September 20, 2024 – Oklahoma City, OK – Mental Health Commissioner Allie Friesen released the following statement in response to the preliminary approval for the consent decree.
“This consent decree threatens to leave hundreds of individuals without the treatment they desperately need. It will force individuals, many suffering from severe mental health crises, to remain in jail cells without the care they so desperately need,” said Commissioner Friesen.
“This situation is inhumane and heartbreaking. For the Attorney General or anyone else to suggest that this plan serves the best interests of those most affected— Oklahomans in need of compassionate care—is unfathomable.”
According to experts, this decree does not align with best practices for competency restoration as established by evidence-based research. It poses significant financial penalties that could jeopardize the Department’s ability to provide critical services to Oklahomans in need.
Commissioner Friesen has attempted on multiple occasions to push back on this Consent Decree.
