Making more bricks with less straw: Agency heads share thoughts on operating in hard times
At last week’s Fall Legislative Forum organized by the Oklahoma Institute for Child Advocacy, a panel of state agency directors discussed some of the accomplishments and continuing challenges facing Oklahoma government. Taking part in the panel were leaders from the Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, Department of Human Services, the Office of Juvenile Affairs, the Health Department, and the Health Care Authority. The panelists discussed several ways we have made progress in Oklahoma despite tough budget times.
Commissioner Terri White, Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services
White said that preventing addiction is the biggest public health problem facing Oklahoma. She expressed concern that the current discussion on allowing sale of strong beer and wine in grocery stores has concentrated on economic development issues without taking into account increased risk of underage access to alcohol.
“The younger someone uses alcohol, the more likely it is they’ll use as adults,” White said.
Over the course of the budget crisis, she said $30 million had been cut from the mental health budget, 90 percent of which goes directly to care providers. On the positive side, she praised new investments of $3 million for a Smart on Crime initiative and $2 milion to Systems of Care, which coordinates services between agencies for children with the highest needs.
“If we don’t make sure the brain health of our children is our highest priority, we’re going to be paying for those problems over and over with more tax dollars than we can afford to come up with,” White said. Read the rest of this entry »
