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To contact me, please click here: Sen.JaneenSollman@oregonlegislature.gov
Friends and Neighbors,
Team SD 15 is traveling this week for the Eastern Oregon Economic Summit in Hermiston. Due to conference activities, this week's newsletter will be lighter than usual. We look forward to sharing more about what we learned at the conference and connecting with you next week.
Legislative Updates
Governor Kotek, Director Castle Announce Department of Public Safety Standards and Training Eliminates Backlog
DPSST eliminates police training backlog less than one year since the Legislature allocated funds towards the effort
June 17, 2024
Today, Governor Tina Kotek and Department of Public Safety Standards and Training (DPSST) Director Phil Castle announced the department eliminated the police training backlog, which reached up to seven months at its peak. This was achieved through increased training capacity, drastically reducing wait times for Basic Police training. This announcement comes less than one year after receiving additional resources from the Legislature, and just seven months after the department launched a pilot program aimed at eliminating the backlog.
All newly hired officers in Oregon must attend the 16-week Basic Police course at the academy in Salem within 90 days of hire. However, a sharp increase in law enforcement turnover in recent years created a training backlog over the last five years. This extended wait compounded hiring issues and hindered the ability of Oregon’s law enforcement agencies to keep their communities safe.
“This is what Oregonians expect from their state: see a problem, find a solution, and solve it,” Governor Kotek said. “Not only are we getting the most for our resources, we are keeping pace with the needs of our workforce and increasing community safety by ensuring timely, high-quality training for law enforcement to serve every part of the state. I am grateful to Director Castle and his staff for their persistence and dedication to serving Oregonians.”
With the support of Governor Kotek and the Legislature, DPSST developed a pilot program to eliminate the backlog by increasing training capacity. Basic Police courses are normally comprised of 40 students. With additional funding provided by Senate Bill 5533 in 2023, DPSST added three 60-student classes and three additional 40-student classes held in collaboration with Oregon State Police (OSP) to the 2023-25 biennial training schedule.
“We are grateful to Governor Kotek and the Oregon Legislature for their unwavering support of public safety,” Agency Director Castle said. “Their commitment to providing the resources for the pilot expansion has allowed DPSST to expedite training, enhancing the efficiency and effectiveness of law enforcement agencies across the state. We also want to thank OSP for their invaluable partnership and express our appreciation to all our public safety constituents throughout Oregon for their continued dedication and collaboration."
“The team at DPSST reflects the very best of public service. Putting 60 people through training is a tremendous endeavor and this is proof that DPSST has made a standard we should strive for with public safety training across the state,” Oregon State Representative Paul Evans said. “This is a great example of work that can be done for Oregonians when an agency fully uses the resources we give them.”
The pilot program commenced in November 2023 with the first 60-student class and an OSP partnership class. On May 24, 2024, the final 60-student cohort celebrated its graduation at the academy. A second OSP partnership class will commence this month and the third will be held later this biennium to align with hiring plans and enrollment forecasts.
The result is a meaningful reduction in the wait time for Basic Police training. DPSST is currently enrolling students for classes beginning in July and September, providing law enforcement agencies with options based on their hiring needs and ensuring that new hires can attend the academy within 90 days.
While expanding the number of students in training, DPSST has adhered to its guiding principles of providing high-quality training and ensuring the safety and well-being of students and staff. There have been no anomalous safety incidents during the training expansion, and students are graduating from the program within the normal completion range.
The pilot has resulted in the creation of a dynamic training template that allows DPSST to flex between 40- and 60-student class sizes. The scalable model will enable DPSST to respond more effectively to future hiring surges, meeting the training needs of Oregon’s law enforcement agencies.
“This is a big win for public safety and workforce training in Oregon. It shows that we can tackle tough problems and deliver the results our communities need to see in a timely manner,” Oregon State Senator Janeen Sollman said. “I deeply appreciate the work done by Director Castle and all those at DPSST who led on this pilot project. Oregon is a safer place because of their work."
 With DPSST Director, Phil Castle
Out and About in Senate District 15
The sidewalks were filled and the horns of support were honking! Nurses from across Oregon came out in full force for the first of three days of a six-unit strike! Across the different hospitals, nurses are struggling to attain fair market wages, adequate paid leave, staffing commitments in the contract that meet Oregon’s Safe Staffing Law, and affordable health insurance with meaningful access to mental health care. Reaching a contract that meets the needs of nurses is critical to ensuring high quality patient care. I showed up on Tuesday to give support to them at St Vincent Hospital.
Community Outreach
World Refugee Day - Saturday, June 22nd
Stand Against Hate
Engage in the Cornelius 2045 process!
The Vision Statement and Goals have been shaped by the valuable input from our community engagement efforts to date. Your insights are crucial in ensuring that the vision statement truly represents the ideas and aspirations of our community and that the goals will guide those ideas into actions.
Complete the questionnaire share your thoughts with us on the Vision Statement and Goals!
https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/corneliusvision
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Last Call: Limited Spots Available for Summer STEAM
Shared from Centro Cultural de Washington County
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Centro’s Youth Development team is excited to bring back its annual Summer STEAM program and there are limited spots open. The only available spots are for our middle and high schoolers grades 7-12th. The program provides youth with interactive and diverse content-led and operated by community members and allies of the Latino community, licensed teachers, and professional mentors who work in high-tech manufacturing and engineering companies. This year will be slightly different, as we are excited to partner with the Harvey Clarke Elementary School in Forest Grove.
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Dates: July 15th-August 8th, Monday-Thursday, 9am-2pm
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Location: Harvey Clarke Elementary School
Families should call the Centro front desk to register 503-359-0446
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Additional Resources
Senate District 15 – Event Calendars
Federal Delegation Links
Education Links
Food and Housing Assistance
Be good to yourself and each other. ❤
Onward & Upward,
 Senate District 15 lies on Kalapuya land. The Atfalati were the northernmost band of the Kalapuya that lived along the Tualatin River in present day Washington County. Many of the Atfalati descendants are members of the Confederated Tribes of the Grand Ronde Community of Oregon today. The Indigenous Peoples of this land experienced a painful history of colonial violence, sickness and removal from their land. The Atfalati are the foundation of Oregon's past and we must honor them well into our future.
Capitol Phone: 503-986-1715
Capitol Address: 900 Court St. NE, S-207, Salem, Oregon 97301
Email: Sen.JaneenSollman@oregonlegislature.gov
Website: http://www.oregonlegislature.gov/sollman
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