Multnomah County: Deflection & Sobering Project

Multnomah County’s Deflection Program connects clients who would otherwise be arrested for possession of a controlled substance to a behavioral health pathway toward recovery. The overall goal of the project was to provide public health and deflection review services to the Multnomah County Health Department’s Behavioral Health Division. The Hatfield Resident Fellow (HRF) was responsible for tracking metrics of other state’s deflection programs, researching facility transportation requirements for interdivision program overview, and applying our findings alongside the implementation of Phase’s 1, 2, and 3 of Multnomah County’s Deflection and Sobering Project. The HRF also assisted in developing a quarterly report for county service reviewal and collaborated with team members to create a comprehensive 1-page document that detailed deflection program findings.