In my long 18-year (FML) history of covering Oklahoma politics, I’d say there hasn’t been a more embattled agency than the Department of Mental Health.
Always cash-strapped, always struggling to meet demand, and always in the news for the wrong reasons, the agency serves as a weary poster child for what happens to state government in deeply red states that are run by morons who want to intentionally underfund and sabotage public services to make them borderline useless and inefficient.
Naturally, these struggles have been amplified in recent years while our state has been operated by a dopey anti-government oligarch who jumped into government not to govern, but to satisfy career ambitions, fight culture wars, and enrich himself and his grifter supporters.
As a result, we frequently get hit with stories like the ones below, that document the agency’s inept budgeting and financial mismanagement:
Oklahoma mental health agency says it actually can't make payroll after this week | Click on the image to read the full story https://t.co/wnp3MndtOX
— koconews (@koconews) May 5, 2025
ICYMI — Amid budget meetings, legislators told latest ODMHSAS shortfall figure is $27.4 million | #okleg #okhealth https://t.co/A6uNVybs1C
— NonDoc (@nondocmedia) May 14, 2025