The Leadership Team and state-required partners responsible for developing policy and operations for a new deflection program in Multnomah County agreed today to key criteria around an initial framework of deflection.
Effective Sept. 1, House Bill 4002 re-criminalized possession of small amounts of drugs for personal use. The bill also encouraged local governments to create deflection programs intended to provide a system for law enforcement officers to connect individuals with services rather than take them to jail. Deflection provides an opportunity to leverage law enforcement contact with individuals who possess drugs for personal use and create a bridge to recovery. It is the guiding principle of addiction response that treatment is the fastest way to recovery.
The Leadership Team members who reached this agreement at a Friday meeting included the Portland and Gresham chiefs of police, the Multnomah County Chair, Multnomah County Sheriff, the Multnomah County District Attorney, Public Defenders, the Presiding Judge of Multnomah County Circuit Court, the chief criminal judge of the Circuit Court, representatives from the Mayor of Portland’s Office, the Chair’s Office and the Department of Community Justice, as well as the directors of the Health Department and the Local Public Safety Coordinating Council. The DA-Elect did not attend the meeting though his concerns were considered.
The Team also agreed that they would review the data, experience of clients and partners, and public safety needs every 30 days and adjust any of the following agreed-upon terms and provisions accordingly.
Who is eligible for the initial deflection program?
Under this agreement, individuals stopped by law enforcement are eligible for deflection if they possess illegal drugs for personal use, are not committing any other crimes, and have not failed deflection within the prior 30 days.
What constitutes successful deflection for the initial deflection program?
An individual has successfully engaged in deflection if they have completed all of the following: a screening, received a service referral, and engaged with a referred service as recommended by the screening within 30 days.
Are there limits to the initial deflection program?
If an individual fails any of the above steps, they will not be eligible for deflection for the following 30 days and would instead be arrested and charged if contacted by law enforcement during that time period.
Background
Multnomah County is working to create a deflection system and center in response to HB 4002 by Sept. 1. The County has leased a building at 900 S.E. Sandy Blvd. as a temporary location for a drop-off program for law enforcement that will screen individuals, connect them to trained peers to help people move toward recovery, and identify pathways to detox and treatment. Planning and design is underway for sobering services in early 2025 and a permanent center in 2026.
The County also contracted with a nationally recognized expert, Tuerk House, to open a deflection center. Tuerk House, based in Baltimore, is an expert in drug and alcohol treatment and offers a full range of care to families and communities during an individual’s recovery. They bring nearly 50 years of experience operating crisis stabilization and short-term sobering services to people under the influence of drugs and/or alcohol.
The Leadership Team has been developing initial policy direction for deflection based on information known today, including that it can take multiple attempts to engage in treatment and services. There is also the need to hold individuals accountable for community safety. All of this work is taking place while the court system is overburdened and in particular, while there is a critical shortage of public defenders. Against these challenges, the team committed to reviewing information every 30 days to fine-tune the eligibility and criteria.
Based on the Leadership Team’s agreement, this framework will be operationalized so that logistics are in place in advance of HB4002 going into effect. These operational details will be developed by people with expertise in the relevant systems and procedures, including law enforcement, the Department of Criminal Justice, the Department of Public Health, behavioral health workers, and Tuerk House.
###