ORS 430.231: Improving People’s Access to Community-based Treatment, Supports and Services Program; purpose; duties of Oregon Criminal Justice Commission; rules.

(1) The Improving People’s Access to Community-based Treatment, Supports and Services Program is established in recognition of the shortage of comprehensive community supports and services for individuals with mental health or substance use disorders, leading to their involvement with the criminal justice system, hospitalizations and institutional placements. The purpose of the program is to address this need by awarding grants to counties and Oregon’s federally recognized Indian tribes to establish evidence-based and tribal-based programs to provide the needed supports and services.

      (2) The Oregon Criminal Justice Commission shall adopt rules for administering the program, including rules:

      (a) Identifying the target population of people with frequent criminal justice involvement and behavioral health conditions to be served by the programs funded with the grants;

      (b) Prescribing a methodology for the commission to review and approve grant applications and award grants;

      (c) Establishing program or service outcome measures;

      (d) Establishing criteria for allowing a grant recipient to use a grant or a portion of a grant to:

      (A) Expand the workforce of providers of mental health or substance abuse services in the community; or

      (B) Provide permanent, supportive housing for individuals with mental health or substance use disorders;

      (e) Establishing a process for distributing any unallocated funds;

      (f) Establishing a process for evaluating the efficacy of programs and services funded by the grant program;

      (g) Establishing provisions related to requests by grant recipients to adjust their grant awards; and

      (h) Establishing provisions related to partnerships or collaborations between applicants.

      (3) The commission shall allocate funds in the Improving People’s Access to Community-based Treatment, Supports and Services Account established in ORS 430.233 to grant recipients. The funds may not be used for a purpose other than the programs providing supports and services for which the grants were awarded.

      (4) The commission shall designate a percentage of the funds to be set aside and awarded to at least one federally recognized Indian tribe.

      (5) If unallocated funds remain at the conclusion of the grant acceptance period, the commission may establish a supplemental grant period and distribute the unallocated funds to the counties or Oregon’s federally recognized Indian tribes that received grants.

      (6) Up to 20 percent of the funds in the account may be used for operating a statewide program to support the design and implementation of community-based services, including but not limited to:

      (a) Technical assistance to prospective grant recipients in developing proposals, particularly for developing proposals for supportive housing;

      (b) Technical assistance to grant recipients for troubleshooting data collection requirements and sharing information with third parties as necessary for carrying out the programs;

      (c) Statewide training, provided in-person and remotely, for grant recipients and others, focused on improving outcomes for the target population;

      (d) Making resources available to district attorneys and defense attorneys for consultation on cases involving defendants with complex behavioral health issues;

      (e) Developing or strengthening a centralized system to make available to communities practitioners in professional specialties for which there is a shortage, including practitioners of addiction medicine and psychiatry; and

      (f) Creating or operating information technology systems to support the data system needs for the evaluation, accountability and innovation components of the program.

      (7)(a) The commission shall procure and enter into contracts for goods, services and personal services related to the creation, operation, maintenance and management of information technology systems for the purpose of carrying out this section.

      (b) The commission may procure and enter into contracts for goods, services and personal services related to designing, developing, conducting, performing and completing research, review, audits, statistical analyses, investigations, studies, reports and evaluations for the purpose of carrying out this section.

      (8) Three percent of the funds in the account must be used to support outcome measures, evaluation or both.

      (9) An application for a grant must be submitted by a federally recognized Indian tribe or a county and:

      (a) Must include:

      (A) For applications from counties, a report of the input from the local federally recognized Indian tribes and, to the extent feasible, an explanation of how the input was incorporated into the design of the program, supports and services.

      (B) For applications from federally recognized Indian tribes, a report of the input from the county and, to the extent feasible, an explanation of how the input was incorporated into the design of the program, supports and services.

      (C) An agreement to screen all participants receiving supports and services funded by the grants for potential eligibility for medical assistance and to assist eligible participants to apply for medical assistance, including an agreement for a process for sharing data and protecting the confidentiality of recipients among the program participants.

      (D) A process for program partners, participating jails and hospitals to:

      (i) Provide information upon admission or at intake about the potential risks and benefits of tribal notification; and

      (ii) Offer tribal members the opportunity to disclose their statuses and situations to the federally recognized Indian tribe of their choosing.

      (b) May include a request to have more flexibility in using existing state funding to provide supports and services that address the need described in subsection (1) of this section.

      (c) May include letters of support and commitments from community leaders or organizations, including but not limited to:

      (A) Agencies working with homeless individuals;

      (B) Behavioral health care providers;

      (C) Coordinated care organizations; and

      (D) Local hospitals.

      (10) Grant recipients shall report to the commission on outcome measures or evaluation metrics collected as part of the grant for participants receiving supports and services provided with funds from the grants.

      (11) Data reported by grant recipients under this section shall be used only for statistical purposes and not for any other purpose. Data reports may not contain information that reveals the identity of any individual. Data collected by grant recipients or government agencies or held by the commission under this section that may reveal the identity of any individual is exempt from public disclosure in any manner.