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State Representative Derrel Fincher, a Republican from Bartlesville, hosted an interim study on Tuesday examining the use of mobile technology that helps provide mental health support for people interacting with law enforcement and that can be used by the officers themselves.

The study was held before the House Public Safety Committee.

Interim studies allow legislators to delve deeply into particular topics like the one Rep. Fincher held on Tuesday. Rep. Fincher said the interim study on the use of mobile technology that helps provide mental health support for people interacting with law enforcement that can be used by the officers themselves introduces the concept to other representative who've not seen this program in action. He said it helps them to start thinking of legislation that might be needed to enable these things for the future.

Overall, an interim study is used as a learning mechanism for the Oklahoma State Legislature. Rep. Fincher said this study showed a product already in use in our state is helping improve mental health services to those in need and saving police and other law enforcement offices hours of their time and thousands of dollars in travel and other expenses. Fincher said he requested this study so other lawmakers could see the benefit of the First Responder product currently being used by in conjunction with the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services (ODMHSAS) throughout northeast and north central Oklahoma.

Rep. Fincher said an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. According to national surveys reference by Rep. Fincher, one of six police officers have gone through some form of post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD). Rep. Fincher said this is because they see things that we don't see and they see it frequently. If officers start feeling stressed, Rep. Fincher said the officers can use the same device used for treating mental health patients to help them combat what they're going through while in the privacy of their car. He said they would be able to speak with a licensed counselor before going to their next call.

Larry Smith, chief executive officer, and Josh Cantwell, chief operating officer, of GLMHC, provided an overview of the product and its savings for law enforcement and the help it provides the community members they serve. GLMHC serves 12 counties in northeast Oklahoma.

Smith said currently about 750 officers and emergency rooms are provided an iPad loaded with the First Responder software. When an officer interacts with someone exhibiting mental health issues, they are able to push one button and access therapists, behavioral health specialists or other mental health professionals to assess the individual on the spot without having to take that person to an emergency room or other facility for an assessment.

This saves officers hours of time of transporting individuals and waiting with them while they are evaluated. It also gets the individual the help they need in the least restrictive environment, which leads to better health outcomes in the long run. This, in turn saves the state thousands of dollars spent on treatment beds that may not be necessary once an individuals’ true needs are met, he said.

He showed the product saved law enforcement 360,861 miles traveled to treatment facilities and 263 days of non-stop driving, all of which equaled 14 trips around the world, and it saved $324,446.98 from their local budgets.

Almost 2,500 individuals who have been assessed with a mental health need have been sent home with the iPads, Smith said. This helps them continue to receive the help they need without further need for interaction with law enforcement.

Bartlesville Police Capt. Kevin Ickleberry (pictured below left of Warring) and Jim Warring, a former Bartlesville Police officer and now a law enforcement engagement professional with GLMHC, said the First Responder product is a big deal for law enforcement, particularly in rural areas where care is often hours away. It helps officers make decisions in the field and return to duty quicker, and it results in better care for consumers.

Rep. Fincher said it was awesome having Cpt. Ickleberry and Warring in attendance for the study. He said not a lot of people realize that the chairman of the House Public Safety Committee and the vice chair both have a deep experience in law enforcement, so having two gentleman from the Bartlesville area with law enforcement experience explain the process was very helpful.

Having Cpt. Ickleberry there showed how the system has been used in Bartlesville and it showed the ability the BPD has for its police officers to get the help they need following a mental health crisis. Rep. Fincher said Cpt. Ickleberry showed the benefits of the program for both patients and police officers. He said Warring was able to go more in-depth with what the training would look like for law enforcement agencies.

Carrie Slatton-Hodges, interim director for the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services, said First Responder is proving to be very valuable in getting the people the help they need without escalation to an acute situation that requires intervention by law enforcement or in-patient treatment.

The study also focused on Phase II of the First Responder program, which will allow law enforcement officers to utilize the already provided technology to seek mental health support for themselves from their vehicle, home or office.

Smith said law enforcement officers die 25 years younger than the average population because of job stress and repeated exposure to trauma. He said offering this product to these officers will help save their lives. 

When Rep. Fincher began the study in June 2020, they were wondering how they would be able to fund everything to show proof of concept. Rep. Fincher said they already had iPads in the hands of law enforcement officers to help those that are suffering from a mental health crisis in northeast Oklahoma. He said they wanted to figure out how it could used to assist law enforcement officers that might be going through a mental health crisis themselves.

Recently it was announced that Gov. Stitt approved the use of federal CARES Act funds for Phase II of the First Responder product, Fincher said. He said this was achieved through the support of Slatton-Hodges and ODMHSAS.

Rep. Fincher said he was excited to show the success of this model currently used by GLMHC and to encourage its use throughout the state. He said this will give first responders access to trauma counseling instantly 24/7 in the least restrictive environment possible, and that will save lives and the state precious resources.

A deeper look into this study will continue. Rep. Fincher said he will be talking with House District 10 Rep. Judd Strom about potential work that they need to do since they share Bartlesville. He said they're looking into ways in which mental health patients can be transported by other agencies instead of law enforcement.