Sep 25, 2025 | AOC News, Events
The Association of Oregon Counties (AOC) will hold its annual conference Nov. 18-20, 2025, bringing together elected officials, community partners, county staff, and state and federal partners to collaborate, learn, and grow. County officials and staff from across the state participate in the three-day event aimed at networking and education to improve delivery of county services and the efficiency of county government.
This year’s conference will center on critical issues affecting counties, focusing on policy and legislation related to county budgets, services, and governance. Concurrent educational sessions will cover timely topics such as road safety, public health modernization, county revenue, emergency management, and energy capacity.
A key focus of the conference will be the county’s role as the local mental health authority. This theme reflects the year-long presidential initiative of AOC President and Umatilla County Commissioner John Shafer, who encouraged members to engage in strengthening their local mental health authority.
“Strengthening mental health services is a top priority,” Shafer said. “This year’s conference is an opportunity for us to come together, share solutions, and build collaborative partnerships that will help us better serve our communities.”
This initiative will be highlighted through concurrent sessions on county health and human services; a keynote presentation by Kevin Hines, a survivor, storyteller, filmmaker, and mental health champion; and a special session devoted to Shafer’s initiative. During the presidential initiative session, a panel of local partners will discuss how collaboration between peer support leaders, criminal justice officials, and other local mental health authorities strengthens mental health services and meets community needs.
Beyond the formal sessions, the conference also features valuable opportunities for networking and fun. This includes the Federal and State Agency Meet and Greet, and Wander Oregon, where counties will showcase their finest food, beverages, and artisanal products from across the state.
Online registration closes Saturday, Nov. 1. Find the full agenda and registration information on AOC’s conference webpage.
Contributed by: Erin Good | Communications Coordinator
Aug 27, 2025 | AOC News
The Association of Oregon Counties (AOC) recently hosted the Western States Staff Meet-up, an annual event that began in Boise, Idaho, in 2017. AOC staff welcomed their peers from eight neighboring state associations — Alaska, California, Idaho, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah, Washington, and Wyoming — to network, learn, and share best practices from their organizations.
The two-day event featured breakout sessions tailored to the interests and roles of county association staff. Topics covered included communications, event planning, legislative policy, member engagement, business partnerships, office culture, professional development, and more.
In addition to networking and sharing ideas, attendees toured the Marion County Jail and the nearby 213-acre Oregon Public Safety Academy, which certifies and trains Oregon’s police, corrections, and parole and probation officers, firefighters, telecommunicators and emergency medical dispatchers, and regulatory specialists.
Attendees were also treated to a tour of the Oregon State Capitol State Park by AOC Legislative Affairs Manager Branden Pursinger. Since the capitol is under construction, Branden beguiled attendees with trivia and historical facts, such as the unfortunate demise of the previous two capitol buildings. He also pointed out the Moon Tree, a state heritage tree that was grown from a seed carried to the moon by Apollo 14 in 1971.
AOC staff’s participation in the Western States Staff Meet-Up was a valuable opportunity for professional growth and collaboration, and we are excited to attend the meet-up in 2026, hosted by the Washington Association of Counties.
Contributed by: Erin Good | Communications Coordinator
Aug 20, 2025 | AOC News
The Association of Oregon Counties (AOC) is excited to welcome Jill Rees as its new member services director.
Jill brings over 25 years of public service experience, most recently serving as the deputy state director for Rural Development at the U.S. Department of Agriculture in Oregon.
“Jill’s strong background in strategic engagement, outreach, and relationship building make her a strong fit for our team,” said Executive Director Gina Nikkel. “We are thrilled to have her on board, and confident she will be a tremendous asset to our members and the counties we serve.”
Jill’s first day was Monday, Aug. 11.
Contributed by: Erin Good | Communications Coordinator
Jul 30, 2025 | AOC News, NACo
In July, the Association of Oregon Counties (AOC) participated in the National Association of Counties (NACo) Annual Conference and Exposition in the City and County of Philadelphia, Pa. This gathering of county leaders drew over 3,400 attendees, and offered resources to help address key issues, including mental health, housing affordability, infrastructure, artificial intelligence, disaster preparedness, effective governance and operations, federal public lands management, workforce and economic development, and civic engagement. The Oregon delegation included more than 25 Oregon county leaders from across the state. AOC Executive Director Gina Nikkel emphasized the significance of Oregon’s engagement at the conference.
“Attending NACo’s conference allowed us to make our voices heard, gain direct insight into federal changes impacting our communities, and collaborate with government leaders from across the nation to find solutions to shared challenges,” Nikkel said.
The conference included four all-day learning forums themed around pressing county issues like local economies, the county workforce, and revenues and fiscal health. Several Oregon commissioners served as panelists, sharing their expertise on regional concerns. Marion County Commissioner Danielle Bethell addressed disaster preparedness; Deschutes County Commissioner Phil Chang offered insights on wildfire resilience; and Clackamas County Commissioner Martha Schrader spoke on affordable housing and childcare.
Oregon also played a part in NACo’s 90th anniversary celebration. Twenty-five years of past NACo presidents gathered to reflect on NACo’s unique role in serving communities, including two former county commissioners from Oregon – former State Senator Bill Hansell (Umatilla County) and Randy Franke (Marion County).
AOC President and Umatilla County Commissioner John Shafer summed up the conference experience, saying it offered plenty of takeaways and great connections. “Oregon showed up, shared some wisdom, and brought home some great ideas to put into action.”
Click here to watch video highlights from the conference, including the past presidents’ presentation.
Contributed by: Erin Good | Communications Coordinator
Jul 29, 2025 | AOC News
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:
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- Training for all law enforcement officers on ways to recognize and interact with persons with mental illness, for the purpose of diverting them from the criminal and juvenile justice systems;
- Developing voluntary locked facilities for crisis treatment and follow-up as an alternative to custodial arrests;
- Developing a plan for sharing a daily jail and juvenile detention center custody roster and the identity of persons of concern and offering mental health services to those in custody;
- Developing a voluntary diversion program to provide an alternative for persons with mental illness in the criminal and juvenile justice systems;
- Developing mental health services, including housing, for persons with mental illness prior to and upon release from custody.”
- September: Regional coordination adds tremendous value to county governance and services, especially in the area of our behavioral health programs. Your upcoming AOC district meeting is a perfect opportunity to strengthen that regional partnership. Meet up with your district colleagues and Community Mental Health Program directors at your district meeting. Make a plan for a tour of your host county’s program or just for some dedicated time to check-in on regional challenges and solutions over breakfast or coffee.
Jul 1, 2025 | AOC Advocacy, AOC News, Legislative Committee
The 83rd Legislative Assembly adjourned sine die on Friday, June 27, at 11:50 p.m. after five long months that turned chaotic in the final weeks.
The 160-day legislative “long session” was marked by efforts to secure sustainable long-term funding for the statewide transportation system and wildfire response and mitigation, a bipartisan focus on increasing housing development efficiency, and comprehensive compromise legislation on behavioral health service improvements for some of the most vulnerable Oregonians.
The Association of Oregon Counties (AOC) and counties played a key role in all policy discussions. Together, county commissioners, county staff, and the AOC Legislative Affairs Department made significant progress on our policy priorities this session. We communicated a consistent message of solutions-oriented partnership, maintenance of local control, and the importance of considering on-the-ground implementation.
Unfortunately, significant work was left undone ─ the Legislature chose not to fully fund the community corrections cost study, legislative leadership could not find the votes to pass a transportation package, and the assessment and taxation funding modernization conversation was moved to the 2026 short legislative session. AOC will spend this summer and fall recalibrating our message on these key priorities and working with the Legislature in solutions-oriented partnership to ensure progress in the 2026 short session.
A record 3,400+ bills were introduced this session. The AOC Legislative Affairs team lobbied for/against over hundreds of bills and analyzed and submitted fiscal impact statements on nearly 600 bills with a potential impact to county budgets. Details on every bill on which the AOC Legislative Committee took a position will be included in the 2025 Legislative Summary, published in the coming weeks.
Please join the AOC Legislative Committee’s virtual meeting on Monday, July 7, to hear a comprehensive recap of the 2025 legislative session.
Contributed by: Mallorie Roberts | AOC Legislative Affairs Director
