By GARRET JAROS/YachatsNews
For three years police in Lincoln County could not do much when they came across someone in possession of a small amount of illegal drugs except issue a $100 citation and give the offender a number to call for help with substance abuse.
But more often than not tickets went unpaid, calls were never made and eventually officers’ enthusiasm for issuing citations waned.
Now however, after frustrations from the public and police and a legal about-face by Oregon legislators, those drug users have a clear choice – seek treatment or go to jail.
In Lincoln County that choice will likely be delayed until October or possibly November as officials scramble to construct a program legislators hoped would be in place this month.
When Oregon lawmakers voted this year to recriminalize the possession of small amounts of drugs beginning Sept. 1, they also allocated millions of dollars toward rehabilitation options as an alternative to jail.
Legislators passed House Bill 4002 in March in an effort to rein in an increase in overdoses and public drug use in the wake of Measure 110 – passed by voters in 2020 – which decriminalized possession of small amounts of illicit drugs such as cocaine, heroin, methamphetamine and fentanyl.
While possession of small amounts is now a misdemeanor punishable by up to six months in jail, the legislation also encouraged law enforcement and counties across the state to set up “deflection” programs to allow people to avoid court and jail and have their arrest expunged if they successfully complete a rehabilitation program.
It was left to counties and tribal governments to decide whether to participate or apply for a chunk of the $20.7 million in grants available to jumpstart a deflection program. Twenty-eight out of 36 counties, including Lincoln, took the offer.
Lincoln County applied for and received $341,256 from the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission to launch its deflection program. But despite best efforts, getting all the parts in place takes time, which could mean a delay in enforcing the new law.
“Obviously we want to get started as early as possible,” Lincoln County Sheriff Curtis Landers told YachatsNews. “Technically, law enforcement officers around the county can (now) arrest individuals for that personal possession. But as far as deflection, we’re trying to tell local police agencies ‘Obviously if you have a situation and need to arrest somebody on these drug charges – do it and we’ll try to sort through it, But if at all possible, try to hold off because we don’t have deflection going yet.’ ”
A workgroup comprised of county, law enforcement, judges and behavioral health officials and staff have been meeting every two weeks for months to outline the structure of the program and coordinate a consistent, countywide approach for law enforcement agencies.
Disagreement over coordinator
While the rehabilitation piece is coming together, albeit with nuances still left to parse out, it has been figuring out who will fill the required role of deflection coordinator and how funding will be doled out that remains uncertain.
The workgroup had originally planned for the coordinator to come from within the Lincoln County District Attorney’s office, likely a new hire with an estimated salary of $81,000 a year that the county would fund through savings set aside from vacant positions. Grant money would then pay for other aspects of the program.
“If that were to happen, we are going to use the $341,000 to put into participant services, which include dedicated beds at a detox facility, some short-term housing – motel rooms and that type of thing,” Landers said. “And a stabilization center that we’ve identified as really a priority for the program.”
In the last two weeks however, regardless of how much money is directed toward those services, county commission chair and workgroup member Casey Miller is questioning whether the district attorney’s office is the best place for the coordinator.
It’s a question that “completely blows the whole damn thing up,” Miller acknowledged to YachatsNews.
Landers agreed with that assessment, especially because the workgroup had been working steadily along with a consistent plan to have it in the district attorney’s office.
Landers said Miller now wants to put the deflection coordinator position in the parole and probation department.
“Basically, they have position he believes can absorb the duties of the coordinator so they wouldn’t have any extra money going out,” the sheriff said.
Other counties are tailoring the coordinator position to how it best fits their organizations, Landers said.
“It’s actually in probation in I think five other counties,” Landers said. “It’s kind of a mix across the state. If you look at the statistics there’s like five in DA’s offices and like eight in sheriff’s offices, community corrections or behavioral health. It’s just different all over the state.”
But in Lincoln County, the corrections department focuses on post-conviction oversight, Landers said. And deflection is supposed to be before the person is even charged. The sheriff also believes it will be a full-time job and not one that can be absorbed by someone with other duties.
“Having it in the DA’s office also makes it easier for the expungement processes and the record keeping part of it because all the police reports will have to go to parole and probation and then if it’s expunged, if they successfully complete (the program) then we’ll have to expunge them in multiple locations instead of just the DA’s office and the police,” Landers said.
Landers believes having the coordinator in the district attorney’s office would create a more seamless fit, but acknowledges “I could be wrong.”
Last week Miller asked county administrator Tim Johnson to prepare a report for deflection options so that commissioners can make a decision.
“And I think I’m going to need to literally bring to the table our health and human services, our sheriff, our DA, our community corrections and bring them all together and say ‘Let’s compare notes’ because I’m sensing a disturbance … ” Miller said. “And everybody’s saying different stuff.”
Funding the program long-term also remains a question.
“They haven’t told us if they’re going to offer the grant opportunity again next year or not,” Miller said. “We don’t know what the continuity looks like. I guess for me as a policymaker, if we see that this program is really moving people to better places then I would say absolutely we will be compelled to look at (having the) general fund possibly sustain it into the future. If we have an effective program that’s moving the needle on this community.”
Legislators also passed House Bill 5204, which appropriates more than $200 million to fund various parts of HB 4002 including $85.4 million for behavioral residential beds, crisis stabilization centers, sobering centers and overall substance-use disorder treatment.
But neither Miller nor others involved in Lincoln County’s deflection efforts have any idea yet how or when that money will be allocated.
How deflection will work
There is no one-size-fits-all-offender when it comes to how deflection will work in Lincoln County. That will depend on an individual’s needs.
But basically, when police make contact with someone in possession of drugs whom they deem eligible for the program they will give that person the option to go to jail or seek treatment.
“What we’re really trying to do is to deflect somebody before they go to jail or get to a courtroom,” Landers said. “We are trying to get them help as early as we possibly can. We’ve thrown out a rough estimate of possibly deflecting 80 percent before that happens. That’s really the intent of this bill, to never have somebody formally charged or ever see the light of the courtroom.”
If the person chooses the treatment option, officers will call a local rehabilitation partner such as Reconnections Counseling or Phoenix Wellness Center, who are making staff available to respond by phone or in person 24 hours a day, seven days a week.
First contact could be as simple as officers putting an individual on the phone with a treatment mentor and requiring them to meet with a provider within 48 hours. Or it could be working with a provider to place someone immediately into detox. Either way, the treatment provider will begin by doing an assessment of the individual to determine the best course of action.
The bottom line is that to successfully complete the deflection program, not only will a person have to meet regularly with rehabilitation counselors and participate in group therapy and other activities, they must also pass a urinalysis for 30 consecutive days.
If they fall off the wagon, they start the 30 days over again. And again, depending on need, the level of care could run the gamut from outpatient to inpatient at a rehab partner somewhere in Oregon.
Participants will be given a total of six months to pass that requirement or face going to jail. They can also choose to leave the program at any time and go to jail. If successful however, the person’s record of the criminal offense will be expunged.
Treatment
Wylie Stokes of Phoenix Wellness is also a member of the deflection workgroup. He said his agency is ready to begin handling deflection on a smaller scale and that it’s not much different than what they are already doing.
“We’re going to do it, and we’re going to figure it out on our end, whether we are funded for it or not,” Stokes said. “But it is going to stretch our staff thin, that’s for sure. And this process is going to change as we go, as things work or don’t work.”
The Newport nonprofit is already funded by Measure 110 grants, which allows them to treat people whether they are insured or not, he added.
“Honestly, we do this to meet the needs of the community and then figure it out,” Stokes said. “We have not worked out the 24 hour thing quite yet, how to staff it, but we will. I think it can be a great thing. We have a lot of really good providers in our community and all (of them) are partnering together. I absolutely think it can work.”
In addition to Phoenix and Reconnections, partners include Power House Detox, Lincoln County Health and Human Services, Samaritan Pacific Communities Hospital and the Confederated Tribes of Siletz Indians. An additional $2 million in deflection dollars was allocated for Oregon’s nine recognized tribes.
Why not lock ’em up?
In the 1990s a lot of prisons and jails were built — including the one in Lincoln County — with the idea that if people commit crimes, they need to serve the time, Landers said.
“What we realized is really this is a behavioral health issue,” he said. “And these individuals are, a lot of them have mental illness, substance-use disorder, and jail is not a deterrent them.
“They are doing whatever they can to get the drugs they need to function in society, and so when they get caught it’s just like a temporary time out, it’s not actually correcting or fixing the behavior of the problem. We realize that we need other resources to do that because warehousing people was just causing a revolving door and not actually addressing the issues.”
While 30 days of sobriety does not ensure long-term success, treatment providers attest that anecdotally at least, those individuals are more likely to continue beyond the mandate with rehabilitation services.
Lincoln County District Attorney Jenna Wallace also believes the deflection program is a move in the right direction.
“I think it’s a great idea,” Wallace said. “I think the idea that we want to try to really meet people where they are at and get them into treatment on the front end rather than the back end, in general is a great idea.”
If the deflection coordinator position does land in her office there is no doubt it will create extra work. But regardless of that, she said, re-criminalization alone is going to create additional work because what had been violation under Measure 110 will now be referred to her office for charging.
But whether the position lands in her office or in parole and probation or some other place, Wallace reiterated her support of the program’s intentions.
“I think one of the things with the deflection program is really recognizing how treatment plays a role in continuing criminal activity,” she said. “And the idea behind it is there are people who use drugs and then go commit crimes. So, the idea is if you can help them with their substance abuse, then that should lower crime rates down the road.”
If the driving factor that causes the criminal activity is removed then theoretically you no longer have the criminal activity, she explained.
“The deflection program is really trying to recognize that if we can combat the substance use issues on the front end, if we can get them into treatment before they step into a courtroom, before they’re placed in jail, before they have to serve a sentence, then there’s a larger community benefit to that long term then there is if it’s just a revolving door at the jail,” Wallace said.
“Everyone in Oregon is unsure whether or not this is going to work,” she continued. “But given our issues and our continued criminal activity, this is a hopeful resolution that will decrease the amount of people sitting in a jail cell by increasing people’s access to treatment.”
- Garret Jaros is YachatsNews’ full-time reporter and can be reached at GJaros@YachatsNews.com
Reading the comments of Sheriff Curtis Landers, I am surprised that the sheriff endorsed Rick Beasley as county commissioner in the upcoming election. I’ve heard Mr. Beasley declare publicly that his solution to our county’s problem with homelessness is to arrest and jail people for being unhoused. I’ve been told that it costs $190 a night to house someone in the jail. The operating cost for the county shelters last winter was $33 per person, per night. Since the sheriff has put himself in Mr. Beasley’s camp, and since he’s been in charge of the jail for many years, is he willing to go on record as to whether or not he thinks this is a wise and effective use of our tax dollars?
I too was surprised by the sheriff’s endorsement since I’ve always seen him as very moderate and reasonable. I’m very disturbed that he endorsed someone with such extremist views against reasonable gun controls, and who loudly advocates for the continuing plundering of our housing stock by the short-term vacation rental industry.