Bill to boost rural mental health and diversion programs advances

Officials in Oklahoma and Tulsa Counties were among the first to apply for a share of $12.5 million deposited into the County Community Safety Investment Fund in 2023.

The grant opportunity, made possible after lawmakers settled on a formula to calculate the savings from State Question 780 and offer the money to counties as directed in State Question 781, meant more than $2 million to hire new employees and build up programs to keep people out of the criminal justice system.

But in places like Cimarron County, which was allotted $7,583, there’s been less incentive for officials to go through the legwork of submitting a bid. The sparsely populated county in the panhandle is one of dozens that hasn’t applied for a share of the money, commonly referred to as 781 funds.

“If you or I had the opportunity for $7,000, that looks a lot different,” said Brittany Hayes, the policy director at Healthy Minds Policy Initiative. “For a county to invest time in the application and reporting, it really has to be worth their while.”

Mental health and criminal justice reform advocates are hopeful a bill moving through the Legislature, Senate Bill 251 by Todd Gollihare, R-Kellyville, will take effect and help boost rural participation.

The proposal requires the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services to allocate at least 0.5% of the safety investment fund to every county in the state. The change would set a floor funding amount of about $62,500 and benefit 35 counties. The measure would likely not immediately impact larger counties because the 781 fund is continuing and participation remains below 60%.

Gollihare’s bill also expands programming options to include jail intake screenings, which are designed to reveal information about a person’s mental health and substance abuse history. The measure passed 11-1 out of the Senate Health and Human Services Committee on Feb. 10 and is eligible to be heard on the Senate floor.

Kris Steele, the executive director of The Employment and Education Ministry and strong proponent of State Questions 780 and 781, said organizers initially operated on the logic that more people meant a greater need. He said that understanding has shifted as the challenges of running certain programs without a full-time employee have become apparent.

“We want the counties to be able to experience the value of applying for these dollars,” Steele said. “It needs to be enough for them to do some very tangible and practical things.”

Several urban and suburban counties have used the 781 money to hire one or more full-time reentry coordinators who can connect individuals with housing, counseling and employment. Others have contracted with Turn Key Health Services to hire a part-time on-site mental health counselor.

Healthy Minds published a report last week detailing several other program possibilities, including life skills training and employment placing.

“When you maximize these opportunities in rural Oklahoma, prosecutors and judges are going to use them,” Hayes said. “As much as we can get funding to these areas, we’ll see a major impact in how individuals with mental health disorders or behavioral health issues end up interacting with the criminal legal system.”

Oklahoma Watch (OklahomaWatch.org) is a nonprofit, nonpartisan news organization that covers public-policy issues facing the state.