Latest news with #Birchum
Yahoo
29-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
LOFT shares findings of Dept. of Mental Health investigation with lawmakers
OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – The Oklahoma Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency (LOFT) released its findings concerning the finances of the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services on Monday. LOFT executive director, Regina Birchum, testified in front of House lawmakers after she said she spent the past six weeks wading through the department's budget. 'I believe that the agency does need a new budget, one that reflects reality,' said Birchum. She said the agency has followed bad budget practices for years, but it has now translated into millions in misplaced funds. The problem was passed on to the new Department of Mental Health Commissioner Allie Friesen. She testified in front of the same House committee two weeks ago. 'The reality of our situation is that it's chaotic,' said Friesen. She told lawmakers her department was in the hole by $43 million. LOFT said the agency has managed to trim its overall deficit to $6.2 million, after coming up with around $27 million in 'unexplained' funds to cover the gap. House Committee grills ODMHSAS Commissioner on missing $43 million 'Quite frankly I'm puzzled,' said Birchum. According to LOFT, there are 195 accounts the Department of Mental Health budgeted for in 2024 — 115 accounts were 'over' budget by $23 million, 66 accounts were 'under' budget by $57 million. 'If you're trying to match up the invoices where things were expensed to the actual account codes that they would have been drawn against, there's very few things that match up,' said Birchum. Birchum said the agency has been inconsistent and confusing with the way it has pulled money from accounts, which has made it tough to track taxpayer dollars. 'It is concerning,' said Rep. T.J. Marti, R-Broken Arrow. 'I'm sure most in here can share the concern with me that we seem to not be able to follow the money.' House lawmakers how have a better understanding of the problem but have little time to fix it. 'We are 22 days away from the end of the session,' said House Majority Leader, Rep. Mark Lawson, R-Sapulpa. 'It's certainly concerning that we're this far into session and we don't have the clarity that we need to do our jobs.' Here's a breakdown of where the Department of Mental Health stands on funding, according to the LOFT report: The original projected budget shortfall for the fiscal year was $63.7 million. $19.6 million in funds previously encumbered to an account for 'social service grants' that was identified as being available for Medicaid reimbursements. $10.5 million in contract savings $27.4 million in 'unexplained' funds $6.2 million in supplemental budget request Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
28-04-2025
- Health
- Yahoo
Oklahoma mental health department ‘has a long-standing issue' with proper accounting: LOFT
State Rep. T.J. Marti, R-Broken Arrow, whispers with Rep. Anthony Moore, R-Clinton, during a special legislative hearing probing the finances of the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services on Monday. (Photo by Janelle Stecklein/Oklahoma Voice) OKLAHOMA CITY — The state's mental health department should go back to budgeting basics and build out guidelines for the services it must provide, the head of a legislative fiscal oversight agency said Monday. Regina Birchum, executive director of the Legislative Office of Fiscal Transparency, said the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services is treating its appropriations as 'fungible,' or interchangeable, making it difficult for officials to make sense of how it is being spent. Of the 195 accounts the Department of Mental Health budgeted for in fiscal year 2024, a LOFT analysis found that 115 were over budget, while 66 were under budget. In all, over $29.3 million was overbudgeted, while about $57.6 million was underbudgeted. 'I would say this is an agency that has a long-standing issue with proper accounting of funds,' Birchum said. 'We're not saying anything improper was done. We're saying that funds are not properly accounted for in such a way that an outsider can determine what they were spent on, and it's our hope that we can make some recommendations that will bring some clarity to them.' Birchum made her comments under oath during the third day of testimony during a special hearing at the state Capitol where House lawmakers continue to probe reports of financial disarray at the mental health agency as well as why some provider contracts were abruptly cut or canceled. Lawmakers were frustrated at a lack of answers from mental health officials during the first two days of testimony. But at the conclusion of Monday's hearing, some said LOFT helped shed some light on spending and budgeting practices. Birchum said her agency has been investigating the mental health department at the Legislature's request since early March. In particular, it has been probing the mental health department's reported $43 million deficit and whether the agency's $6.2 million supplement request will be enough to finish the fiscal year. LOFT assists the Legislature in finding factual information about budgets to hold agencies accountable for properly spending funds. Birchum said the mental health officials initially believed they had a $63.7 million shortfall, but later found $19.6 million that could be used for Medicaid reimbursements and another $10.5 million in contract savings. That reduced the overall deficit to $33.6 million. LOFT records indicate investigators were unsure where the remaining $27.4 million would come to reach the $6.2 million figure, but noted the mental health department continued to work on its budget review. She said the agency's $6.2 million supplemental request includes funding to bridge revenue shortfalls for two different facilities and $4.1 million to cover costs related to the recent mental health competency restoration settlement agreement. The later funding was already appropriated by lawmakers, she said. Birchum said LOFT was also told that all initial cuts to providers have been restored. Rep. T.J. Marti, R-Broken Arrow, said after the hearing that lawmakers expect to have some firm budget numbers this week from the mental health department, but said putting caps on what providers can charge for some crisis services could help provide more budget certainty. Rep. Mark Lawson, R-Sapulpa, who chairs the special committee, said LOFT provided needed detail about the mental health department's 'poor accounting practices' that 'lends to the inability to produce real numbers.' Lawmakers only have 22 working days left in session. Lawson said the committee needs to quickly determine the current financial picture of the mental health department, if a $6.2 million supplement appropriation will be enough, and what sort of budget the agency needs moving forward. 'I feel much more confident that we could work together to put something together that we feel like has some fidelity to it, but it's certainly concerning that we're this far into session, and we don't have the clarity that we need to do our job,' he said. Lawson said there likely will be some legislation that emerges from the hearings. Some additional testimony may be conducted behind closed doors because it 'may be of a protected nature' under non-disclosure agreements, he said. If time allows, the committee may require the state's mental health commissioner to testify again. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX SUPPORT: YOU MAKE OUR WORK POSSIBLE
