Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Behavioral Health Deflection topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Deschutes officials offer legislative delegation tour of local deflection program; lawmakers say county model merits review
Summary
County commissioners told legislators April 18 that Deschutes County’s deflection program has shown early success and offered to host legislators for an on-site briefing; legislators expressed interest and some offered to schedule visits after session.
Deschutes County commissioners on April 18 urged their legislative delegation to review the county’s deflection program, saying early results show progress at the interface of public safety and behavioral health.
Commissioner Chang described local experience: “We have done a great job in Deschutes County with rolling out, deflection, you know, kind of Deschutes County style…it's showing, you know, some significant progress and success in, you know, just these 7 to 8 months, of work.” Chang asked legislators to consider a site visit to see operations first-hand.
Representative Bereczki (Representative Bereczki noted by staff participation on the call) responded that he would like to visit and that a tour could be scheduled after the legislative session. “During session, probably not, but after session, I think maybe Doug could schedule something for legislators to come up for a morning or an afternoon…and just kinda see what's going on on the ground,” he said.
County staff and legislative offices said they would follow up to arrange a demonstration and share materials for Ways and Means deliberations where funding for behavioral-health programs may be considered.
County officials also offered to supply program details to legislators preparing for budget and Ways and Means discussions.
