Budget Priorities: Defunding and Reinvesting

Diversion and Deflection (FY 2021)

Stabilization, Treatment, and Preparation Program expansion 

Multnomah County currently runs two Stabilization, Treatment and Preparation (STP) homes that offer transitional housing and provide psychiatric stabilization services, legal skills training and a range of additional supports to help people experiencing homelessness who are also involved in the justice system prepare to rejoin the community. We are expanding the service by partnering with Central City Concern to create a new culturally specific, Afrocentric program called Karibu, which began operating in the fall of 2022.

Supporting Reentry (FY 2021)

Expanding employment support services 

Individuals coming out of prison and jail face significant barriers when returning to the community, especially finding stable employment. Additional funding will allow the Department of Community Justice to include services for pretrial clients, as well as those preparing to leave MCSO following a term of incarceration. Services will include outreach, engagement, peer support and employment advocacy and support. The program is currently up and running.  

Mobile Behavioral Health pilot 

Black individuals continue to face stigma and discrimination in the criminal legal system. These negative experiences, combined with a lack of access to culturally affirming and informed care, result in multiple health disparities for the population — creating an urgent need for inclusive, high-quality behavioral health services so that they can achieve the highest possible level of health. 

This funding established a culturally specific Mobile Behavioral Health team for Black individuals re-entering the community from incarceration. The team consists of a master’s-level mental health provider, a certified addictions counselor and a peer support specialist. The scope of services  includes outreach and engagement, home visits, mental health or substance use screening/assessments, individual therapy/counseling, care coordination, and peer support. It is paired with the Karibu program.

Repairing Harm (FY 2021)

Expansion of legal support services

Multnomah County offers legal support for justice-involved individuals through Legal Services Day and the Department of County Human Services’ Legal Clinic. Both of these programs assist clients by working to waive fines and fees, start the expunction process, and eliminate other barriers to employment and housing. 

In FY21, the County expanded funding for the Legal Clinic. Clients from the Department of Community Justice’s Family Services Unit are now being referred to the program, and additional attorneys are assisting clients. 

Additional investments in the FY22 budget were approved by the Board in June 2021, including additional funding for the Department of County Human Services’ Legal Services Day. The District Attorney’s Office has also established a  Justice Integrity Unit, tasked with examining past convictions and, when necessary and appropriate, look to overturn convictions when there is evidence of actual innocence, prosecutor or law enforcement misconduct, or other considerations that undermine the integrity of the conviction. The unit  works with community members to expunge past convictions and assist with forgiving fines and fees.

Community-based partnerships with families of youth on probation

This funding invests in the expansion of several services meant to stop family violence and abuse, and to develop respectful, healthy relationships so that all family members can feel safe at home. This provides an opportunity to address the underlying causes of family violence without further involvement in the juvenile justice system.

With these resources, the Community Healing Initiative has expanded its suite of services by implementing the Families United for Safety & Empowerment, or FUSE, Program, which focuses on helping families during violent or abusive engagements; the curriculum includes safety planning combined with direct intervention work.

The County has also supported the expansion of CHI’s parent mentor programs, which trains parents to offer hope, guidance, and advocacy to other parents and caregivers of justice-involved youth. Parent Mentors bring expertise based on their own experience parenting youth involved in the juvenile justice system, as well as specialized training, to support other parents and caregivers. Working within a peer support framework that recognizes the power of mutuality and experiential understanding, Parent Mentors deliver education, information, and peer support. The Parent Mentor program hosted a virtual summit in May 2021 to share information about the legal system, meeting basic needs and community resources.

The funding has also spurred the expansion of CHI’s program model to serve the African immigrant community. Immigrant & Refugee Community Organization (IRCO), a trusted service provider among the African immigrant community, will administer the program.

These new investments also allowed for an increase in temporary safe housing for youth who, due to an altercation, cannot be safe at home until further intervention occurs.

Learn more about the work of the County’s Community Healing Initiatives partners during this challenging time here and here.

Sheriff training and use of force

The Board of Commissioners requested a board briefing from MCSO on their officer training program. The briefing will cover the training programs, policies and practices employed by MCSO, as well as best practices and analysis around the need for de-escalation training, the use of force, the demilitarization of public safety officers and community policing efforts. 

The Board of Commissioners received a briefing on MCSO’s Officer Training Program from Sheriff Michael Reese and Chief of Staff Katie Burgard on Oct. 27, 2020. (Watch the briefing here.)  

A separate briefing on MCSO’s use of force policy was given by Sheriff Reese, Cpt. Harry Smith and Paul Meyer on Nov. 10, 2020. (Watch the briefing here; read a summary of the briefing here.)

The Board will continue to discuss and explore these issues.

Electronic monitoring

The Board of County Commissioners requested a board briefing from the Department of Community Justice and its community and public safety partners regarding adult electronic monitoring. This briefing will include a description of how electronic monitoring is utilized, a demographic breakdown of individuals in the program, recidivism rates and other measurements of effectiveness, and alternatives to electronic monitoring.

The Board of Commissioners received a briefing about adult electronic monitoring from Department of Community Justice Director Erika Preuitt and DCJ Adult Services Division Director Jay Scroggin on Oct. 20, 2020. (Watch the briefing here; read a summary of the briefing here.) 

In 2021 and 2022, DCJ examined electronic monitoring and its effectiveness in specific units; revisited and refined who is placed on electronic monitoring; and as part of the County’s John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation’s Safety and Justice Challenge, continues to refine the role of electronic monitoring in the pretrial system. These actions will ensure that electronic monitoring is utilized in the most effective and equitable manner possible, while also moving DCJ toward alternative models that affect positive changes in behavior even more effectively.

Jail labor 

The Board of County Commissioners requested a board briefing from the Sheriff’s Office and its community and public safety partners to provide an overview on jail labor expenses. The briefing will include how much inmates are paid for their labor (both on an hourly basis and in total), whether by the Sheriff’s Office or by a contractor; what kind of labor is performed; how much revenue or cost saving is derived by the Sheriff’s Office; and any other information relevant to policy and budget discussion of either eliminating or paying minimum wage for jail labor. 

The Board of Commissioners received a briefing about corrections work programs from Sheriff Reese, Chief Deputy Steve Alexander and Program Manager Stephanie LaCarrubba on Nov. 24, 2020. (Watch the briefing here; read a summary of the briefing here.) 

The Board will continue to explore options for potential policy changes, including establishing a workgroup to see what internal changes could be made and the impact on the County, adults in custody, and victims. The County is also assessing the impact of Measure 112 on current jail labor practices.

Expanding Behavioral Health Services (FY 2022)

Gun Violence Impacted Families Behavioral Health Team

This team is composed of clinicians, peers and credible messengers, and provides services for gang-impacted youth and families. The team’s goal is to address the increased community violence we’ve seen as a result of the pandemic by adding new behavioral health resources. The team is also working closely with the Department of Community Justice’s Juvenile Services Division and using therapeutic interventions to address underlying needs.

FaithBridge Trauma Healing and Recovery Program

Eighty-four percent of Black women say religion is very important to them; 59% say they attend religious services at least once a week. No group of men or women from any other racial or ethnic background exhibits comparably high levels of religious observance. Black women place a high value on a deeper connection to their faith as a way to manage trauma and stress. Their connection to faith increases the likelihood of positive mental and physical health outcomes.

This funding supplements culturally specific opportunities for women emerging from trauma and/or life transition to reconnect in a deep and life-transforming way to faith. These women could be emerging from abuse, abandonment, incarceration and addiction. Through aspirational weekly workshops, one-on-support and an annual retreat, FaithBridge provides space for women to heal and recover using values from various faith practices as an anchor.

Community-based Mental Health Services for Children and Families

​​Between January and November 2021, there were more than 1,100 shootings in the City of Portland alone — more than triple the number of shootings in the comparable timeframe in 2019. This surge in gun violence, shootings and homicides disproportionately harms and traumatizes Black community members. Additional funding supported the hiring of a permanent African American Mental Health Consultant position in the Health Department’s Direct Clinical Services unit. This position serves children and families who are impacted by community and gang violence with a range of culturally relevant and evidence-based mental health services, consultation, training, outreach and engagement.

Building on Community Partnerships (FY 2022)

Community Partnerships & Capacity Building in Public Health 

This new funding scales up a wraparound model using community health workers in community based organizations. The County will contract with the Non-Profit Association of Oregon to provide technical assistance to smaller BIPOC organizations, and contract for culturally responsive maternal child health services in the African and Latinx communities. Finally, funding will go to expand Pacific Islander and Latinx coalitions, as well as the Future Generations Collaborative.

Expanding Successful Programs (FY 2022)

Culturally Specific Justice-Involved Addictions Benefit Coordinator (ABC)

The ABC program serves over 3,000 individuals per year and consists of a continuum of adult substance use disorder (SUD) treatment and recovery support services for adult Multnomah County residents. This position works with Black and African-American individuals who are on supervision with the Department of Community Justice. Their goal is to connect them to services, including: residential treatment, intensive outpatient treatment with supported housing, outpatient treatment, outreach/engagement, recovery mentoring and recovery support (including connections to housing support, pro-social/drug-free activities, basic needs support and more).

New Community Health Specialists 

Prior to adoption of the FY22 budget in June 2021, the Department of Community Justice identified that 23 of the previous 55 homicides had some type of nexus to DCJ adult and juvenile caseloads. In order to respond, the Department added three new Community Health Specialists who work in collaboration with the Health Department and the Department of County Human Services to provide families with safety plans and trauma support for those who have felt the direct impacts of gun violence. The program serves 50 to 60 clients.

Elevate Program Expansion 

The County has expanded our Elevate program to 18- to 25-year-old men in the Latinx and African immigrant communities for those impacted by gang involvement and gun violence. This expansion provides community support and resources to an additional 50 justice-involved individuals, including peer support, skill building, cognitive behavioral therapy and culturally responsive services. It also provides opportunities to partner with national experts to build out culturally responsive programming for this population of justice-involved individuals.

Community Healing Initiative Expansion 

This new funding has been used to expand the Community Healing Initiative (CHI) model to additional Black, Indigenous and other communities of color as part of a broad strategy to support real-time responses to community violence and other immediate needs.

Habilitation Empowerment Accountability Therapy (HEAT) Expansion

Additional capacity has been provided for DCJ’s Habilitation Empowerment Accountability Therapy (HEAT) program, which is delivered to African-American justice-involved individuals. This curriculum is a culturally responsive cognitive behavioral intervention program designed to reflect and address the unique experiences and needs of participants. The ability to address anti-social thinking is an effective way to reduce recidivism especially as it relates to gun violence.

Victim Services Expansion 

The County is expecting a significant uptick in hearings, and reschedulings of hearings, as Court operations pick up in the post-pandemic period. In order to stay in compliance with victims rights, including those impacted by gun violence, the department has added one additional staff member. Victims and survivors of crime are disproportionately people of color, and while they are the one person involved in our system who did not ask to be, they often have the least access to support and resources.