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JD McCarty Center tells budget committee it will open expanded ABA clinic and keeps operating request flat
Summary
Leaders of the JD McCarty Center described a wide range of therapies for children with developmental disabilities, said ARPA-funded construction will triple ABA capacity, and told the subcommittee the agency requests a flat state appropriation because most operations are supported by billing and grants
Dr. Eric Molden, CEO of the J. D. McCarty Center, told the Appropriations and Budget Subcommittee on Health the Norman-based specialty rehabilitation hospital supports children statewide with intellectual and developmental disabilities and requested a flat FY-26 appropriation.
Molden described the center’s services — inpatient and outpatient neurology, ophthalmology, orthopedics, audiology, developmental testing, applied behavior analysis (ABA), occupational and physical therapy, speech and language pathology, and respite and summer programs — and highlighted a free multi-hour therapeutic screening program that connects families with local providers and services. “Our mission is to be a one-stop shop for Oklahoma families with a child diagnosed with an intellectual or developmental disability,” Molden said.
Why it matters: The center said it served more than 1,000 unique families and recorded more than 30,000 encounters in the last fiscal year. Leadership said building capacity for ABA — a high-demand, limited-supply service statewide — is a top priority because many private ABA clinics stop accepting patients after age 12.
ABA expansion and ARPA funding: The center said it was awarded $6,000,000 in ARPA funds to build a new ABA outpatient clinic on campus, scheduled to open in June–July. The clinic will increase ABA intensity slots from about a dozen to 30, and six slots will be reserved for adolescents. Molden said the center expects the project to be on budget and on time.
Budget ask and return on investment: JD McCarty asked for a flat appropriation of $4,750,000 for FY-26. Molden said that appropriation leverages roughly a $30,000,000 operating budget, describing a roughly 6:1 state-to-nonstate return on investment and adding the center typically aims to end each fiscal year near zero by balancing fee-for-service billing with state support.
Workforce and partnerships: Molden said recruiting and retaining nurses and master’s-level psychology clinicians remain the center’s biggest constraints. He credited recent legislative investments in nursing education with an uptick in applicants and encouraged continued support for workforce training.
What’s next: Molden invited committee members to the ABA clinic ribbon cutting and offered to host tours of the facility and its expanded outpatient services.
