2025 Presidential Initiative Monthly Challenges

During the 2024 Annual Conference, the Association of Oregon Counties (AOC) President John Shafer (Umatilla County) announced his 2025 presidential initiative to focus on behavioral health. Shafer’s presidential initiative kicked off in January with a series of monthly challenges.

• January: Read this short primer on local mental health governance in Oregon, authored by Malheur County CMHP Director Steve Jensen, and hear a brief presentation by Greater Oregon Behavioral Health (GOBHI) CEO Ann Ford at the AOC Legislative Committee meeting, held on Monday, Jan. 13. (presentation slides) 
• February: Whether you know your CMHP director well, or will be meeting them for the first time, your February challenge is to invite them to lunch, say ‘thank you,’ and listen. You’ll be glad you did. Our community mental health program directors are among the most dedicated, hardworking public servants in Oregon and a tremendous resource to the local mental health authority — you!  Strong relationships are the bedrock of mental wellbeing and of good governance.
• March: Tour your community mental health program
  There is no substitute for being physically present and able to use all five senses. Make some time with your director this month to walk through your local facilities, meet the staff, and learn more about your program’s current strengths and challenges that you can help champion at AOC, the Local Government Advisory Committee, and with our state and federal partners.
• April: Join this year’s County College class virtually on Thursday, April 17, at 4:30 p.m., for a discussion with AOC President and Umatilla County Commissioner John Shafer. Shafer will discuss his presidential initiative, including best practices for prioritizing behavioral health to equip counties to exercise their local mental health authority and foster healthy, vibrant, and safe counties across Oregon.
• May: It’s Mental Health Awareness month! Partner with your Community Mental Health Program during the month of May to promote mental health in your county. Engage with your congressional delegation, publish a letter to the editor, or pass a resolution recognizing May as Mental Health Awareness Month. The National Association of Counties (NACo) provides templates for a press release, letter to your members of Congress, social media post and more in their outreach toolkit.
• June: Coordinated Care Organizations (CCOs) partner with local mental health authorities to ensure that their communities get the most value from their Medicaid and county services. CCOs are responsible for managing Oregon Health Plan (OHP) members’ medical and behavioral health care by maintaining an adequate care network, providing care management, and paying providers for covered services. This month, schedule lunch with your local CCO director(s) to find out what’s top of mind for them and discuss coordination in the year ahead.
• July: If you want a full picture of what does and does not work in public behavioral health care, talking to people in your community who have been in and out of services is essential. Some of these individuals may also have the talent and training to be part of our life-changing peer workforce. This month, have coffee with a person with lived experience and get an invaluable perspective on what contributes to the well-being of people with mental health or addiction challenges and what gets in the way. If you do not already know a member of your local peer community, reach out to your Community Mental Health Program (CMHP) director for an introduction or attend the next meeting of your local advisory committee.
• August: An important part of your duty as the Local Mental Health Authority includes working with your local public safety coordinating council (LPSCC) to develop your comprehensive local plan for the delivery of mental health services. See below what that coordination should entail, attend your local LPSCC meeting if possible, and check in with a LPSCC member about how it’s going and what they think could use your attention. According to ORS 430.630, when developing a local plan, a local mental health authority shall coordinate services among the criminal and juvenile justice systems, adult and juvenile corrections systems and local mental health programs to ensure that persons with mental illness who come into contact with the justice and corrections systems receive needed care and to ensure continuity of services for adults and juveniles leaving the corrections system. The LPSCC should comprise a police chief, sheriff, district attorney, state court judge, public defender, director of community corrections, county commissioner, juvenile department director, health director, citizen, city councilor or mayor, Oregon state police representative, and Oregon Youth Authority representative. “In developing the part of the local plan … the local mental health authority shall collaborate with the local public safety coordinating council to address the following: