TULSA, Okla. –
The Tulsa County Juvenile Justice Center is close to finalizing a contract with Creoks for a program where a teenager with a severe mental health issue can stay there, rather than being sent to another state.
Right now, teens who need inpatient care have been sent to other states like Utah and Arkansas.
The manager of the Juvenile Justice Center says almost every teenager who comes into the Center has some type of mental health concern, and keeping them close will help with their development and save taxpayer dollars.
When David Parker took over as manager for the Tulsa County Juvenile Justice Center almost two years ago, he says the mental health resources needed to be improved.
“I know what I needed, and I know what was being offered, and it was very insufficient,” said Parker.
He says the center worked with a local mental health provider, but it could only give on-site care, and when juveniles needed more help, it was hard to find overnight beds.
“Most of these kids had been to those beds and been through it, and the violence that comes with some of these kids, they were just turned away from some of our hospitals,” said Parker.
So he says he had no choice but to send teens out of state, which is a big expense.
“I’m going to tell you it’s tens of thousands of dollars,” said Parker.
If this contract with Creoks goes through, Parker says it would save taxpayers about $200,000 a year.
“Not only will it save us money, but you know, most of these juveniles will be on some type of, of care, and that will come right off the total; end of the year costs will be reimbursed to the county,” said Parker.
Parker says the Juvenile Justice Center would be one of the first facilities in the state to offer this resource.
“It’s an inpatient bed. It is a psychiatrist who is able to treat at every level possible. And they deal with pediatrics, which is even better. So they specialize in pediatric care. So we will be the only one in the state of Oklahoma with anything [resembling] this,” said Parker.
Once the contract is finalized, Tulsa County Commissioners will vote to approve it, and then juveniles would start getting care immediately.
The mental health bed would be located in Tulsa County, Parker says, but he’s not ready to say exactly where it will be located.