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County justice director warns of budget cuts and rising detention lengths
Summary
Multnomah County’s Department of Community Justice told Portland’s Community and Public Safety Committee that state funding shortfalls and court delays have increased detention lengths for youth and eroded specialized services, while county general funds now cover large portions of community corrections programming.
Denise Pena, director of the Multnomah County Department of Community Justice, briefed the Community and Public Safety Committee on the department’s role, scale and funding pressures.
"My name is Denise Pena. I am the director of the department of community justice," Pena said, describing DCJ’s operations: more than 400 staff, service to over 10,000 justice-involved people, and an operating budget she characterized as "nearly a $116,000,000." She told the committee state funding under Senate Bill 1145 does not cover the full cost of local community corrections functions and that DCJ absorbed roughly a 5% reduction this budget year.
DCJ division directors described services in more detail. Tiara Hubbard, adult services director, said ASD supervises over 7,000 adults annually with roughly 4,500 on active supervision and outlined specialty units and the Stabilization and Readiness Program (SARP), which serves clients with acute behavioral-health needs and has been supported by ARPA and county general funds. Dr. Kyla Armstrong Romero, juvenile services director, flagged a rise in youth held far beyond the facility’s short-term design: "we are seeing an unprecedented increase in youth held for over 500 days," she said, noting roughly 25% of average daily population falls into long-stay categories and that lengthened court processing contributes to capacity strain.
Council members asked for disaggregated data on detention lengths and demographics; DCJ said those data exist and can be provided to council staff and acknowledged the department’s limited ability to increase nonmandated programs due to funding cuts. DCJ leaders emphasized partnerships with city agencies, courts, the district attorney and nonprofit treatment providers and urged continued coordination to preserve mandated services and mitigate downstream impacts on victims and communities.
