DOJ finds State of Oklahoma, OKC and OKCPD discriminate against people with behavioral disabilities

WASHINGTON - On Friday, the Department of Justice (DOJ) announced its investigation findings showing the State of Oklahoma, Oklahoma City and Oklahoma City Police Department (OKCPD) discriminated against people with behavioral health disabilities based on reasonable cause.

The DOJ highlighted specifically the following:

• Oklahoma unnecessarily institutionalizes, or puts at serious risk of unnecessary institutionalization, adults with behavioral health disabilities in the Oklahoma County area, in violation of Title II of the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA);
• Oklahoma City and OKCPD engage in a pattern or practice of conduct that discriminates against people with behavioral health disabilities when providing emergency response services, in violation of Title II of the ADA and the pattern or practice provision of the Violent Crime Control and Law Enforcement Act of 1994.

“People with behavioral health disabilities in the Oklahoma County area are not receiving the support they need,” said Assistant Attorney General Kristen Clarke of the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division. “Instead of accessing treatment in the community, they are institutionalized repeatedly. Further, when they call 911 for a behavioral health emergency, they get a response by armed police, even when there is no public safety issue identified. As a result, urgent mental health needs often go unaddressed and crisis situations are needlessly escalated, sometimes leading to avoidable use of force. We recognize that the state and the city are taking preliminary steps to improve access for and treatment of people with behavioral health disabilities. The Justice Department is committed to working collaboratively with Oklahoma and Oklahoma City so that they implement the right services and supports their communities need and institute a lasting remedial plan.”

The Department of Justice investigation additionally found:

• Thousands of people with behavioral health disabilities are admitted to psychiatric hospitals in the Oklahoma County area each year, and many have long or repeated stays.
• Many also have long-term stays in nursing or residential care facilities. Most would prefer to live in their communities, surrounded by friends and family, and to have the freedom to make their own choices about their lives.

The DOJ investigation continued stating, individuals could live successfully in their communities if they received critical community-based services with proven care in avoiding unnecessary admissions or unnecessarily lengthy stays in segregated institutional settings.

The DOJ report concludes clarifying:

1. Oklahoma does not provide sufficient services to prevent unnecessary institutionalization resulting in people with behavioral health disabilities never receive treatment until they are in crisis, when they instead end up needlessly hospitalized or in contact with law enforcement.

The investigation says, when a person calls 911 seeking assistance with a behavioral health issue, the city sends police as the sole responders in most cases, often failing to help, escalating crises or even unnecessarily using force. Instead the department highlighted the use of behavioral health professionals who can provide appropriate treatment. Also noting, in many cases involving calls for assistance could be more effectively resolved by a response by behavioral health professionals who can provide appropriate treatment, but the city rarely involves such professionals.

The Justice Department confirmed remedies are on-going in the report with both the state and city initiating improvements to their systems during the investigation confirming the state continued to expand its crisis system and released an updated Olmstead plan, and the city announced plans to develop and provide a behavioral health response to 911 calls, and began to make improvements within OKCPD that will help address these violations.

The department will be conducting outreach to members of the Oklahoma community for input on remedies to address the department’s findings. People may also submit recommendations by calling (888) 473-3460 or emailing MentalHealth.Oklahoma@usdoj.gov.

Oklahoma Attorney General Gentner Drummond released the following statement addressing the DOJ report.
The Attorney General’s Office is representing the State of Oklahoma in the matter.

“While I strongly support reform of the mental health system, I am wary of yet another top-down approach in this 11th hour report by the Biden Administration’s Department of Justice. We will closely review the findings, but the DOJ report appears to be an attempt to bully Oklahoma into compliance with ever-changing and undefined targets. Such federal overreach has been part and parcel with this White House.”

OKC released the following statement about the DOJ's report saying;

"The City of Oklahoma City is reviewing the findings from a two-year investigation by the U.S. Department of Justice. The report was not shared with the City prior to its release and the process to analyze and consider its contents will take time. The City remains focused on providing the best services to its residents now and into the future."

Governor Kevin Stitt and Oklahoma State Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services Commissioner Allie Friesen released the following statements regarding a report released by the Biden administration's Department of Justice (DOJ) regarding Oklahoma State Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Service's treatment of those struggling with mental health conditions. 

"This is another Biden administration overreach on their way out the door," said Gov. Stitt. "Allie Friesen and her team are working hard to reform our mental health system, but they can't do that if they're burdened with heavy handed, out of touch mandates from the federal government."

“Oklahoma continues to lead the way in mental health care, guided by evidence-based practices and national standards. Through programs like 988, statewide Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinics (CCBHCs), crisis stabilization centers (CSUs), transportation initiatives, and telehealth innovations, we are delivering high-quality, accessible care across our state," said Commissioner Friessen. "While tragic stories exist, as in any health system, the DOJ focuses on a select few cases to overshadow what it acknowledges are the State's laudable efforts to build out its crisis system in recent years. We disagree with the report's adverse findings as well as the DOJ's subjective recommendations on how we should run our mental health system. As the report itself notes, the DOJ's recommended remedial measures are consistent with the priority areas the State already identified in the comprehensive 60-page action plan we previously provided to DOJ. Our priority remains working with community partners to deliver the best care in the most appropriate settings. There is always room for improvement, and we are committed to continuous progress—not because of investigations, but because it’s the right thing to do. Mental health policy should be shaped by professionals, not litigation. We will be committed to protecting tax dollars for our most vulnerable.”

Additional information about the Civil Rights Division is available at www.justice.gov/crt.

The Justice Department will hold a virtual community meeting on Jan. 7 at 6:00 p.m. CT. Members of the public are encouraged to attend to learn more about the findings. Please register to join the meeting at www.zoomgov.com/webinar/register/WN_lZgzBC4lRJiw7tk3pfEXrw#/registration.

Read the full report here.