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Multnomah County holds work session on deflection program; officials urge clearer success metrics, more services and data tracking
Summary
At a work session the Board and county, public safety and health partners reviewed first‑year deflection data, debated eligibility and accountability, and identified next steps including defining success, mapping services, and tracking rearrest outcomes before any expansion of charges.
Multnomah County commissioners on Tuesday held a work session on the county’s deflection program, hearing data and recommendations from public defenders, health researchers, the district attorney and service providers about how to increase treatment connections and improve outcomes.
Grant Hartley, director for Metropolitan Public Defenders in Multnomah County, told commissioners deflection should be judged against criminal‑justice alternatives and that measures of success should include incremental steps such as engagement with peers, acquiring identification, participating in detox or connecting to housing. "Progress is...merely progress," Hartley said, urging relationship‑based accountability rather than punishment.
Dr. Dan Hoover of OHSU presented early statewide findings:…
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