Letter: Booking process needs mental health filter

By Sarah Radcliffe

Within a year, the treatment of people in the Multnomah County jail has improved greatly. The hard work of county officials and line staff ushered in these much-needed changes. At the same time, the need to transform the system, from admission to discharge, is unabated. We're heartened Commissioner Sharon Meieran and Sheriff Michael Reese recognize from a public health and public safety perspective that jail is not a solution for people in mental health crises.

Unfortunately, diversion efforts have faltered. Only three people have been transported to the Cascadia Walk-In Clinic through a six-month-old pilot project launched last fall. Such a program, hinging on individual officers going the extra mile, may not be enough to bring significant, systemic change.

One solution is a mandate to divert. The sheriff's office can reject bookings of people in crisis at its door. Last year, we recommended placing a clinician in booking as a first point-of-contact to filter out people who are in urgent need for physical or mental healthcare. Those people would be sent to the hospital or another appropriate crisis resource. We've seen this model be successful in communities with robust, 24/7 crisis services.

Adding this process would take time and could create backlog. But a waiting line for officers eager to book individuals in mental health crisis into jail may be precisely what's needed. Only when jail is no longer the fastest, most convenient and most guaranteed drop-off location for people in crisis, will we get a different result than the one we're now getting.

-- Sarah Radcliffe, North Portland
She is the managing attorney for Disability Rights Oregon's Mental Health Rights Project.