Thousands of Oklahomans living with severe mental illnesses like schizophrenia are being left to deteriorate without care. Families watch their loved ones spiral, refusing treatment, disappearing from crisis centers, and losing access to basic resources. In the worst cases, like Selby Minner’s, these breakdowns lead to irreversible tragedy. Selby was a beloved blues legend who tried desperately to help her brother, Louis Guenther, who had schizophrenia. But the system gave her no tools. Her death could have been prevented.

If nothing changes, people with severe mental illness will continue to fall through the cracks, unchecked, unmonitored, and untreated. Families will remain powerless. Police, hospitals, and state agencies will continue operating in silos, unable to intervene until it is too late. But if we pass the Selby Minner Act, we can build a coordinated system that gives families a legal pathway to help, creates emergency response tools, and ensures agencies communicate to protect our most vulnerable.

The mental health crisis in Oklahoma is not coming, it is already here. Selby’s death is a painful reminder that our current system does not work. But we now have a solution, a drafted proposal that can save lives. With your support, we can demand that lawmakers take up the Selby Minner Act this session. Let us stop waiting until after the next tragedy. Let us act now, for Selby and for every family living through this crisis in silence.

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Title: The Selby Minner Act: Ending Mental Health Abandonment in Oklahoma

Executive Summary: The Selby Minner Act is a legislative proposal that addresses the urgent and growing crisis of individuals with severe mental illnesses, such as schizophrenia, who repeatedly refuse treatment and fall through societal gaps, resulting in preventable tragedies. Named in memory of Selby Minner, a respected community leader whose death exposed systemic failures, the Act aims to create structured legal pathways for early intervention, emergency holds, medical guardianship, and coordinated agency response.

Legislative Goals: 1. Protect the public and individuals from untreated schizophrenia-related risks. 2. Create emergency intervention tools when individuals refuse treatment. 3. Empower families and the state to act before tragedy. 4. Use existing Social Security and state data to help locate and stabilize individuals. 5. Close the loopholes that allow individuals to walk out of care facilities untreated. 6. Ensure all relevant agencies are required to share critical data and communicate across departments.

Section 1: Definitions - Person with Serious Mental Illness (SMI): Diagnosed with schizophrenia or related DSM-5 psychotic disorder. - Assisted Care Order (ACO): A court order mandating outpatient treatment and compliance monitoring. - Emergency Treatment Hold (ETH): A legal 14-day hold for those refusing treatment. - Medical Guardian: Court-appointed individual or agency responsible for consenting to medical treatment on behalf of an SMI individual. - Grave Disability: Inability to meet basic needs due to mental illness.

Section 2: Assisted Care Order (ACO) Process - Any psychiatrist, family member, or agency may petition for an ACO. - The court must hold a hearing within 7 days. - ACOs are valid for 6 months and renewable with court review. - Violations may trigger Emergency Treatment Hold (ETH).

Section 3: Emergency Treatment Hold (ETH) - ETHs apply when an SMI individual: - Refuses or stops treatment - Has a history of deterioration, danger, or prior hospitalization - Upon immediate refusal of treatment, a licensed psychiatrist, facility director, or caseworker may initiate an ETH without prior court approval. - Individuals may be detained for up to 14 days for stabilization and review. - Crisis centers may not release individuals with an active ETH without court or guardian notification.

Section 4: Medical Guardianship Authority - The court may appoint a family member or public guardian to make medical decisions for an SMI individual. - Temporary guardianship may be granted for up to 6 months. - Guardians may consent to medications, initiate treatment, and coordinate care.

Section 5: SSDI-Based Intervention Flag - Any individual receiving SSDI or SSI for a qualifying mental illness may be flagged for state outreach. - SSA must notify ODMHSAS of lost contact or irregularities. - Missed check-ins or refusals may trigger ETH and outreach orders. - SSA activity data may be shared securely with mental health agencies.

Section 6: Immediate Mental Health Protection Warrant - If an SMI individual walks away, refuses care, or misses required check-ins: - Upon immediate treatment refusal or abandonment, a licensed provider may request a Mental Health Protection Warrant without delay or prior hearing. - Law enforcement or mental health responders may transport them for evaluation. - Detainment may last up to 72 hours for safety review.

Section 7: Adult Protective Services Involvement - When a person with a known SMI refuses treatment or loses contact with care providers: - Adult Protective Services (APS) shall be immediately notified by crisis centers, law enforcement, or family. - APS shall assign a designated mental health representative within 24 hours to begin intervention. - This representative will work with ODMHSAS and the family to determine ETH eligibility and guardianship needs. - APS may request emergency court hearings, initiate ETH, or support guardianship appointments in coordination with mental health courts.

Section 8: Interagency Communication Mandate - A formal communication protocol shall be established among all relevant agencies including: - ODMHSAS - Adult Protective Services (APS) - Law enforcement - Crisis centers - Social Security Administration (SSA) - Local courts - These entities must: - Maintain shared access to the Mental Health Risk Registry - Respond to real-time ETH or ACO status changes - Exchange updates about individuals in crisis within 24 hours - A centralized Mental Health Coordination Board shall oversee compliance and issue quarterly reports on gaps or delays in communication.

Section 9: Rights and Due Process - Individuals must be provided legal counsel at hearings. - May appeal orders or file for review. - Must be treated in the least restrictive setting possible.

Section 10: Oversight and Reporting - ODMHSAS will maintain a secure Mental Health Risk Registry. - Annual reports will include statistics on ETHs, ACOs, and guardianship outcomes. - Data to be used for improving access and responsiveness.

Conclusion: The Selby Minner Act is a humane, rights-protective, and community-centered response to a public safety and mental health crisis. It closes long-standing legal gaps and provides the structure, tools, and accountability families and agencies need to prevent tragedies like Selby Minner’s. Lawmakers are urged to act swiftly and honor her memory by safeguarding others from similar harm.