they’ve had to eliminate programs and scramble for new funding.
Plaintiffs claim the state agency has provided false information about progress on promised reforms, leaving people with severe mental illness languishing in jails for months without treatment.
Months after a deal to end a class-action lawsuit over treatment for people with severe mental illness, the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health still can’t provide an accurate count of how many people are waiting in jail for treatment and for how long, consultants found.
Independent consultants cite delays and poor communication from the Department of Mental Health as people with serious mental illness wait in jail for treatment.
A judge is fining the state for failing to treat mentally ill defendants stuck in county jails. With a court-ordered deadline approaching, public defenders and advocates say the system remains overwhelmed, underfunded and unresponsive.
