QUESTIONS STRAIGHT TO THE DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE SERVICES. IT’S ALL ABOUT TIMING AND I DIDN’T KNOW ANYTHING ABOUT THE AGENCY. ONLY THING I KNEW IS WHAT I SAW ON TELEVISION AND READ IN THE NEWSPAPER, OR HEARD ON THE RADIO. GREG SLAVONIC IS THE INTERIM DIRECTOR OF THE DEPARTMENT OF MENTAL HEALTH AND SUBSTANCE ABUSE SERVICES. HE STEPPED IN AMID A MAJOR FINANCIAL CRISIS. ONCE I CAME ON BOARD, I HAD TO START MAKING SOME DECISIONS FROM AN ORGANIZATIONAL PERSPECTIVE AND EVERYTHING YOU KNOW, THAT APPEARED MOSTLY IN THE NEWSPAPER HAD TO DO WITH THE FINANCIAL STABILITY OF THE AGENCY. A MULTI-MILLION DOLLAR BUDGET SHORTFALL, WHICH LED TO TOUGH DECISIONS LIKE SLASHING CONTRACTS WITH HUNDREDS OF VENDORS, NAB VETS OR THE NATIONAL ASSOCIATION FOR BLACK VETERANS WAS ONE OF THEM. WE HAD TO TRY TO FIGURE OUT WHAT COULD WE DO, AND WE DIDN’T HAVE ANY OTHER SOURCE. WE DIDN’T HAVE ANY OTHER REVENUE SOURCE. SO FOR US, THAT MEANT THAT WE COULD NO LONGER DO BUSINESS. ANY COMMENT ON THE CONTRACTS THAT WERE CUT? I MEAN, WE’VE SPOKEN TO A LOT OF DIFFERENT AGENCIES THAT HAVE BEEN DEVASTATED BY THIS. WELL, YOU’VE TALKED TO THEM. SO WHEN YOU SAY DEVASTATED, I GUESS I WOULD SAY, WHAT IS DEVASTATED BECAUSE I THINK WHAT HAPPENED, WE DID MAKE CHANGES TO THE CONTRACTS WE HAD. I WAS NOT PREPARED TO SIGN OFF ON ROUGHLY $500 MILLION WORTH OF CONTRACTS, HAVING ONLY BEEN ON BOARD TWO WEEKS. SLAVONIC SAYS WHILE THOSE DECISIONS WEREN’T MADE LIGHTLY, THEY WERE NECESSARY TO GET THE AGENCY BACK ON TRACK. I THINK WE’VE RIGHTED THE SHIP. I THINK WE’RE HEADING IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION. HE ALSO SAYS THERE’S STILL HOPE FOR SOME AGENCIES WHO DIDN’T GET RENEWED FUNDING. THESE INDIVIDUALS, THESE THESE COMPANIES THAT DID EITHER LOSE FUNDING OR WERE REDUCED IN FUNDING. CAN REAPPLY AND LOOK AT THE NEXT YEAR’S CYCLE, WHICH WILL BEGIN PROBABLY IN THE MARCH APRIL TIME FR
New head of Oklahoma mental health agency addresses budget shortfall, contract cuts
The Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services is tackling a multi-million-dollar budget shortfall by cutting contracts to stabilize its finances.
Updated: 6:09 PM CST Dec 9, 2025
The Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services is addressing a multi-million-dollar budget shortfall by making difficult financial decisions, including cutting contracts with several vendors.Interim Director Greg Slavonic joined the agency amid the major financial crisis. He spoke with KOCO about what the future looks like for the department. “It’s all about timing, and I didn’t know anything about the agency. Only thing I knew is what I saw on television, read in the newspaper or heard on the radio,” Slavonic said. “Once I came on board, I had to start making some decisions from an organizational perspective and everything, you know, that appeared mostly in the newspaper had to do with the financial stability of the agency.” >> Video Below: ‘Alarming’ report says Oklahoma’s mental health agency has delayed making court-ordered changesThe multi-million-dollar budget shortfall led to tough decisions, including slashing contracts with several vendors. One of the impacted organizations is the National Association for Black Veterans.”We had to try to figure out what could we do, and we didn’t have any other source. We didn’t have any other revenue source. So, that meant that we could no longer do business,” Retired U.S. Army Sgt. James Greenwood with the NABVETS said. When asked about the impact of the contract cuts, which some called devastating, Slavonic said the decisions weren’t made lightly.”Well, you’ve talked to them. So, when you say devastated, I guess I would say, what is devastated? Because I think what happened… We did make changes to the contracts that we had. I was not prepared to sign off on roughly $500 million worth of contracts having only been on board two weeks,” Slavonic said. >> Video Below: Oklahoma mental health agency faces uncertainty after commissioner firingSlavonic emphasized that while the decisions were difficult, they were necessary to stabilize the agency. “I think we’ve righted the ship. I think we’re heading in the right direction,” he said.He also said that there is hope for agencies that lost or had reduced funding, as they can reapply in the next funding cycle. “These companies that did either lose funding or were reduced in funding can reapply and look at the next year’s cycle, which will begin probably in the March to April time frame as we start to look at contracts again,” Slavonic said.Top Headlines Unseen photos of Rosa Parks return to Montgomery, Alabama, seven decades later Man serving life sentence for killing UCO student in 2020 DUI crash dies in prison Hinton Public Schools mourns coach killed in weekend crash Man arrested after allegedly setting southwest OKC apartment on fire during domestic dispute These home gifts are backed by Good Housekeeping’s rigorous product testing
OKLAHOMA CITY —
The Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services is addressing a multi-million-dollar budget shortfall by making difficult financial decisions, including cutting contracts with several vendors.
Interim Director Greg Slavonic joined the agency amid the major financial crisis. He spoke with KOCO about what the future looks like for the department.
“It’s all about timing, and I didn’t know anything about the agency. Only thing I knew is what I saw on television, read in the newspaper or heard on the radio,” Slavonic said. “Once I came on board, I had to start making some decisions from an organizational perspective and everything, you know, that appeared mostly in the newspaper had to do with the financial stability of the agency.”
>> Video Below: ‘Alarming’ report says Oklahoma’s mental health agency has delayed making court-ordered changes
The multi-million-dollar budget shortfall led to tough decisions, including slashing contracts with several vendors.
One of the impacted organizations is the National Association for Black Veterans.
“We had to try to figure out what could we do, and we didn’t have any other source. We didn’t have any other revenue source. So, that meant that we could no longer do business,” Retired U.S. Army Sgt. James Greenwood with the NABVETS said.
When asked about the impact of the contract cuts, which some called devastating, Slavonic said the decisions weren’t made lightly.
“Well, you’ve talked to them. So, when you say devastated, I guess I would say, what is devastated? Because I think what happened… We did make changes to the contracts that we had. I was not prepared to sign off on roughly $500 million worth of contracts having only been on board two weeks,” Slavonic said.
>> Video Below: Oklahoma mental health agency faces uncertainty after commissioner firing
Slavonic emphasized that while the decisions were difficult, they were necessary to stabilize the agency.
“I think we’ve righted the ship. I think we’re heading in the right direction,” he said.
He also said that there is hope for agencies that lost or had reduced funding, as they can reapply in the next funding cycle.
“These companies that did either lose funding or were reduced in funding can reapply and look at the next year’s cycle, which will begin probably in the March to April time frame as we start to look at contracts again,” Slavonic said.
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