Oklahoma City – Representative Justin Humphrey, R -Lane, filed House Bill 1343who would abolish the department of mental health and the services of Oklahoma (ODMHSAS) toxicomania and would move the functions of the Agency under the Ministry of Correctional Services (DOC).
Humphrey said he had heard many Oklahomans who are upset by the introduction of the measure, which he said that he had deposited as a means of obliging the Oklahomans.
“I hope that all those who got angry and have expressed concerns about me suggesting that this decision will remain indignant by learning that Oklahoma already sends many of our mental health patients in prison and prisons” said Humphrey. “We must wonder why the Oklahoma Mental Health Ministry does not provide adequate hospitalized patients for increasing Oklahoma requests in the event of long -term mental health hospitalization.”
Humphrey said that repairing the shortage of patients hospitalized in mental health does not seem impossible or even extremely difficult, and that it could pose state cost savings.
“We have hospitals, prisons and other facilities that have closed in our state,” he said. “If Oklahoma would capitalize on obtaining these numerous facilities and reuse them to provide mental health beds, our problems would be better resolved.”
Humphrey said that Doc and Comté prisons are not equipped to provide 24 -hour mental health services, but that’s exactly what they are forced to do.
“Our prisons do not receive adequate funding for mental health, and they do not receive appropriate mental health training for treatment and to provide appropriate long-term care,” he said.
In addition, Humphrey said he was informed by the county commissioners that the association which represents many state counties was deleting insurance for certain county prisons and assessing others . This could lead to the continuation of any county by being up to legal costs or any regulations. Many of these proceedings result from mental health problems, he said. He warned owners of properties to prepare for land taxes in order to increase exponentially as has already occurred in several areas of the state.
Lack of mental health funding costs counties and millions of millions of dollars, Humphrey said.
“Oklahoma has adopted several questions from the state to legalize or keep those who commit crimes related to drugs and crimes of goods in the county prison,” said Humphrey. “These state questions have guaranteed that our counties would receive funding for mental health and the incarceration of prisons. This has proven to be false.”
Humphrey said his efforts to call massive corruption in the Correctional Services Department, the District Prosecutors’ Council, Community corrections, the Ministry of Social Services and the Ministry of Mental Health failed to make changes in the system.
“This means more crimes, more mental health problems and higher land taxes for Oklahomans,” he said.
Humphrey noted that Governor Stitt had called for a reform of criminal justice in his speech on the state of the state of the state, and he asks Oklahomans to hold Stitt and other elected officials.
Humphrey said he had a friend who asked for mental health for his son. Unfortunately, its history had a tragic result in mental health, he said.
“She shouldn’t have waited for her son to murdered someone to get help,” he said. “Now she is dealing with the lack of care and violence in our criminal justice system. Unfortunately, her story is common.”
Humphrey said he hoped that the Oklahomans get angry and join him to call corrupt state agencies and representatives of the state government who contribute to corruption.