State Auditor releases initial report on Department of Mental Health
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) — State Auditor and Inspector Cindy Byrd has released the first part of an audit report analyzing the short-term needs of the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services.
The report released on Tuesday afternoon comes as a result of heightened scrutiny over ODMHSAS' nearly $30 million budget shortfall and recent payroll issues.
'This report is a financial analysis to estimate the short-term needs of ODMHSAS. It is not the final investigative audit report,' said Byrd. 'However, even this abbreviated version reveals some glaring financial and systemic issues. ODMHSAS is a massive agency with an annual budget of more than $750 million. It needs a director with executive managerial experience and a mastery of basic budgetary and compliance skills.'
Report: Oklahoma mental health agency facing nearly $30 million budget hole
The report also says that SAI investigators were told some employees 'were required tosign nondisclosure agreements and discouraged from cooperating with the investigation.'
Questionable past spending was also highlighted in the report, citing the Narcan vending machines and ad campaign, 988 help line regional Super Bowl ad, and paused Donahue Behavioral Health campus construction as examples.
Byrd's preliminary recommendations include hiring a qualified CFO with state government financial experience as soon as possible, evaluating the qualifications of recent executive hires, and scrutinizing recent and ongoing terminations to ensure they aren't retaliatory.
The full initial report can be read here.
Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
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