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Clackamas County won’t have a deflection program for people stopped with user amounts of illegal drugs because the state agency providing grants to counties declined its application, the county’s district attorney said.
The Oregon Legislature introduced the term “deflection” in House Bill 4002, passed in March, which recriminalized possession of small amounts of drugs, overturning a central plank of Measure 110. Deflection means steering people away from the criminal justice system and toward treatment.
Offering deflection is optional for counties under HB 4002. (They can simply opt to send people arrested for drug possession into the criminal justice system without a last chance.) To help counties pay for the new programs, lawmakers created the Oregon Behavioral Health Deflection Grant Program and invited counties to apply. Twenty-eight of Oregon’s 36 counties sought a total of $16.7 million, according to a document prepared by the Criminal Justice Commission, which administers the grants.
The CJC didn’t immediately return emails seeking comment on the Clackamas vote.
Multnomah County won $3.9 million for its deflection program, county spokesman Ryan Yambra said. The CJC didn’t announce a decision on Washington County in a conference call today because the commission ran out of time, Yambra said.
A Washington County spokesperson didn’t immediately return an email on the matter.
Clackamas County District Attorney John Wentworth expressed displeasure.
“Years before HB 4002 was enacted, Clackamas County developed a program to deflect those suffering from drug addiction away from the criminal justice system and into treatment,” Wentworth said in a statement. “Our program was successful. We know what works. Measure 110 destroyed that program. We submitted a proposal for a program that aligns with HB 4002, and created the best program we could with the funds we were given based on our past success. The denial of funding means we will not have a deflection program in Clackamas County.”
Clackamas County sought $950,509 for deflection. Washington County asked for $1.3 million.
Unlike Multnomah County, Clackamas County didn’t plan to have a deflection center where police could bring people willing to avoid jail by seeking treatment. Multnomah County rented a vacant building in the Buckman neighborhood and plans to spend up to $2 million to refurbish it. The plan has angered residents, who say they weren’t included in the planning process.
Multnomah County has also drawn criticism for not offering sobering services soon enough—or at a large enough scale—as part of its deflection plans. Multnomah County hasn’t had a sobering center since 2020, when Central City Concern closed one amid concern for the safety of clients and staff.
The CJC grant program funds collaborations among law enforcement and behavioral health agencies that help individuals “who may have substance use disorder, another behavioral health disorder or co-occurring disorders, to create community-based pathways to treatment, recovery support services, housing, case management or other services,” CJC said in a description of the program.