Stitt appoints new leader of embattled Mental Health Department

OKLAHOMA CITY — A struggling state agency will have its third commissioner in two and a half years.

Gov. Kevin Stitt appointed Josh Anderson on Friday to be the interim leader of the Oklahoma Department of Mental Health and Substance Abuse Services. Anderson will succeed Interim Commissioner Gregory Slavonic, who agreed to lead the agency for a year until the end of the 2026 Legislative Session, which finished last month.

State lawmakers prepared for the possibility of state Health Commissioner Keith Reed to temporarily lead both the Oklahoma Department of Health and the Mental Health Department, but Anderson’s appointment negates that outcome.

Anderson joins the Mental Health Department from the Oklahoma State Health Care Authority where he has been chief of staff since October. Before that, he was the chief legal and policy officer and interim deputy commissioner at the state Health Department since 2020.

Whether he will remain with the Mental Health Department for much longer than six months is unclear. Oklahoma’s next governor will be sworn in by January, gaining the authority to appoint a different agency leader. Stitt is term-limited after eight years in office.

“I recognize the challenges this agency has overcome, and I’m eager to ensure we set the next administration up for success,” Anderson said in a statement. “Some of Oklahoma’s most vulnerable citizens interact with this agency, so it is a top priority that we are serving them to the best of our ability while maintaining transparency and accountability in everything we do.”

The Mental Health Department has struggled with financial solvency for the past two years. 

Former Commissioner Allie Friesen first notified the state Legislature in 2025 that the department faced a dire budget shortfall. Lawmakers later lost confidence Friesen could lead the agency out of the situation and took the unprecedented step of firing her.

Stitt appointed Slavonic in June 2025 to replace her. Since then, the Mental Health Department has faced ongoing complaints about an alleged inability to pay its bills on time and reported failure to comply with a court-ordered consent decree.

State officials now are considering whether to merge the embattled agency with the Health Department.

Senate Bill 1572, which Stitt signed into law last month, requires a feasibility study into the consolidation of the two agencies. The departments must provide the study’s findings on March 1 to the governor, Senate president pro tem and House speaker.

SB 1572 also would have permitted the state health commissioner to lead both departments for the duration of the study, if the governor were to make such an appointment.

But on Friday, Stitt instead announced Anderson, voicing confidence in his appointee’s ability to lead the Mental Health Department.

“Josh Anderson understands how to run government more efficiently while keeping the focus on serving people,” the governor said in the announcement.