Marion County approves DOJ-funded mobile crisis response program with sheriff’s office

The Marion County Board of Commissioners on May 28 unanimously approved an interdepartmental agreement with the Marion County Sheriff’s Office to stand up a mobile crisis response team funded primarily by a 2024 U.S. Department of Justice grant.

Rhett Martin, presenting for Marion County Health and Human Services, said the county received a $550,000 DOJ award in 2024 and is the only government organization in Oregon to receive that grant. "The goal of the program is to divert individuals away from the criminal justice system and connect them with necessary resources," Martin said.

Under the agreement, the county will pay the sheriff’s office an estimated $627,820 through Sept. 30, 2027; about $550,000 of that comes from the federal grant and an estimated $77,820 will come from opioid settlement funds. The program will field one team composed of a qualified mental health professional paired with a Marion County Sheriff’s Office deputy.

Commissioners discussed the program’s limited scale and the need to seek future funding. The board noted plans to brief state legislators and the Oregon Health Authority to pursue continued support after the three-year grant period ends. Commissioner Kevin Cameron moved to approve the agreement; Commissioner Colm Willis seconded. A voice vote was unanimous.

The contract formalizes the partnership between Health and Human Services and the sheriff’s office and sets the implementation timeline through Sept. 30, 2027. The department did not specify the team’s operational hours or number of annual responses; those implementation details will be set by staff under the approved agreement.