Ensuring people receive care in the least restrictive, least costly settings.
Too many people in our state receive care in costly, late-stage settings, including hospital emergency rooms, jails, and prisons. By diverting people to appropriate settings of care, Oklahoma can decrease costs and better ensure that people receiving treatment for mental illness or substance use disorders safely remain in the community.
Much of Healthy Minds’ research focuses on gaps in Oklahoma’s continuum of care for adults, youth, and children, as well as crisis response systems at the state and local levels. Partnering with policymakers, treatment providers, and community leaders, we help install interventions and programs that improve access to care for Oklahoma’s most vulnerable residents.
increase in Oklahoma's per-capita rate of unintentional methamphetamine overdose deaths during the past 10 years.
Source: Oklahoma State Department of Health
of people in the custody of the Oklahoma Department of Corrections are estimated to have a serious mental illness.
Source: ODOC
Oklahoma adults experience a mental illness, a rate of 25.59%.
Source: Mental Health America (2023)
Essential research
How 988 fits into a statewide crisis response continuum
The rollout of 988 in Oklahoma coincides with the launch of what state leaders call a comprehensive crisis response system, an array of services that include mobile crisis responders and in-person emergency centers with the goal of saving lives, connecting people to resources, limiting unnecessary interactions with law enforcement, and reducing the use of emergency medical services.
This primer breaks down the history of 988, the changes Oklahomans can expect, and considerations for local communities.
Intensive and crisis services for Oklahoma's children
In this report, we examine the state of Oklahoma’s crisis services for children and youth and discuss the services they need, when and where they need them.
A robust array of crisis services anchored in a strong behavioral health continuum can save lives, decrease the use of more restrictive care such as emergency rooms, inpatient beds, and the justice system, and improve the mental health and well-being of Oklahoma’s children and youth.
