Mar 26, 2024 | AOC Advocacy, Health & Human Services
Addressing Oregon’s opioid crisis and reforming Ballot Measure 110 were among top priorities for legislators during the 2024 short session. HB 4002 and its companion funding bill, HB 5204, passed the legislature overwhelmingly with bipartisan, bicameral support, instituting a variety of new programs and policies. Among those new programs is the Oregon Behavioral Health Deflection Program, established at the Criminal Justice Commission (CJC) to coincide with the newly created misdemeanor for possession of a controlled substance.
The new misdemeanor, coupled with the deflection program, is intended to re-establish local partnerships between law enforcement and the behavioral health safety net to effectively connect individuals to treatment and recovery while minimizing costly interactions with the justice system.
Twenty-three Oregon counties opted in to receive fast-tracked funding to stand up deflection programs. These counties are encouraged to establish their deflection programs quickly in preparation of the new misdemeanor’s effective date of Sept. 1. Initial funds may also be used as planning grants for counties needing time to explore programmatic options. The legislature also allocated funding through the end of the current biennium to support the coordination and case management of deflection program participants in each county and federally recognized Oregon tribe, which means every interested county government still has the opportunity to draw down their formula funding to set up a program.
The Association of Oregon Counties (AOC) was successful in advocating for maximum flexibility in how a local deflection program is administered and operated, allowing the required local partners (law enforcement, the district attorney, county government, the Community Mental Health Program, and a Behavioral Health Network provider) to make the best use of their existing resources and processes.
Over 150 county leaders attended AOC’s first deflection program summit on March 18, designed to help county commissioners and local partners understand the CJC’s program requirements and timeline, as well as equipping county leaders to begin formulating their local implementation plans. The summit’s plenary and regional break-out session recordings and materials are available in the AOC archive.
AOC will continue to convene the CJC, county commissioners, and local deflection partners through the summer and fall to assist in program planning and implementation. Please contact jpratt@oregoncounties.org or jlewis-goff@oregoncounties.org to receive those meeting notifications.
Contributed by: Legislative Affairs Managers Jessica Pratt and Jen Lewis-Goff
Dec 21, 2023 | AOC Advocacy, Health & Human Services
Oregon counties will be undertaking critical health and human services policy work and partnership development at the Association of Oregon Counties (AOC) in 2024 along three tracks.
Internally, counties are convening monthly at AOC Health and Human Services summit meetings to share and deliberate on local solutions and to develop legislative priorities for local system improvement for the 2025 legislative session. The next summit meeting is scheduled for Monday, Jan. 22, 1 to 4 p.m., at the AOC headquarters in Salem.
To guide AOC’s legislative advocacy in the 2024 short session, our Health and Human Services Steering Committee will meet January through March on AOC Day at 8 a.m., followed by a joint Health and Human Services and Public Safety Steering Committee meeting from 9 to 11 a.m. A stand-alone Public Safety Steering Committee meeting will begin immediately following the joint meeting.
Legislative concepts with potential impacts to county government and programs slated for consideration in the 2024 session include Ballot Measure 110 reforms, local behavioral health system improvements, behavioral health and community corrections gap funding for services to mandated populations, emergency medical services modernization, treatment courts system stabilization, and jail-based medication assisted treatment for opioid addiction.
The Local Government Advisory Committee for Health and Human Services will resume its regular schedule on the fourth Friday at 10 a.m. on Jan. 26, where we look forward to welcoming the new Oregon Health Authority (OHA) Director Dr. Sejal Hathi and discussing how OHA and counties can partner more closely in 2024 on the development of community services funding proposals and legislative advocacy for system improvement.
Contributed by: Jessica Pratt | AOC legislative affairs manager
Dec 19, 2023 | AOC Advocacy, Health & Human Services, Legislative Committee, Public Safety & Veterans
The short 35-day 2024 legislative session is expected to focus primarily on housing and Measure 110. AOC recognizes that some proposals under consideration related to Measure 110 reforms will have direct impacts on counties, and consequently our members are deeply invested in the potential outcomes. AOC is committed to elevating the county voice in these discussions and ensuring that AOC members are able to review and weigh in on concepts with direct county impacts.
In preparation for those conversations, AOC steering committees and the Legislative Committee took action at their October meetings.
AOC’s Public Safety steering committee adopted a 2024 legislative priority related to Measure 110:
- Elevate the county voice in Measure 110 reform, supporting policy modifications that prioritize engagement in substance abuse treatment, provide sufficient funding for county services, and strengthen tools the criminal justice system can use to fight illegal drug use and sales.
AOC’s Health and Human Services steering committee also adopted this principle:
- Support Measure 110 reforms to create a sustainable complete continuum of substance use disorder prevention, treatment and recovery capacity that matches community need and is subject to the statutory planning and oversight of local mental health authorities.
Joint AOC Health and Human Services and Public Safety Steering Committee Meetings
AOC leadership recognizes the importance of the Measure 110 reform conversations to our members, and in collaboratively evaluating both the health and public safety policy considerations. Accordingly, during the 2024 legislative session, AOC’s Health and Human Services and Public Safety steering committees will be meeting jointly to determine AOC positions on relevant 2024 legislative bills. The four co-chairs of these two committees will also meet together routinely to collaborate and direct staff.
On Oct. 27, AOC held a joint Health and Human Services and Public Safety steering committee meeting focused on Ballot Measure 110. The meeting, with over 90 individuals participating in person and virtually, focused on current data, local government perspectives and potential policy changes in the coming year. A variety of partner groups and advocates joined the meeting to share their experiences and thoughts on the future of Measure 110. A full recording of the meeting is linked here.
In the Capitol
Oregon’s legislative leadership created a new joint committee to consider Measure 110-related changes for the 2024 legislative session. The Joint Interim Committee on Addiction and Community Safety Response is co-chaired by Senator Kate Lieber and Representative Jason Kropf. The committee has now met three times. At its October meeting, the committee focused on behavioral health and addiction services. At its November meeting, the committee heard from the law enforcement community on potential policies. A coalition of public safety stakeholders shared with the committee an 11-point proposal.
At its December meeting, the joint committee heard from experts on: evidence-based substance use disorder treatment; medication assisted treatment; and deflection, stabilization and alternative intervention programs. At this 4-hour long meeting, the committee also heard public testimony for the first time. Invited to provide testimony, AOC staff shared with the committee AOC’s adopted priorities and principles on Measure 110 reform, encouraging the committee to consider holistic changes with appropriate systematic funding for county services. AOC further advocated for counties to continue to be invited to the table and included in reform discussions to ensure counties can partner successfully with the state on any future changes. You can watch a full recording of the hearing here.
We expect the next meeting of the joint committee to take place during January Legislative Days.
AOC is actively engaged with legislative leaders and local system partners to discuss the ramifications of potential policy decisions, ensuring that any potential policy change is examined for county impact.
Want to join the conversation?
AOC members interested in shaping the organization’s positions on 2024 legislation affecting Oregon counties are encouraged to participate in January and February steering committees. The schedule can be found on our website.
Contributed by: Jen Lewis-Goff and Jessica Pratt | legislative affairs managers
Oct 24, 2023 | AOC Advocacy, Health & Human Services
Oregon’s homelessness and fentanyl emergencies demand immediate fixes to problems decades in the making. Discussions in the state legislature and at the Association of Oregon Counties (AOC) seek policy solutions for meaningful progress in the 2024 short legislative session and beyond.
The Joint Interim Committee on Addiction and Community Safety Response was announced by legislative leadership in September in response to widespread dissatisfaction with the implementation and impact of Ballot Measure 110. The committee, led by Senate Majority Leader Kate Lieber and House Judiciary Committee Chair Jason Kropf, met for the first time on Oct. 18 and focused on the “demand” side of Oregon’s addiction crisis.
State and national experts provided testimony on substance use trends, prevention and treatment science, and what Oregon’s addiction response system needs to turn the tide. Researcher and clinician Dr. Kimberly Sue presented her findings and recommendations for designing nimble treatment systems for the fentanyl era. Her testimony, along with that of crisis service providers from across the state, underscored the need for immediate response capacity (modeled after police, fire and ambulance response) and smooth transitions for individuals moving through the continuum of care program, from peer-led outreach and harm reduction to detox and crisis stabilization, treatment, supported housing, and recovery services.
Witnesses cited eliminating the excessive administrative burden on existing providers and the red tape that is slowing or preventing the development of new workforce and new treatment facilities as opportunities for immediate improvement to addiction response in Oregon.
Testimony was also given on the efficacy of adequately funded local and statewide prevention initiatives and the lack of proper investment in every level of addiction prevention and response, most acutely in prevention and services for youth. The next committee meeting, on Nov. 6, during regularly scheduled “legislative days,” will focus on the “supply” side of the addiction crisis and public safety interventions.
AOC health and human services’ priorities for the 2024 short legislative session address discrete but key steps to create the responsive, coordinated public safety and health systems required to foster safe livable public spaces and healthy communities. AOC’s first priority is to establish a reliable process and schedule for the state to assess the cost of providing the core mental health and addiction services that counties are statutorily required to provide. Currently, Oregon Health Authority lead staff members do not have cost estimates for these services, and thus are unable to craft an agency recommended budget to match current or projected need.
AOC’s second priority for the 2024 session, a continuation of our 2023 priority, is to mitigate the liability risk shift to counties and their local providers for services to court-mandated populations, such as those persons ordered to community aid and assist restoration services. In the last few years, Oregon has sincerely begun to transition from an institution-based system to a community-based system to serve individuals in court-mandated behavioral health treatment. However, the system is not currently equipped to provide these services without an adequate investment in community service capacity or liability protection for counties and providers who serve a rising number of people, some with more acute and complex medical and mental health needs.
On Oct. 27, AOC will hold a joint meeting of its public safety and health and human services steering committees to prepare for expected efforts to fix Measure 110 in the 2024 session. AOC staff will field reports from public safety and community mental health program partners on current impacts of Measure 110, hear from the proponents of reform proposals currently in the public domain, and listen to member discussion of policy positions that will give Oregon counties the authority and tools they need to be healthy, vibrant, and safe.
AOC has also embarked on a longer-term health and human services summit series which kicked off on Oct. 2, with a dual purpose of elevating and propagating local solutions across the state and preparing counties to offer statewide solutions in the 2025 legislative session and beyond. The next meeting in this ongoing series will be Friday, Nov. 3, from 1 to 4 p.m.
Make sure to attend these educational sessions coming up at the AOC Annual Conference in Eugene, on Nov. 15:
- The Opioid Crisis and the Untapped Potential of Local Public Health Response and Prevention
- The 60th Anniversary of the Community Mental Health Act – Have We Realized the Vision?
- Oregon’s Local Homelessness Response Experiment: Preliminary Findings and Progress
Contributed by: Jessica Pratt | AOC Legislative Affairs Manager
Jun 26, 2023 | AOC Advocacy, AOC News, Health & Human Services
Amidst the hustle and bustle of this year’s long legislative session and ongoing leadership transitions in the Oregon Health Authority, the state-county partnership on our shared health and human services has continued to grow. The directors of the Oregon Health Authority, Department of Human Services, Oregon Housing & Community Services and the Office of Emergency of Management are at the table with county commissioners and other local government leaders for monthly Local Government Advisory Committee (LGAC) meetings chaired by Lane County Commissioner Pat Farr. They have been focusing on the statewide emergency homelessness response, preparations for the upcoming wildfire season, and the development of the new state-county contract for community behavioral health services.
In the coming months, the LGAC will also dig into closer partnership on court-mandated services provided by the Oregon State Hospital and counties’ Community Mental Health Programs, as well as the implementation of several new Medicaid 1115 waiver benefits and the coordination of public health modernization efforts.
An outgrowth of that relationship-building work is a state-county-city collaboration with the Oregon Housing & Community Services department begun this spring to maximize the impact of $26 million homelessness emergency response funding. The funding was earmarked in HB 5019 this session for communities within the Balance of State Continuum of Care which includes 26 of Oregon’s 36 counties. The collaboration has yielded a two-pronged approach for disbursing the funds which is built on a shared commitment to geographic equity; a portion of the $26M will be targeted to meeting the bill requirements to create 100 new shelter beds and rehouse 450 people, with the remainder dedicated to building the capacity of every interested county to respond to its homelessness and housing needs and to draw down available state funding in coming biennia that most rural and frontier counties have not historically had the capacity to do.
The Local Government Advisory Committee for Health & Health Human Services meets monthly on the fourth Friday at 10:00 a.m. in the Human Services Building, Room 160, 500 Summer Street NE in Salem.
Contributed by: Jessica Pratt, AOC legislative affairs manager
