{"id":5238,"date":"2025-05-06T12:10:50","date_gmt":"2025-05-06T12:10:50","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/?p=5238"},"modified":"2025-05-06T10:32:39","modified_gmt":"2025-05-06T10:32:39","slug":"oklahoma-lawmakers-demand-answers-over-mental-health-departments-budget-crisis","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/06\/oklahoma-lawmakers-demand-answers-over-mental-health-departments-budget-crisis\/","title":{"rendered":"Oklahoma Lawmakers Demand Answers Over Mental Health Department\u2019s Budget Crisis"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n
\n

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK \u2013 Tensions ran high at the Capitol on Monday as Oklahoma lawmakers expressed frustration and concern over the financial instability within the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS). The department\u2019s leadership admitted they may not have enough money to meet payroll obligations through the end of June, prompting a wave of criticism and skepticism from legislators.<\/p>\n

Appearing before a Select Committee, ODMHSAS Commissioner Allie Friesen requested an additional $23 million from the state legislature to cover employee salaries. The request came just days after the department first notified lawmakers of its payroll crisis\u2014news that many said caught them off guard.<\/p>\n

\u201cCome May 21st, we will need payroll support,\u201d Friesen told the committee.<\/p>\n

However, when pressed for specific details on how the $23 million figure was calculated, Friesen was unable to provide concrete answers.<\/p>\n

\u201cI can\u2019t give you those answers right now,\u201d she admitted.<\/p>\n

The lack of clarity prompted sharp responses from lawmakers. Senator Paul Rosino (R-Oklahoma City) said he left the meeting more confused than reassured.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m at a point where I don\u2019t think we\u2019re getting down to any significant number,\u201d Rosino said. \u201cI don\u2019t think they need more money\u2014I just don\u2019t think they have the sophistication to figure it out.\u201d<\/p>\n

Michael Rupke, a project manager for the department, added to the growing concern, telling lawmakers he had \u201czero confidence\u201d in the agency\u2019s financial team\u2019s ability to confirm available funds.<\/p>\n

The committee meeting was called after ODMHSAS sent a notice to legislators late last week stating it would not be able to make payroll\u2014only to reverse its position less than 24 hours later in a statement to local media, saying, \u201cODMHSAS will be making payroll as scheduled.\u201d<\/p>\n

That reversal only deepened lawmakers\u2019 skepticism. \u201cThis is how they feed their families,\u201d said House Majority Leader Mark Lawson (R-Sapulpa), referencing the thousands of state workers and mental health providers depending on timely paychecks. \u201cBut also [we must think about] our clinicians and the folks that need mental health services.\u201d<\/p>\n

Despite the confusion and lack of a clear financial roadmap, legislators did not take immediate action on Friesen\u2019s funding request. However, they promised to ensure employees would be paid\u2014one way or another.<\/p>\n

With just three weeks remaining in the legislative session, the pressure is mounting. Lawson told the department to return with a fully documented supplemental budget request before any additional funds would be considered.<\/p>\n

The agency has blamed years of financial neglect for the current crisis, but without immediate transparency and accountability, lawmakers appear hesitant to sign off on any new money.<\/p>\n

The outcome of the budget request could have lasting implications\u2014not only for ODMHSAS employees, but for the thousands of Oklahomans who rely on its services every day.<\/p>\n

Would you like this formatted for print, web, or newsletter use?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n

\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
\n
<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/article>\n
<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

OKLAHOMA CITY, OK \u2013 Tensions ran high at the Capitol on Monday as Oklahoma lawmakers expressed frustration and concern over the financial instability within the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS). The department\u2019s leadership admitted they may not have enough money to meet payroll obligations through the end of June, prompting […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":7,"featured_media":5243,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"content-type":"","_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[137],"tags":[],"class_list":{"0":"post-5238","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-oklahoma"},"yoast_head":"\nOklahoma Lawmakers Demand Answers Over Mental Health Department\u2019s Budget Crisis - Enid Post<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/06\/oklahoma-lawmakers-demand-answers-over-mental-health-departments-budget-crisis\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Oklahoma Lawmakers Demand Answers Over Mental Health Department\u2019s Budget Crisis - Enid Post\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"OKLAHOMA CITY, OK \u2013 Tensions ran high at the Capitol on Monday as Oklahoma lawmakers expressed frustration and concern over the financial instability within the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS). The department\u2019s leadership admitted they may not have enough money to meet payroll obligations through the end of June, prompting […]\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/06\/oklahoma-lawmakers-demand-answers-over-mental-health-departments-budget-crisis\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Enid Post\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2025-05-06T12:10:50+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/2ok.jpg\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:width\" content=\"650\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:height\" content=\"365\" \/>\n\t<meta property=\"og:image:type\" content=\"image\/jpeg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Viktor Cross\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"Viktor Cross\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\/\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/06\/oklahoma-lawmakers-demand-answers-over-mental-health-departments-budget-crisis\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/06\/oklahoma-lawmakers-demand-answers-over-mental-health-departments-budget-crisis\/\",\"name\":\"Oklahoma Lawmakers Demand Answers Over Mental Health Department\u2019s Budget Crisis - Enid Post\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/06\/oklahoma-lawmakers-demand-answers-over-mental-health-departments-budget-crisis\/#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/06\/oklahoma-lawmakers-demand-answers-over-mental-health-departments-budget-crisis\/#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/2ok.jpg\",\"datePublished\":\"2025-05-06T12:10:50+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6c6e0e5a6419fff09435df333ed7e12c\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/06\/oklahoma-lawmakers-demand-answers-over-mental-health-departments-budget-crisis\/#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/06\/oklahoma-lawmakers-demand-answers-over-mental-health-departments-budget-crisis\/\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/06\/oklahoma-lawmakers-demand-answers-over-mental-health-departments-budget-crisis\/#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/2ok.jpg\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/2ok.jpg\",\"width\":650,\"height\":365},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/06\/oklahoma-lawmakers-demand-answers-over-mental-health-departments-budget-crisis\/#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"Oklahoma Lawmakers Demand Answers Over Mental Health Department\u2019s Budget Crisis\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/\",\"name\":\"Enid Post\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6c6e0e5a6419fff09435df333ed7e12c\",\"name\":\"Viktor Cross\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/\",\"url\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/96d4e8f1f7286f407ba716c793b6480dbf407b8f924bfa34150c7a672d600bdf?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/96d4e8f1f7286f407ba716c793b6480dbf407b8f924bfa34150c7a672d600bdf?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"Viktor Cross\"},\"url\":\"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/author\/viktor-cross\/\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Oklahoma Lawmakers Demand Answers Over Mental Health Department\u2019s Budget Crisis - Enid Post","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/06\/oklahoma-lawmakers-demand-answers-over-mental-health-departments-budget-crisis\/","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"Oklahoma Lawmakers Demand Answers Over Mental Health Department\u2019s Budget Crisis - Enid Post","og_description":"OKLAHOMA CITY, OK \u2013 Tensions ran high at the Capitol on Monday as Oklahoma lawmakers expressed frustration and concern over the financial instability within the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS). The department\u2019s leadership admitted they may not have enough money to meet payroll obligations through the end of June, prompting […]","og_url":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/06\/oklahoma-lawmakers-demand-answers-over-mental-health-departments-budget-crisis\/","og_site_name":"Enid Post","article_published_time":"2025-05-06T12:10:50+00:00","og_image":[{"width":650,"height":365,"url":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/2ok.jpg","type":"image\/jpeg"}],"author":"Viktor Cross","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"Viktor Cross","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/06\/oklahoma-lawmakers-demand-answers-over-mental-health-departments-budget-crisis\/","url":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/06\/oklahoma-lawmakers-demand-answers-over-mental-health-departments-budget-crisis\/","name":"Oklahoma Lawmakers Demand Answers Over Mental Health Department\u2019s Budget Crisis - Enid Post","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/06\/oklahoma-lawmakers-demand-answers-over-mental-health-departments-budget-crisis\/#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/06\/oklahoma-lawmakers-demand-answers-over-mental-health-departments-budget-crisis\/#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/2ok.jpg","datePublished":"2025-05-06T12:10:50+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6c6e0e5a6419fff09435df333ed7e12c"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/06\/oklahoma-lawmakers-demand-answers-over-mental-health-departments-budget-crisis\/#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/06\/oklahoma-lawmakers-demand-answers-over-mental-health-departments-budget-crisis\/"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/06\/oklahoma-lawmakers-demand-answers-over-mental-health-departments-budget-crisis\/#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/2ok.jpg","contentUrl":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/05\/2ok.jpg","width":650,"height":365},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/2025\/05\/06\/oklahoma-lawmakers-demand-answers-over-mental-health-departments-budget-crisis\/#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"Oklahoma Lawmakers Demand Answers Over Mental Health Department\u2019s Budget Crisis"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/","name":"Enid Post","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/#\/schema\/person\/6c6e0e5a6419fff09435df333ed7e12c","name":"Viktor Cross","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/#\/schema\/person\/image\/","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/96d4e8f1f7286f407ba716c793b6480dbf407b8f924bfa34150c7a672d600bdf?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/96d4e8f1f7286f407ba716c793b6480dbf407b8f924bfa34150c7a672d600bdf?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"Viktor Cross"},"url":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/author\/viktor-cross\/"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5238","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/7"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5238"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5238\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":5247,"href":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5238\/revisions\/5247"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5243"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5238"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5238"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/enidpost.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5238"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}