Oklahoma Report Details Cost Impact of Untreated Mental Illness and Substance Abuse, Provides Recommendations

A blue-ribbon panel convened by Oklahoma's Governor and Attorney General recently released a report detailing direct and indirect costs incurred by the state as a result of untreated and undertreated mental illness, substance abuse, and domestic violence. The report, "Task Force Recommendations: Mental Health, Substance Abuse and Domestic Violence in Oklahoma," also provides a series of recommendations for reducing costs and improving screening and treatment in criminal justice and community settings.

Click here to read the 31-page report in its entirety.

The panel found that mental illness, substance abuse, or domestic violence account for half of the state's criminal justice expenditures. Oklahoma spends over $8 billion annually on direct and indirect costs associated with untreated and undertreated mental illness, substance abuse, and domestic violence. Direct costs - expenses directly caused by behaviors related to mental illness, substance abuse, and/or domestic violence - amount to $3.4 billion annually, or $1,000 for every Oklahoman; indirect costs - expenses related to lost or reduced productivity due to premature death, incarceration, and failure to complete education and training programs - amount to $5.5 billion.

In addition to identifying the scope of the problem, the panel also provided a series of recommendations for addressing what it identified as "an escalating health and public-policy crisis." These recommendations include

• Making prevention, early intervention, treatment, and recovery-support services available to those in need;
• Identifying people in the criminal justice system with addictions and major mental illness soon after their entry, with referrals to more cost-effective programs to treat, monitor, rehabilitate, and supervise these populations;
• Establishing minimum state standards for mandatory training of addiction, mental health, and domestic violence service-providers;
• Increasing the number of trained professionals and paraprofessionals working in these fields
• Further studying the needs of offenders and others in custody in need of addiction and mental health services, as well as improved data collection on sexual assault.

The panel also endorsed specific measures such as expanding drug courts; ensuring full parity for addiction and mental-health services; raising alcohol taxes to expand addiction treatment capacity, especially for pregnant and parenting mothers; and adding up to 200 adolescent treatment beds.