Lane County deflection program reports early results: 210 people referred since October launch; navigators and housing cited as key

Lane County officials on July 29 gave an update on the county’s deflection program — a law‑enforcement‑linked pathway that diverts people with suspected behavioral‑health or substance‑use needs away from booking and into treatment and housing resources. The county launched the program in October 2024 and has recorded 210 people entered into the program, 68 currently active participants and 16 successful completions, officials said.

Clint Riley, the county’s deflection program manager, described the field process. When an officer encounters a person who meets program eligibility — low‑level offenses, drug possession, trespass, disorderly conduct or situations where officers identify a treatment need even when no crime has been committed — officers may offer a deflection referral. “If the person agrees to go into deflection, law enforcement leaves, and the navigator takes it from there,” Riley said, describing a warm handoff to peer navigators who meet the person on scene or shortly afterward.

Riley and partners credited two contracted providers — Ideal Option and Revelry — for 24/7 peer navigators and for emergency shelter temporarily placed at Reveille that allow immediate housing and a rapid next step into detox or residential care. The county’s contract managers said the most important meeting is the next‑day navigator intake, where a person‑centered plan is developed and case management begins.

The program’s quantitative snapshot: 210 people entered; 68 active; 16 completed successfully (completion requires at least 90 days engaged); 128 people were removed from the program for reasons including lack of contact; average days before removal was 63 and average days for people successfully completing the program was about 131 days. Riley said roughly 30 percent of referrals began as “no‑crime” referrals where officers identified a need for help but did not have probable cause for arrest.

District Attorney Chris Perosa and lane County officials highlighted law‑enforcement buy‑in. Paul Solomon, criminal‑justice consultant and chair of the Criminal Justice Commission (CJC), told the board Lane County’s model is unusually broad: “Lane County is barely unique in the number of offenses beyond possession of a controlled substance that they’re allowing in the program,” he said, adding that broad eligibility and warm handoffs help the county reach people a narrower program would miss.

Funding and the state’s new program structure were a major policy focus. Speakers described legislation that reorganized criminal‑justice grant programs and created a new CJC‑administered grant model that will allocate an initial tranche of funding by formula and then award additional funds competitively based on adherence to statewide “best practices” (warm handoffs, peer navigators, housing, law‑enforcement participation). Paul Solomon and county administrators said the county is well positioned under the new rules because its program already meets those practices, but they cautioned that details of invoicing or reimbursement will matter: the county’s two major contracts rely on predictable front‑end funding, and a reimbursement model could create operational risk.

Officials said data collection and evaluation are central to sustaining and growing the program. The county is producing a live dashboard (updated as DA case data are entered) that shows referrals by ZIP code and month and allows staff to track outcomes and participant demographics. The county also contracted with Oregon Social Learning Center for qualitative evaluation interviews with participants, providers, navigators and law enforcement to identify what is working and why.

Speakers emphasized early outcomes beyond arrest avoidance: reconnection with family supports, movement to stable housing and steps toward employment or continued treatment once engaged. Commissioners praised the cross‑sector partnerships; several asked staff to continue reporting measurable outcomes and to share disaggregated results with state lawmakers as the CJC implements the new funding model.

Participants and providers said the program’s combination of immediate housing, peer navigators with lived experience, and law‑enforcement willingness to make warm referrals is a key driver of early results. The board received the update and directed staff and program partners to continue reporting monthly operational metrics and the qualitative evaluation results to the board and to the Criminal Justice Commission.