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November 17, 2021
Media contact: Aria Seligmann, ari.l.seligmann@dhsoha.state.or.us
503-910-9239
The Measure 110 Drug Treatment and Recovery Act Oversight and Accountability Council (OAC), appointed by Oregon Health Authority and charged with developing rules and eligibility requirements for establishing Behavioral Health Resource Networks (BHRNs) throughout the state, is excited to announce the opening of the BHRNs request for grant proposals application period.
The OAC will distribute $270M to organizations that will work together to provide services to all Oregonians who need treatment and support for substance use concerns, including housing, harm reduction, peer support, supported employment, and substance use disorder treatment. The BHRNs will also help people who request substance use support and other services in lieu of paying a fine for a Class E violation for possession of a small quantity of drugs.
Measure 110 required the OAC to establish the requirements for BHRNs and oversee their funding. At the very heart of Measure 110 is the recognition of the need to provide behavioral healthcare services that will eliminate barriers to access, including harm reduction, low-barrier and individualized treatment.
“Our vision is that by funding BHRNS, there will be a collaboration of networks that include culturally and linguistically specific and responsive, trauma-informed and gender affirming care that will meet the needs of anyone seeking services who have been negatively affected by substance use and the war on drugs,” said Oversight and Accountability Tri-chair LaKeesha Dumas.
Monta Knudson, executive director of Bridges to Change, lauded the efforts of the OAC. "The collaboration taking place across the state with addiction recovery providers, the Measure 110 Oversight and Accountability Council, Oregon Health Authority and other key stakeholders signifies that we're finally on track when it comes to supporting Oregonians struggling with substance use."
The OAC previously awarded $33M in Access to Care grants to 48 organizations, Oregon’s Nine Federally Recognized Tribes and the Urban Indian Health Program, to deliver services to communities most impacted by substance use disorder, including communities of color and Tribal communities. Each of the organizations demonstrated an understanding of the need to center equity and the ability to deliver quality services to priority communities.
Read more about Measure 110
Background: In November 2020, Oregon voters passed Measure 110, the Drug Addiction Treatment and Recovery Act of 2020, which became effective on Dec. 4, 2020, to better serve people actively using substances or diagnosed with a substance use disorder. In July 2021, the Legislature amended the Act with SB 755, which amended the act and made it more feasible to implement.
People who provide drug treatment and recovery services and advocates for criminal justice reform wrote Measure 110 in response to the high rate of drug addiction and overdoses in Oregon, and the disproportionate impact of those outcomes on Oregon’s communities of color. Their goal was to establish a more equitable and effective approach to substance use disorder. Oregon Health Authority agrees with the advocates and voters that a holistic, health-based approach to addressing addiction and overdoses is more helpful, caring and cost-effective than punishing and criminalizing people who need help.
A general information session on Measure 110 will be held Friday, Nov. 19, 2021, from 11 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. via Zoom: https://www.zoomgov.com/j/1610259770?pwd=OGVVNVcxM3ZZL2xodjcwYWQ4OVJyZz09
Anyone may join the session to learn more about the measure.
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