Over 260 people from across the state participated in the Oregon Forum on Behavioral Health and Public Safety on May 24 in Salem. Numerous county commissioners, sheriffs, and other elected officials were spotted. Thirty-two counties and three tribal governments in addition to leadership and staff from numerous state agencies, private insurance companies, and non-profit organizations were also represented. Lincoln County Commissioner and former AOC President Claire Hall provided updates on the Stepping Up Initiative, a national effort to reduce the number of mentally ill individuals in jail.
County leaders are being asked to engage in different levels with the Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center, one of the organizers of the event by June 13. Levels of engagement include participation in a one time survey, data exchange for state-level matching, and participation in additional gap analysis. CSG staff is available to help select a level of engagement and will conduct technical assistance to help counties complete the survey, provide data, complete a gap analysis, etc. through a combination of on-site and remove technical assistance. Contact Ben Shelor (bshelor@csg.org) or 646-647-5374 by Wednesday, June 13 to express interest.
Presentations from the conference can be viewed online at https://www.oregon.gov/cjc/Pages/2018-forum.aspx
Contributed by: Patrick Sieng | AOC Policy Manager