Recent state policy shifts intended to serve more Oregonians in the community instead of at the Oregon State Hospital have exposed county governments and their contracted providers to new third-party liability when individuals court-ordered to aid and assist community restoration commit additional crimes.
A new report highlights how this third-party liability has rendered Oregon’s local behavioral health safety net uninsurable and vulnerable to bankruptcy.
The report, funded by SB 5506 in the 2023 legislative session, was presented to the House Behavioral Health and Health Care Committee at its Thursday meeting during May legislative days (minute 2:21:32).
Staff from the Department of Administrative Services and select members of the study’s work group, City/County Insurance Services General Counsel Kirk Mylander, Lane County Assistant County Counsel Marcus Vejar, Association of Oregon Community Mental Health Programs Executive Director Cherryl Ramirez, and Options for Southern Oregon Executive Director Karla McCafferty, presented the report findings and recommendations.
Assistant County Counsel Marcus Vejar, testifying on behalf of the Association of Oregon Counties (AOC), recommended that public and nonprofit entities providing aid and assist community restoration services be included in liability protections equivalent to those for other court-ordered community-based services to individuals experiencing behavioral health challenges and that the $2.9 million reserve fund created by SB 5506 to cover defense costs of any future civil suits be carried over to next biennium until those liability protections are in place.
Contributed by: Jessica Pratt | Legislative Affairs Manager