Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Mental Health Mobile Crisis topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Marion County approves $627,820 agreement to relaunch mobile crisis teams with sheriff's office
Summary
County health officials will pass through up to $627,820 to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office to relaunch a mobile crisis response team that pairs a mental health clinician with a deputy, funded mostly by a U.S. Department of Justice grant.
Marion County commissioners on Wednesday approved an intergovernmental agreement that will pass through up to $627,820 to the Marion County Sheriff’s Office to support a mobile crisis response team serving the county through Sept. 30, 2027.
Health and Human Services Assistant Division Director Brett Martin told the board the county received a $550,000 federal grant from the U.S. Department of Justice in fall 2024 and was one of 20 government entities in the country — and the only recipient in Oregon — to win the award. He said the county will use the funding to pair a qualified mental health professional with a sheriff’s deputy to respond to mental-health crises in the community and try to divert people from the criminal justice system into services.
“...what we plan to do with this money is to implement our mobile crisis response program, which partners a qualified mental health professional with the American sheriff’s deputy to respond to and support individuals in the community experiencing mental health crisis,” Martin said.
Martin told the board the agreement formalizes the partnership and covers materials, supplies and administrative costs for the sheriff’s office. Of the $627,820 the county will pass through, $550,000 will come from the federal DOJ grant and the remaining $77,820 will be paid from COVID settlement funds.
Commissioners expressed support for restoring the team. Commissioner Cameron moved approval of the intergovernmental agreement; a second was recorded and the motion passed by voice vote.
The program’s timeline and funding: the agreement runs through Sept. 30, 2027; the federal grant covers the majority of the cost, and the county will use COVID settlement funds to cover the shortfall identified by staff. County officials said the mobile teams are intended to reduce arrests and connect people in crisis with appropriate services.
The board did not receive an implementation schedule or a staffing roster during the presentation. Martin said the county originally wrote the grant and worked with federal and state partners to secure the award.
A vote on the contract was recorded as approved by the board; commissioners voted by voice and the chair announced the motion passed.
