Clatsop County plans ‘deflection’ program, new supported housing and staffing hires to link treatment with housing

Amy Baker, a provider who gave the HSAC monthly provider report, told the council the county is designing a “deflection” program to give law enforcement an alternative to arrest and to route people into treatment and services instead of court or incarceration. “The deflection program is really gonna be aimed towards individuals who are arrested or have the potential to be arrested for things like controlled substances or petty crimes like trespassing,” Baker said. “That program is supposed to go live in September.”

The program is being developed with multiple criminal-justice partners including the sheriff’s department, probation and parole, the courts, the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs and law enforcement, Baker said. People who enter deflection will be offered access to the provider’s full suite of services, she said, including housing support and supported employment; the county plans to hire a drug-and-alcohol clinician to manage additional caseloads created by the program. Baker also said the program team is…