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J.D. McCarty Center asks for flat appropriation, details ARPA-funded ABA clinic and rising service demand
Summary
J.D. McCarty Center told the Appropriations Subcommittee it seeks a flat appropriation slightly over $4.75 million, highlighted growth in outpatient and intensive therapeutic services, and described a $6.8 million ARPA-funded outpatient ABA clinic that will reach capacity soon.
Miss Powers, speaking for the J.D. McCarty Center in Norman, asked the subcommittee to maintain a flat state appropriation of about $4,750,000 and outlined the center’s services and recent growth. The center is a specialized pediatric rehabilitation hospital that provides inpatient, outpatient and outreach services for children with intellectual and developmental disabilities.
Powers described free therapeutic service screenings that combine medical, social and behavioral clinicians to identify interventions early; roughly half of those screenings lead to services provided by J.D. McCarty Center, and the other half result in referrals to community providers. She said the center served more than 1,200 unique patients last fiscal year and recorded more than 35,000 total encounters.
The center credited ARPA funding for a new 14,000-square-foot outpatient ABA clinic funded at $6,800,000, which opened in August and is expected to reach capacity within three to six weeks of the committee hearing. Powers said key expansion metrics included a 27% year-over-year increase in therapeutic intensives and a 44% increase in outpatient psychiatric assessments.
Committee members asked about staffing, independent living skills training (summer sessions typically enroll six to 12 teens), regional partnerships (Norman Public Schools provides classroom services for inpatients) and recruitment needs for allied health positions, especially physical therapists. Powers thanked the legislature for prior investments in nursing programs and urged continued support for allied health education to sustain services.
The center emphasized efficiency: it has not requested an appropriation increase in more than 15 years and seeks to remain largely self-sustaining through reimbursements while using appropriations to support core gaps and capital needs.
The committee praised the center’s outcomes and requested follow-up details on specific program counts and workforce metrics.
