Bill to Boost Rural Mental Health and Diversion Programs Advances

  • Bill to Boost Rural Mental Health and Diversion Programs Advances
    Bill to Boost Rural Mental Health and Diversion Programs Advances
  • The entrance to the Seminole County Jail is seen in this 2023 file photo. While officials there applied for and received a portion of 781 funds, several other rural counties have not. Ashlynd Huffman/Oklahoma Watch
    The entrance to the Seminole County Jail is seen in this 2023 file photo. While officials there applied for and received a portion of 781 funds, several other rural counties have not. Ashlynd Huffman/Oklahoma Watch

    Officials in Oklahoma and Tulsa Counties were among the first to apply for a share of $12.5 million deposited into the County Community Safety Investment Fund in 2023.

    The grant opportunity, made possible after lawmakers settled on a formula to calculate the savings from State Question 780 and offer the money to counties as directed in State Question 781, meant more than $2 million to hire new empl…