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Kotek pushes for more treatment beds, workforce funding and changes to civil-commitment practice
Summary
Governor Tina Kotek proposed targeted budget investments to add treatment capacity, bolster the behavioral health workforce and adjust civil-commitment criteria to reduce backlogs at the Oregon State Hospital.
Gov. Tina Kotek told the Legislature that increasing treatment capacity and strengthening the behavioral health workforce are central priorities in the coming budget cycle.
Kotek said she set a target after a state-commissioned regional study to add 465 new treatment beds by the end of 2026 and that a public dashboard is available to track progress. "To strengthen the workforce needed to help more people, I have focused on eliminating the backlog at Oregon's health licensing boards so qualified counselors and social workers can get to work," she said.
The governor proposed specific budget items to expand capacity and stabilize the workforce. She told lawmakers her recommended budget "continues to deploy a dual strategy of increasing treatment capacity and strengthening the available workforce" and identified $90,000,000 and $50,000,000 as targeted investments to expand bed capacity and bolster provider recruitment and retention, respectively.
Kotek described strains at the Oregon State Hospital tied to "aid and assist" patients who are there to receive competency-related treatment for pending criminal cases. She said nearly three out of four people at the hospital for aid-and-assist treatment were homeless or in shelters at arrest, and six out of 10 have a psychotic disorder. "It's nearly impossible to get long-term psychiatric hospital level care through civil commitment or voluntary commitment because of the needs of the judicial system filling up Oregon State Hospital beds," she said.
The governor also asked for policy changes to create more community civil-commitment options and to dedicate permanent supportive housing with enhanced on-site services for people with serious mental illness. She directed her team to develop a model she called "intensive permanent supportive housing" intended to serve people who can live independently with enhanced supports.
Kotek presented these items as budget recommendations and administrative directions; the funding figures and statutory changes she proposed will require legislative approval and further administrative work before they take effect.
