Governor calls for audit of mental health agency, says it may need additional funding

OKLAHOMA CITY – Gov. Kevin Stitt on Wednesday called for an audit of the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services after the agency’s head aired concerns about financial mismanagement.

Meanwhile, legislative leaders asked their own fiscal oversight body, Legislative Office of Financial Transparency, to review the agency’s finances.

In January 2024, Stitt tapped Allie Friesen to run the agency as commissioner, replacing Carrie Slatton-Hodges, who was also appointed by the governor, left to take another job.

“As I’ve spent the last year pulling back the layers, it’s clear that there are systemic issues at this agency that need to be addressed,” Friesen said in a press release.

Friesen said she will work with State Auditor and Inspector Cindy Byrd to ensure Byrd gets the information needed in a timely manner.

Stitt said Friesen earlier this week raised concerns about patterns of financial mismanagement spanning years.

Stitt said Friesen has “terminated” some people in the finance department, and was still trying to get all the numbers. He said the agency’s chief financial officer had been replaced.

“It appears we may have to do a supplemental (appropriation),” Stitt said when asked about it at his weekly press conference.

He said that could be “$60 million or whatever they’re telling me.”

The Governor’s Office did not provide a more specific figure by deadline.

House Speaker Kyle Hilbert, R-Bristow, and Senate President Pro Tem Lonnie Paxton, R-Tuttle, released a joint statement saying LOFT will determine why the “unacceptable shortfall exists, its breadth, and how to prevent it from ever occurring again.”

They urged Byrd to conduct a forensic audit to ensure there is no waste fraud or abuse associated with the shortfall.

Kelsey Davis, a spokeswoman for the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, referred additional questions about the supplemental dollar amount and how much was misspent to Stitt’s office.

In his press conference, Stitt said the agency over the last few years received a 14% increase.

Davis confirmed that the agency’s chief financial officer resigned in December.

Stitt said the audit is a separate issue from a recently approved consent decree to resolve a lawsuit over competency restoration services.

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