The director of the agency that provides mental health and substance abuse services says outpatient programs provided to 189,000 Oklahomans will be eliminated and other services will be cut on Nov. 1 due to a state budget gap that's forcing a $75 million cut to the agency's budget.
Commissioner Terri White of the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services said Wednesday the agency will have to cut its budget if state lawmakers don't fill a $215 million hole in the state budget. The hole was created when the state Supreme Court overturned a $1.50-per-pack cigarette tax that was supposed to help fund the agency.
White says the loss of $75 million in state-appropriated dollars will result in the loss of another $106 million in federal matching funds.