‘We were singled out’: ClackCo. leaders react to denied funding for drug treatment plan
PORTLAND, Ore. (KOIN) – Clackamas County leaders are fired up after being denied funding for plans that would have created a center to provide drug users an option to seek treatment and avoid jail time.
The program proposed by the county was meant to comply with House Bill 4002, which will recriminalize the possession of small amounts of hard drugs starting Sept. 1. In preparation, county officials developed a plan that would direct those caught with drugs to community court and use pending legal charges to encourage people to get treatment.
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However, the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission ruled that Clackamas County’s plan was not really “deflection,” but rather “diversion.” Due to this difference, the county was not eligible to receive the same funding granted to Multnomah County for a similar program.
“We have two competing visions on how to solve this problem,” Commissioner Ben West said in a Tuesday board meeting. “It looks like this committee is made up of people who help create the problem and now they want to pretend like they have the authority to solve it. This board is made up of those that are responsible for the bad policy that we are living with today and we are all sick of.”
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Clackamas County Chair Tootie Smith said the county was “singled out not to have funding.”
Smith, a Republican, is in a tough fight to keep her seat as she faces a Democrat, former Clackamas County Sheriff Craig Roberts, in the November election after he almost won in the primary. According to Smith, Gov. Kotek and those on the state committee making funding decisions support her opponent and want to make her look bad.
According to a statement from District Attorney John Wentworth on Monday, the committee’s denial not only means Clackamas County will not have a deflection program, but also the county will instead have to prosecute offenders before offering treatment.
“Years before HB4002 was enacted, Clackamas County developed a program to deflect those suffering from drug addiction away from the criminal justice system and into treatment. Our program was successful. We know what works. Measure 110 destroyed that program. A committee made up of members from outside our county are now saying they know better than we do what works in Clackamas County. …We submitted a proposal for a program that aligns with HB 4002, and created the best program we could with the funds we were given based on our past success.”
Gov. Kotek has asked the commission to have clear and consistent reasoning for all application decisions.
The state committee will meet again Wednesday to continue reviewing applications for deflection programs, where Washington County’s plan will be up for a vote.
Stay with KOIN 6 News as this story develops.
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