Oklahoma Officials Dispute Mental Health Settlement

This is a Stitt news story, published by PBS, that relates primarily to Gentner Drummond news.

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Oklahoma Department

PBS

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How a political fight is delaying timely mental health treatment in Oklahoma’s jails

Summary

Nutrition label

79% Informative

A class action lawsuit was filed in 2023 on behalf of four plaintiffs who were held in county jails for months awaiting court-ordered mental health services.

A proposed consent decree from Attorney General Gentner Drummond and the plaintiff’s legal team includes calls for more staff and training.

The proposal, however, faced immediate pushback from the governor, who said he “did not and will never agree to have Oklahomans foot the bill for a bad legal settlement”.

The number of Oklahomans seeking competency restoration evaluations has skyrocketed in the past 40 years .

This leaves the Oklahoma Forensic Center , the state’s lone facility for evaluations and housing for people awaiting criminal trial, with a backlog of cases.

Attorney General Gentner Drummond has proposed a five-year consent decree to settle the lawsuit.

Gov. Stitt and ODMHSAS commissioner say the proposal is not in the state's best interest.

VR Score

Informative language

Neutral language

Article tone

semi-formal

Language

English

Language complexity

Offensive language

not offensive