20210127-05906-67

Priority Area 1: Convene oversight committee to develop and administer IMPACTS program.
Background: SB 973 established a 19-member Grant Review Committee (GRC) co-chaired by the Oregon Criminal Justice Commission (CJC) and the Oregon Health Authority (OHA) to oversee the IMPACTS program. The bill also created two subcommittees, the Quality Improvement (QI) Subcommittee to develop and monitor program reporting and outcome measures and the Policy Recommendation Subcommittee to explore further policy discussions relevant to the intersection of criminal justice and behavioral health.

The GRC is responsible for the overall administration of the IMPACTS program, including defining a set of approved supports and services that are authorized for IMPACTS funding, determining the application and selection process, administering fiscal and data reporting, and monitoring grantee progress and outcomes. OHA and CJC are tasked with jointly staffing the committee, developing long-term implementation strategies, and leading data collection and program evaluation efforts.

The GRC and the QI Subcommittee meet monthly. The Policy Recommendation Subcommittee will begin meeting further into IMPACTS program implementation.

Update: In September, the GRC met to receive updates on the grant contracting process, approve permanent program administrative rules, and discuss technical assistance options.

CSG Justice Center staff presented the results of a technical assistance survey of grantees and applicants that did not receive funding and discussed potential technical assistance opportunities for addressing identified technical assistance needs.

Prior to the meeting, CSG Justice Center staff assisted CJC staff in developing an outline of the GRC report due to the legislature in January. At their September meeting, the GRC reviewed and provided feedback on this outline.

Priority Area 2: Equitably include tribal governments in IMPACTS program planning and administration.
Background: At least one IMPACTS grant award is prioritized for tribal nations in statute. In addition, Oregon has a strong government-to-government relationship with the nine federally recognized tribes in the state that includes a formal engagement process when state programs and policies have a significant impact on tribal members and interests. This process is referred to as “consultation” and includes formal written notification to tribal leadership and the opportunity for tribes to collectively or individually provide either written or in-person input. The IMPACTS administrative rules, application, and tribal set-aside funding amount are all expected to go through consultation to incorporate input from the tribes.

Update: In September, CSG Justice Center staff joined OHA and CJC staff on calls with tribal government grantees to discuss target population data and technical assistance needs. Due to extensive wildfires affecting several tribes, all calls could not be completed in September and so will continue into October. The information from these calls will inform a broader technical assistance plan, as well as focused tribal government assistance.

At the September GRC meeting, CSG Justice Center staff proposed contracting with a tribal technical assistance provider to bolster assistance provided to tribal government grantees. The GRC was supportive of this option.

Priority Area 3: Establish program data collection, monitoring, and evaluation processes.
Background: The GRC is required by statute to create a QI Subcommittee, which will establish clear, meaningful outcome measures and reporting metrics to demonstrate how pilot sites meet program goals; create a state-level system for collecting information about people who are high utilizers; and develop a program evaluation to understand how IMPACTS is working and improving public safety and health outcomes in Oregon communities.

Update: The QI Subcommittee did not meet in September.

Grantees began providing target population data to CJC staff using the reporting template developed by CSG Justice Center staff. This data includes aggregate demographic information, as well as jail, emergency room, and state hospital usage rates. CSG Justice Center staff also joined CJC and OHA staff on individual calls with grantees to better understand data collection needs and challenges. Due to wildfires affecting several grantees, all calls could not be completed in September and so will continue into October.

CSG Justice Center staff began helping grantees troubleshoot data collection challenges, including information sharing between criminal justice and health care systems.

Along with CJC and OHA staff, CSG Justice Center staff co-presented on the IMPACTS program at a meeting of Coordinated Care Organizations (CCO) Oregon where options for improving the sharing and integration of criminal justice and behavioral health data were discussed.

Priority Area 4: Implement county and tribal government programs funded by IMPACTS
Background: The purpose of the IMPACTS grant program is to increase community supports and services for people with behavioral health issues who are also high utilizers of criminal justice resources with the goal of improving individual outcomes and reducing jail, emergency room, and state hospital usage. For the 2020 - 2022 grant cycle, five tribal governments and eleven counties applied for over $21 million in grant funding. As the Oregon Legislature only allocated $9.7 million to the IMPACTS program the application process was highly competitive. After two days of review and deliberation, the GRC awarded IMPACTS funding on July 9 to all five tribal government applicants and six county applicants of varying geography and size.

Funded programs engage the target population across the sequential intercept model, but primarily focus on increasing community supports and services at intercepts 0-2. Examples of IMPACTS-funded programming include crisis stabilization, law enforcement diversion, forensic response teams, supportive housing, reentry programming, culturally specific services, telehealth, and jail diversion. Grantees receive two years of funding and must provide regular progress and financial reports to CJC, OHA, and the GRC to monitor program implementation and evaluate outcomes.

Update: In September, CSG Justice Center staff began reviewing the results of the technical assistance survey sent to grantees and applicants in August to learn more about their technical assistance needs and implementation challenges. OHA, CJC, and CSG Justice Center staff also held follow-up calls with grantees to discuss survey results in more detail. Although some follow-up calls were delayed by wildfires, CSG Justice Center staff were able to begin identifying the following areas where respondents most requested assistance:
• Data collection and information sharing
• Program sustainability
• Housing best practices and strategies for the target population
• County and tribal government relationship building in support of a shared target population
• Outcome measurement and evaluation

At the September GRC meeting, CSG Justice Center staff presented these results to the committee and reviewed potential technical assistance options to support grantees and applicants.