Financial experts dig into Dept. of Mental Health's money woes; still no exact number on shortfall

OKLAHOMA CITY (KFOR) – Financial experts, who have been digging into Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS), said they would give state lawmakers an accurate figure on their financial woes by Monday.

A select committee of lawmakers from both the House and Senate questioned David Greenwall, an accountant hand-selected by Governor Kevin Stitt, on Monday. Greenwall said he was tasked with breaking down the agency’s finances.

The state’s chief financial officer, Aaron Morris, also testified and was asked if the department had enough in its budget to make it to June, which is the end of the fiscal year.

"I do believe the agency needs a supplement for payroll," said Morris.

Neither Morris nor Greenwall was able to give lawmakers an exact figure as to the department’s shortfalls. They said they would work with LOFT in order to get a more accurate figure to the legislature by the end of Monday.

Lawmakers, however, promised to find a way to fill the gap.

"We just want to assure the state employees of Oklahoma that we're going to make sure they get paid," said Sen. Paul Rosino (R-Oklahoma City), the Senate chair of the select committee.

Along with the lack of money to pay employees, another issue was brought up by legislators. They asked financial experts if the state had the funds budgeted to pay for services for uninsured Oklahomans who go through the agency.

"There are human beings behind every single dollar that we're looking at, people in crisis, people in need," said Rosino.

The department calls those unpaid funds “pended payments.” ODMHSAS sent News 4 a statement after Monday’s hearing;

"While ODMHSAS is committed to ensuring care for uninsured patients, it has not traditionally budgeted separately for pended payments. Instead, these payments have been managed at year-end using available funds."

"We want to make sure that we're delivering top quality care to people who need it, whether they insured or not," said Rep. Mark Lawson (R-Sapulpa), the House chair of the select committee.

Governor Stitt announced he has hired an attorney to conduct a “full, independent investigation, into the agency. He granted special counsel Robert McCampbell the authority to “investigate potential abuse, waste, mismanagement, and fraud” that the Governor said was uncovered by Commissioner Allie Friesen, Stitt’s recent appointee.

In recent weeks, Friesen has been questioned by lawmakers on her understanding of a budget of the department’s magnitude.

"I'm still very concerned whether or not they would really need a whole lot of money or they just can't find it," said Rosino.

If the department comes back with a supplemental budget for fiscal year 2025, as well as an overall budget for fiscal year 2026, the legislature will have to vote on the numbers by the end of the regular session, which ends in less than three weeks.