Amid the exploding fentanyl crisis and growing anger over Measure 110′s failed drug decriminalization experiment, Oregon legislators threw counties a lifeline. With House Bill 4002, lawmakers re-established drug possession as a crime, adding back some of the accountability levers that had been missing. But legislators also emphasized the need to keep a health-first focus, urging counties to adopt alternative pathways that would “deflect” drug users to treatment rather than send them through the criminal justice system.

Unfortunately, Multnomah County officials seem intent on going down with the ship. Led by Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson, a small group including outgoing District Attorney Mike Schmidt and Multnomah County Sheriff Nicole Morrisey O’Donnell, has been privately meeting to draw up plans for a deflection program in advance of HB 4002′s Sept. 1 effective date, as The Oregonian/OregonLive’s Noelle Crombie reported. What they’ve come up with, however, smacks of a Measure 110 redux that fails to emphasize either treatment or accountability.

A central piece of the strategy? Give those caught with drugs the choice of being arrested or being taken to a drop-off center where they can just walk away after check-in – no sign-up for treatment necessary. It’s as if we’ve learned nothing from escalating fentanyl deaths and the ineffective approach embedded in Measure 110. In that program, drug users were given citations that could be erased if the person called a hotline to be connected with screening services – a step few took.

Multnomah County’s plan doesn’t skimp on just accountability - it also lacks any specificity about what treatment services could be available, who will provide them and even where the currently non-existent drop-off center would be built. It also falls far short of providing the “evidence-based solutions” that Vega Pederson, Schmidt and Morrisey O’Donnell outlined in a letter to legislators expressing their commitment to develop a deflection system. And under the county’s current plan, repeat offenders can choose the drop-off option over and over again, and still avoid criminal prosecution without committing to treatment.

“Deflection success does not require proof of an assessment or specific follow up steps be reported to the criminal justice system,” Alicia Temple, Vega Pederson’s policy adviser on HB 4002, wrote in an update to commissioners last month.

Success should require actual success. This plan has failure written all over it.

Sadly, at this point, should anyone be surprised that the county’s definition of “success” is so unambitious and underwhelming? This county’s leadership has dithered for years on addressing critical behavioral health needs, such as building a sobering center to replace one that closed more than four years ago. The county’s recent 90-day fentanyl “emergency” began with a muddled set of objectives and ended with a murky impact on an overdose crisis that has only intensified. In budget discussions, health officials cautioned that their plans for the coming fiscal year would likely temper, but not reverse, the county’s surge in fentanyl deaths – which has already hit 179 confirmed or suspected fentanyl overdose deaths this year. And health officials’ responses as a whole reflect what Commissioners Sharon Meieran and Julia Brim-Edwards have persistently highlighted – the lack of a coordinated, outcome-focused strategy for bringing the services, leadership and urgency that the county is obligated to provide. Unfortunately, that helter-skelter approach is showing up in the lack of preparation for HB 4002.

County spokesman Ryan Yambra, responding on behalf of Vega Pederson and Schmidt, noted that the group is continuing to develop its plans and is working with law enforcement to make sure they can intervene and confiscate drugs as part of the increased authority granted by HB 4002. While a key factor in the overall change in drug possession response, however, the county should be focusing first and foremost on making sure it has a coordinated program to get drug users into programs starting Sept. 1.

Yambra said that as planning continues, elements of the deflection program – including what is ultimately required by those sent to the drop-off center – can change. Change should begin with expanding the group involved in its development. Key elected officials including District Attorney-elect Nathan Vasquez and the other four members of the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners have not been invited to participate, despite requests by some to be involved. And oddly, the county failed to resend an invitation to Portland Police Association president Aaron Schmautz after initially emailing him at an outdated account.

Including their input makes sense not only because they will be held accountable by the public for the program, but also because they bring highly relevant experience and ideas. Unfortunately, Vega Pederson in a board meeting last week sought to dismiss Meieran’s and Brim-Edwards’ push for additional involvement, asserting that updates and some planned discussions in the future are sufficient. Meanwhile Schmidt, through a spokeswoman, made plain that he does not see a role for Vasquez in shaping the program he will inherit in January. “If DA Schmidt needs input from members of his team as it relates to drug crimes and deflection, he will seek it out, as he routinely does. At this point, Nathan has his job to do as a Senior Deputy, and DA Schmidt has his job to do as the elected DA,” Schmidt’s spokeswoman, Elizabeth Merah, wrote.

With just over two months left before drug possession is recriminalized, Vega Pederson should commit to sharing more information with the public beyond the limited opportunities that the county has scheduled so far. The first is an online-meeting Monday that the public can watch in which the group will brief local public safety organizations about the developing plan. The second is a board meeting scheduled for July. Considering the high-level of public interest in Measure 110 and the rollback, elected officials owe the public far more chances to learn – and give feedback – on the program they are setting up.

But the county should not ignore the opportunity and obligation that HB 4002 presents. Leaders need to show they are up to this challenge – or step aside and let others take over.

-The Oregonian/OregonLive Editorial Board