Topic: Mental Health

Medicaid expansion will improve mental health in Oklahoma (Guest Post)

The passage of Medicaid expansion and opening up of enrollment in June are positive steps in improving Oklahoma’s ranking as 41st in the nation for adult mental health. [More...]

Five years later: Voters still waiting for SQ 781’s investments in mental health, substance use disorders

Though the Legislature has again failed to fund the treatments that SQ 781 statutorily required, we know that justice reform has measurably reduced the prison population and that mental health remains severely underfunded. [More...]

Want healthier moms? Expand Medicaid

As a state, Oklahoma cares a lot about children and families, but we sometimes forget that a mother’s health is a critical piece of family health. When women are healthy, they have healthier pregnancies, healthier babies, and healthier families. But too many Oklahoma women die of child-birth related causes, and too many Oklahoma babies don’t live to see their first birthday. [More...]

Want to improve the mental health of Oklahomans? Expand Medicaid.

Oklahoma is in crisis.  While need for mental health care climbs, Oklahomans overwhelmingly lack access to the care needed to address these sometimes preventable, always treatable conditions. This has serious consequences: untreated mental illness can mean increased risk for other… Read more [More...]

What works to stop crime (hint: it’s not incarceration)

The debate surrounding criminal justice reform in Oklahoma generally focuses on one question: How do we reduce our very high incarceration rates without jeopardizing public safety? As Gov. Fallin said about her Justice Reform Task Force’s proposals during the 2017 legislative… Read more [More...]

Oklahoma is missing a big opportunity to improve mental illness and addiction treatment

One of the most successful ways that’s been found to help people escape from opioid addiction is through medications that partially mimic the effect of more dangerous opioids while causing less intoxication and less physical dependence. Despite the success of… Read more [More...]

Guest blog (Shelley Cadamy): Spending on mental health services earns a substantial return on investment

Shelley Cadamy is a native Oklahoman and adoptive/foster parent who has done economic development work in Oklahoma since 1994. During a Leadership Oklahoma City session several years ago, I had the opportunity to ask the Oklahoma City Police Chief and… Read more [More...]