PORTLAND, Ore. — Multnomah County has secured a site for a new 24-hour drop-off "treatment readiness center," the county announced Thursday, describing it as a key piece of the "deflection" program that will accompany the recriminalization of simple drug possession in Oregon on Sept. 1.

The facility will eventually also include a new sobering center to replace the former location operated by Central City Concern that shut down in 2020, but that part won't be added until next year. The center will initially offer "screenings, basic need services, and connection to treatment and recovery services," according to a news release from the county.

The drug decriminalization portion of Oregon's controversial Measure 110 was effectively rolled back with the passage of House Bill 4002 earlier this year, but the new law allows counties to set up deflection programs in which police and prosecutors have the option of referring offenders into behavioral health and treatment programs.

The future drop-off center, located at 900 Southeast Sandy Boulevard in Portland's Central Eastside Industrial District, will help police officers start that process by giving them a place to drop off people who have been arrested for simple drug possession, instead of taking them to jail. 

"Treatment remains the most effective pathway to recovery for people struggling with addiction. The readiness center funded by House Bill 4002, where law enforcement will bring individuals for treatment referral, will be an important entry point to create accountability and healing for all of us affected by addiction," Multnomah County Chair Jessica Vega Pederson said in a statement. "Signing the lease for our location is a big step forward toward more treatment readiness on Sept. 1."

The news release doesn't make it entirely clear if the facility will be up and running by the time HB 4002 kicks in on Sept. 1 — it says the county is currently soliciting bids for providers to operate the center and will keep communicating with the public as preparations continue "for the opening of the deflection center this September."

"Prioritizing law enforcement access to a 24-hour treatment readiness center, provides critical support for the community’s most vulnerable," Multnomah County Sheriff Nicole Morrisey O’Donnell said in a statement. "Access to a safe facility saves lives and offers a point of deflection for first responders."

Development of Multnomah County's deflection program is still in progress, and the fledgling effort has recently drawn criticism from District Attorney-elect Nathan Vasquez and Portland police, both of whom argued that the emerging plan's approach forgoes accountability by not requiring offenders to enroll in substance treatment and placing no limit on the number of times they can deflect instead of being sent to jail. Vasquez also said he'd been frozen out of the planning process; he was added to the leadership team about a week later.

The county has been pursuing development of a new sobering center for months, since long before HB 4002 passed and planning for the deflection program began. The county commissioners voted in September 2023 to put $150,000 toward development of a new site, which was expected to take one or two years.

The development process has been controversial, in part because the reality of substance abuse has changed, leading to debates about how much the new center should do. The old sobering center operated for 30 years as essentially a "drunk tank," but it shut down in part because Central City Concern said it wasn't equipped to handle the rise in cases where people were brought in for methamphetamines or opioids rather than alcohol.