After rolling back Measure 110, counties are working on a deflection program to help people who could face criminal charges for possession of small amounts of drugs to seek addiction treatment as an alternative.
Umatilla County is preparing to get its program put in place by Oct. 1. Morrow County District Attorney Justin Nelson said his county remains up in the air about what the plan is and how it’s going to function.
Starting Sept. 1, Oregon began recriminalizing drug possession of certain narcotics, roughly three years after voters approved Measure 110 to decriminalize possession of small amounts of drugs.
House Bill 4002 from the 2024 Legislature reversed portions of 110 and introduced the Oregon Behavioral Health Deflection Grant Program to award grants to counties and tribes to fund deflection programs for people to avoid incarceration.
Each county is structuring its own deflection plan as part of an effort between law enforcement agencies and behavioral health facilities to assist individuals who struggle with risky substance use.
According to the OBHD Grant Program application update, Umatilla County received $349,706 and Morrow County received $149, 998.14 to build their plans.
Mark Royal is Umatilla County’s deflection program coordinator. The former director of Umatilla County Community Corrections is banding together with Community Counseling Solutions and law enforcement agencies on laying out the deflection plan.
Royal said when an officer gives a person a citation for possession of controlled substance-unclassified, he will be notified along with a peer navigator/mentor and a case manager to go over with the individual on the guidelines of the program.
“Then the individual makes some decision if they want to participate or not,” Royal said. “And then are entered in some kind of treatment service indicated by a screening assessment.”
Royal said a person usually has six weeks to appear in court following a citation. Although the law took effect Sept. 1 and the program begins Oct. 1, people still would be able to have an opportunity to get into the program.
According to the Umatilla County Deflection Protocols packet, a successful completion of the program would require an individual to have demonstrated engagement in any recommended substance abuse disorder or other recommended treatment for a period of 120 consecutive days. The program measures this in feedback from the treatment provider, treatment records, urine analysis and more.
Failure of the program would show a person obtained new criminal charges other than possession of controlled substance, failure to appear to a court date or not sufficiently engaging in the program.
Royal said court appearances for the citation will be in Pendleton rather than Hermiston until further changes have been made.
