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New law spurs rocky rollout of drug ‘deflection’

With Oregon set to recriminalize drug possession, 8 counties haven’t set up required programs to help people avoid jail time.

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As the start date for Oregon’s new law recriminalizing drug possession nears, more than a half dozen counties have not set up programs for people arrested with narcotics to avoid immediate jail time. And the most populous county — where fentanyl use became the rallying cry for the change — has delayed opening a treatment center.

A new misdemeanor charge for possession of small amounts of illicit drugs goes into effect Sept. 1, ending a key component of Measure 110, which won voter approval in November of 2020.

The 2024 Legislature set aside $20 million for counties and tribes to set up the so-called “deflection” programs. Lawmakers referred to the bill as a “first step” in addressing Oregon’s ongoing drug crisis, saying their intent was to offer “off ramps” to treatment instead of jail.

While counties have discretion on how they operate their own programs, in order to get the state grants, they must be coordinated with a district attorney, local law enforcement, a community mental health organization and a provider from a Behavioral Health Resource Network established under Measure 110.

Counties also must have a deflection coordinator and report data to the Criminal Justice Commission.

Of those that have applied, at least 11 won’t be fully operational by Sept. 1.

And while some counties will offer additional opportunities for deflection, others have established more rigid timelines and requirements.

Another issue: Counties are concerned there is no commitment from the state to continue funding the programs they are creating after the end of the current budget year, which ends on June 30, 2025.

Snapshot of county deflection programs in Oregon

When lawmakers sent House Bill 4002 to Gov. Tina Kotek, 23 Oregon counties had signed “letters of commitment” to offer deflection programs. Additional counties later took steps to design their own.

A total of 28 counties representing 27 programs (Hood River and Wasco will operate as a consortium) applied for a portion of the more than $18 million set aside for development and operation of their programs.

Counties had until July 1 to apply for the Behavioral Health Deflection grants, awarded and monitored by the Criminal Justice Commission.

Eight of Oregon’s least-populated and most politically conservative counties — Coos, Curry, Douglas, Jefferson, Lake, Sherman, Wallowa and Wheeler — did not apply. The new law directs judges in these counties to place defendants on 18-months probation. If probation is revoked, the individual could face 180 days in jail.

Nearly two-thirds of the counties that will have deflection programs plan to be operational by Sept. 1. Those counties are Baker, Clackamas, Clatsop, Deschutes, Gilliam, Harney, Klamath, Malheur, Marion, Morrow, Multnomah, Polk, Umatilla, Union, Washington and Yamhill.

Several are adopting a model similar to the Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion program already in place in Marion County.

And all but Tillamook County — which is still in the planning stages of creating a deflection program — said their deflection programs would use officer intervention.

Criminal Justice Commission will collect, review deflection data

The new law calls for the Criminal Justice Commission to track and report on “simple, clear and meaningful data concerning deflection program outcomes, including connections to social services and criminal justice system avoidance, and other data.”

The commission’s IMPACTS grant review committee also signs off on funds for county proposals. It held three meetings this month reviewing applications. All were approved.

The CJC is partnering with Oregon Health & Science University and Portland State University School of Public Health researchers to collect data from the various programs. The data will include deflection program outcomes, deflections, arrests, charges, convictions for the new charges, and race and ethnicity.

A “best practices” report based on analysis of the data is expected April 1, 2025. An annual report also will be prepared by the end of September 2025.

The commission also will use the report to make recommendations for future funding of the program, according to the bill.

Marion County expanding LEAD program, establishing new court

Deflection in Marion County will rely on the expansion of the existing Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion program, commonly referred to as LEAD, and the creation of a new “RESTORE court” which stands for REStitution & Treatment On Route to Expungement.

LEAD — based on a national program that began in Seattle — diverts “low-level offenders” to services. Individuals are referred to the program by officers after arrests or through social referrals.

Leaders of the LEAD program testified during the 2024 legislative session that 50% of referrals come from police contact at the time of arrest, but they expect law enforcement referrals to grow with the new law.

Qualifying factors for diversion in Marion County include: a chargeable offense, a history of low-level crime, multiple arrest cycles, no victim with potential restitution, no history of violent crime and the individual is not a sex offender.

Three navigators provide mentorship and individualized action plans for recovery. They are available 24 hours a day, year-round.

In its application for its $1.3 million diversion grant, Marion County said the money would, in part, go toward:

  • A new management analyst
  • A new LEAD navigator
  • A new deputy dedicated to accompanying the navigator
  • A new mental health specialist as part of a new LEAD outreach team

“Our designated outreach team will focus on overdoses and responding within so many hours of an overdose as part of the duties,” said program Sgt. M.J. Sphoon.

Navigators include Renee Pfeffer and Helen Rice, who both testified in support of HB4002 by sharing their experience from addiction to sobriety to being a LEAD navigator.

“I’ve been where they’re at,” Rice said during a February hearing. “If you don’t hold these people accountable, who will?”

Pfeffer told the Statesman Journal the possibility of a suspended prison sentence in 2004 led to her enrolling in treatment.

“Both of us, if we weren’t held accountable for our actions when we were in our addiction, neither of us would be sitting here right now,” Pfeffer said. 

Data from May on 85 LEAD participants showed rates of housing jumped from 18% to 62% after six months of participation, employment improved from 21% to 53%, and drug usage dropped from 89% to 53%. 

There also were notable reductions in law enforcement contacts with participants the longer they were enrolled. 

The new program, RESTORE, will sit under Marion County’s deflection umbrella, allowing offenders with a low-level property felony charge in addition to possession to “work off” their restitution obligations via community service.

“RESTORE Court Work Crews are an extension of deflection benefits to otherwise ineligible participants and reflects our attempt to expand the spirit of HB 4002 to additional charges driven by addiction,” according to the county’s funding application.

Those assigned to the RESTORE court docket will be required to be actively involved in treatment associated with LEAD. Completion of treatment and restitution will lead to expungement of criminal charges.

Some of the state funds also will be used for a new dedicated deputy district attorney assigned to support the RESTORE court, a new legal secretary to support the deputy DA and a new deputy to oversee the RESTORE court work crew.

How Lane County’s drug diversion program will work 

Lane County’s deflection program will largely draw from Marion County’s model. It is estimated to be operational on Oct. 1.

Until then, the district attorney’s office will offer diversions for possession of controlled substances. Individuals will have to enter the criminal justice system for that first month and will be referred to the nonprofit Emergence for treatment and services.

“It’s tried and tested,” Lane County District Attorney Christopher Parosa said about the Marion County program.

Parosa said his office envisions the program as an alternative to incarceration while allowing law enforcement to respond to community concerns.

“Officers, I think, are thirsting for another option to be available to them,” Parosa said. Law enforcement “can call in a peer navigator and be assured at some level that this person is going to be offered the kind of treatment services that is clear and apparent to the officer is needed on the scene.” 

Seventeen organizations have participated in creating the program which will be coordinated by Clint Riley, a former jail commander at the Lane County Jail who worked for the sheriff’s office for nearly 30 years.

To be eligible, individuals will have to have been charged with a low-level quality of life crime and a resident of Lane County.

Navigators will immediately make contact with the individual and work on onboarding them, conducting assessments and preparing referrals.

Charges would be held in abeyance, and if deflection is completed, criminal charges would not be filed. If someone is unsuccessful with deflection, an extended deflection could be offered or the person could enter a criminal system diversion program or go to regular criminal proceedings.

Self-referrals also will be accepted in Lane County, but those individuals would not receive as intensive case management as those who are charged, according to the county’s application.

The program intentionally does not have a rigid timeline or exact definition of “success.”

The DA’s office will rely on navigators to communicate and determine if a client is engaged and trying, Parosa and Riley said.

Individuals will not be limited to how many times they may be referred to deflection. Benchmarks that could indicate success, according to the county’s application, include reduced involvement in the criminal justice system, a reduction in visits to an emergency room, or improved treatment and sobriety outcomes.

Everything will be on a case-by-case basis, to recognize that what works for one individual does not always work for another, Riley said.

“I don’t want to set ourselves up for, you know, we set a bunch of really strict guidelines and then we get into January and we were off the mark,” Riley said. “But there is going to be accountability.”

As the program is currently designed, Riley will be the connection between law enforcement, the DA’s office, courts, navigators and treatment providers. 

Five navigators will manage case files and regularly report to Riley on their clients.

A portion of the nearly $1.9 million program will go toward a new paralegal in the DA’s office who will track all cases of unlawful possession of controlled substances and those who are enrolled in deflection.

If navigators determine deflection is not working, the paralegal will report those cases, to be brought into the system and prosecuted.

“We’re going to put a lot of faith and trust that these peer navigators,” Parosa said. “When they tell us that we’ve reached the end of what can be done for (someone), that’s when we will get active, but not before. We’re going to rely on our experts.” 

The DA’s office, he said, is not charged with overseeing drug treatment. 

The program will be able work with 100 to 150 people at a time to start. But the county had more than 1,000 possession-type charges in 2019, before Measure 110, Parosa said.

“I fear we’re going to hit capacity really quickly once officers are allowed to use and refer people into deflection,” he said. “That’s my big fear early on, is that we’re going to hit a capacity limitation, and then we’ll be in the process of turning the spigot on and off all the time for the deflection program.”

Polk County’s deflection program will be less flexible than some

Polk County will follow an “officer intervention model.”

Eligibility will be based on whether individuals in possession of small amounts of narcotics are residents of the county, have no other charges pending, are not on any form of law enforcement supervision, have a nonviolent criminal history, and there is no victim or restitution required.

Jodi Merritt, one of the leaders involved in the planning Polk County’s deflection program, said the program is a reflection of the county’s limitations. LEAD is resource-heavy, for example, she said.

“We do have resource issues here. We have workforce issues here,” said Merritt, who leads the Polk County Community Corrections department where the deflection coordinator works. “So at this point, it’s just very simple. It’s just citation and abeyance and referral to treatment.”

Officers in Polk County will issue a possession of a controlled substance citation and provide a deflection program brochure that has contact information for the local coordinator.

The individual will be required to contact the coordinator within seven days.

If they are eligible, they will be enrolled and referred to a Polk County Behavioral Health certified recovery mentor for screening, assessment, and support for signing up for treatment. After 30 days of successful engagement in treatment, they would “graduate.”

If the cited individual does not qualify for deflection, their case will be referred to the Polk County District Attorney’s Office for a court hearing.

Individuals arrested in Polk County will be eligible for deflection one time.

“There has to be accountability,” Sheriff Mark Garton said of the single opportunity for deflection.

“I know that treatment doesn’t always work on the first try or second try. Sometimes it takes 10 times,” Garten said. “But we can’t sacrifice the livability issues that drug use has for our community.” 

The sheriff said the county expects to be operational on Sept. 1.

The $214,422 Polk County received from the state will cover the salaries of the deflection coordinator, a part-time deputy district attorney to assist in reviewing referrals, creation of a training video for law enforcement and rental assistance and other support for clients.

Funding also has been set aside for two “TruNarc” devices to be shared by the sheriff’s office and Monmouth, Independence and Dallas police, to identify the types of narcotics individuals are in possession of when arrested.

Multnomah County delays deflection center opening

In Multnomah County, the focus of Oregon’s drug crisis, rollout of part of a deflection program has been delayed.

In January, Kotek declared a 90-day state of emergency to address the fentanyl crisis, targeting use in Portland and Multnomah County where fatal overdoses reached new highs, according to a report from the county health department. She also directed Oregon State Police to crack down on fentanyl distribution with additional staff to drug enforcement teams and other initiatives.

The county’s proposed deflection program would require eligible individuals to receive a screening, referral to services and engage with those services within 30 days.

Law enforcement would either follow a “non-drop off path” to offer someone deflection or take someone to a “treatment readiness drop off center.”

A portion of the $3.8 million allocated for the county’s program had been proposed for leasing a building to become a drop-off treatment center, transportation to the center, and center security and staffing.

But earlier this month, at least one county commissioner proposed pausing the opening of the deflection center.

Multnomah County Commissioner Sharon Meieran, who represents the district where the proposed center is located, said too many questions about security and services remain unanswered.

“Most decisions regarding facility operations have been made behind closed doors without opportunity for public engagement,” Meieran wrote.

On Aug. 19, officials announced the opening would be delayed until October.

“We are going to take the additional time we need to open in a way that’s safest for the people we are trying to serve, for staff, and for our community,” Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson said in a prepared statement.

Pederson said the county will offer deflection beginning Sept. 1 using mobile units until October to refer people to treatment and services.

County officials have said a 24-hour sobering center also is expected to open in 2026. 

Dianne Lugo covers the Oregon Legislature and equity issues. Reach her at [email protected] or on X @DianneLugo

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