New Office of Juvenile Affairs budget request prioritizes importance of early treatment (Capitol Update)

The Office of Juvenile Affairs (OJA) has amended its Fiscal Year 2027 budget request since the departure of former Director Tim Tardibono and his replacement with Interim Director Sharon “Shel” Millington. Both director appointments were made by Gov. Kevin Stitt, but Tardibono resigned after a year on the job amid a crisis at the Central Oklahoma Juvenile Center (COJC) in Tecumseh. 

OJA is the agency in Oklahoma responsible for a full range of prevention and treatment programs and services for youthful offenders and juveniles alleged or adjudicated to be delinquent or in need of supervision. The COJC facility is OJA’s only secure care treatment facility for youth. [Watch video of OJA budget review, January 20, 2026]

Youthful offenders are youth who have committed certain violent criminal offenses, and delinquents are youth who have committed other criminal offenses. Youthful offenders are first sentenced to OJA. When they “age out” on the day they turn 18, they may be released or transferred to the Department of Corrections to complete their sentence. Delinquents may also be placed at COJC, or they may receive treatment while living in a group home or other living circumstances. 

The original FY 2027 budget proposal from OJA requested an additional $12.3 million above last year’s $107.42 million appropriation. The request included an additional $548,311 for behavioral health assessment services; $1.49 million for behavioral health treatment; $250,000 for Functional Family Therapy; $3.5 million for Level E group homes; $1.8 million for salary increases; $402,710 for Specialized Community Homes; and $2.3 for Transitional Living Programs.

The amended budget proposal changes the request to just three items: A $7 million increase for Level E group homes; more than $1 million for Functional Family Therapy; and more than $2 million in pay increases. Level E group homes are high intensity treatment programs with a highly structured environment and regularly scheduled contact with professional staff. They are non-secure or “staff secure” settings, meaning residents are not locked in. 

The major differences between the two budgets are the increase in funding for Functional Family Therapy from $250,000 to $1 million; the increase in Level E group homes from $3.5 million to $7 million; the deletion of the $2.3 million request for Transitional Living Programs; and the deletion of the $2 million for secure treatment (COJC). 

Evidently OJA is anticipating the Oklahoma Health Care Authority will establish a rate and begin paying for Functional Family Therapy through Medicaid. The $1 million is for state matching funds. Medicaid billing would be a boon to OJA’s efforts to encourage the use of the Functional Family Therapy model by community-based providers. 

OJA has had the $3.5 million request for Level E group homes in its budget request for the past couple of years, but it was not funded by the legislature. Doubling the amount seems to indicate a desire to rely more on the less restrictive, non-secure placements in the group homes as opposed to secure treatment at COJC. This might relieve some of the pressure at COJC and alleviate the need for the additional funding requested in the original budget. 

The revised OJA budget suggests a belief that increased funding for early family treatment and less restrictive alternatives to institutionalization will lead to better youth outcomes. Interim Director Millington, as a clinical therapist herself, should know.