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County plans school-based counselors, homeless liaison and jail treatment with opioid settlement funds
Summary
Clatsop County staff said settlement payments from national opioid litigation and funds redirected from the city of Astoria will be used to prioritize youth prevention and treatment, including certified alcohol and drug counselors and peer mentors in schools, a countywide homeless liaison, and continued medically assisted treatment in the jail.
Monica Steele, assistant county manager, told the Clatsop County Board of Commissioners that the county has received opioid settlement funds, including the portion that the city of Astoria opted to pass to the county, and that staff have been seeking community input on how to use the funds.
"Some of these settlement payments came in in onetime amounts, and then some of them have set up annual distributions," Steele said, describing a mix of one-time and ongoing payments that staff must consider when proposing long-term programs.
Staff said youth prevention and treatment repeatedly rose to the top of community priorities during outreach, including a youth sequential intercept model (SIM) workshop last September that involved about 30 agencies. Steele said county staff and partners have met with superintendents from all five school districts; those meetings identified a need not only for prevention but for school-based treatment services.
County staff said they will bring a contract proposal to the board for Klotz Behavioral Healthcare to provide certified alcohol and drug counselor (CADC) services and peer mentors placed in schools; Astoria School District has told staff it is prepared to implement placements. Staff said they are working with school districts to identify space and referral pathways and that the county health department is completing surveys of staff and students to clarify needs.
Monica Steele said the county also plans to contract with Clatsop Community Action for a countywide homeless liaison position to build relationships with individuals living outdoors, and to continue funding elements of the medically assisted treatment (MAT) program in the jail where needed.
Commissioner Patricia Thompson asked about the Columbia Pacific Coordinated Care Organization (CPCCO) and whether it had a role; staff said the county has focused on how the settlement funds the county received should be spent locally and has not engaged CPCCO specifically for these dollars, though staff said CPCCO and other organizations may be pursuing their own funds for related work.
No formal board action occurred at the work session; staff said they will return with contract proposals and additional recommendations as survey and stakeholder feedback are finalized.
