01-03-2025
County tracks progress on deflection program
Recent changes to Clatsop County's deflection program are helping open the door for more people to access treatment.
The program, not quite 6 months old, is a response to House Bill 4002, which recriminalized possession of illicit drugs in Oregon last year after a three-year experiment with decriminalization. In coordination with the bill, the Legislature allocated more than $20 million for optional county deflection programs aimed at redirecting people out of the criminal justice system and into treatment.
Clatsop County's deflection team includes representatives from the sheriff's office, the district attorney's office, the county and Clatsop Behavioral Healthcare, the county's mental health and substance-use treatment provider. The group has met biweekly since April, and officially rolled out the program in September.
In that time, they've provided training to about 60 law enforcement officers, Community Corrections Director Kristen Hanthorn told county commissioners Wednesday. They've also made changes to the program based on feedback from those officers.
When the program began, it was designed specifically for Clatsop County residents with a stand-alone drug charge.
Hanthorn said that model presented certain limitations.
'What law enforcement was finding is that they're having a lot of contact with people, but they weren't solely just the possession of drugs,' she said. 'They had all this other stuff going on, so that was preventing them from participating' in a deflection program.
Officers also didn't have a way to refer people to the deflection program if they were struggling with drug addiction but not in possession of drugs. So, in February, the deflection team made a shift.
Now, the program is also open to county residents on supervision or charged with additional low-level crimes, like disorderly conduct or minor theft. Those individuals still need to navigate the court system for their other charges, but can go through deflection to work toward getting their drug possession charges dropped.
The team has also added a second pathway to deflection for people who haven't been found in possession of drugs but want help with recovery. Since making the change this month, Assistant County Manager Monica Steele said they've already seen participation double.
So far, the team has engaged with 18 people, including 12 now in deflection and three that have graduated from the program.
Hanthorn said the majority of referrals come from the sheriff's office and the district attorney's office. Many of the people in the program are in their 30s, and around half of the cases have been related to meth possession, although some have also involved drugs like fentanyl and cocaine.
People in the program also come from a variety of housing and employment backgrounds.
'We've had graduates that have been homeless at the beginning. We've also had people come into our program and graduate that had a job, you know, that had housing,' Hanthorn said. 'And so we're hitting both gaps. It's not just homeless individuals.'
When law enforcement makes contact with someone, officers have a few options for referring them to the deflection program. If a recovery ally with Clatsop Behavioral Healthcare is available, they'll meet the person on the scene for what Hanthorn calls a 'warm handoff.' Law enforcement officers can also drop the person off at a Clatsop Behavioral Healthcare rapid access clinic in Astoria or Seaside. If neither option is possible, the person will be directed to report to the clinic within 72 hours.
The goal is to see progress toward individualized treatment goals and quality of life improvements surrounding housing, employment and harm reduction. The minimum requirement to have a charge dropped is 90 days of engagement and progress.
Although the program has seen successes, Steele noted that it's not necessarily for everyone. Of the 18 total contacts, three people have declined to participate, opting instead to be cited for criminal possession.
'You need to have a number of tools, and this is just another tool,' she said. 'This isn't the solution for everybody, but it's an alternative for some that might choose to use it. And so we have to look at everybody as an individual, we have to look at all the options. And this might work for one person, but it's not going to work for another person, but perhaps it opens a door to something else that will work for them.'
Looking ahead, law enforcement will continue to work through a learning curve. Some officers, Steele said, may have started their careers when possession of small amounts of drugs was still legal.
Hanthorn said another potential hurdle is community buy-in. As the team continues outreach with law enforcement officers and members of the community, the hope is to show the positive change that's possible through deflection — even if it's slow-going, as recovery often is.
'We just want to help encourage them, show them the statistics that we are seeing success,' Steele said. 'It's not going to happen overnight.'
