Marion County’s RESTORE Court, a treatment program in Oregon designed to help people with substance addictions recover while contributing to the community, plans to shut down due to state funding cuts.
RESTORE’s Mission in Addiction Treatment
RESTORE stands for Restitution & Treatment On Route to Expungement and has served people charged with low-level property crimes driven by substance addiction.
The state legislature allocated $20.7 million for the Oregon Behavioral Health Deflection Program to create the court in 2024 after House Bill 4002 decriminalized drug possession in the Beaver State.
The Criminal Justice Commission distributed funds to counties to develop deflection programs for people to enter addiction treatment rather than incarceration.
Marion County received about $1.4 million in 2024 to create RESTORE. The county had already been operating its Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD) program for close to a decade.
RESTORE supplemented LEAD as the ‘next step’ in addiction deflection and treatment. Participants served on community service work crews supervised by the Marion County Sheriff’s Office for roughly 18 months. During this time, they “worked off” their restitution and sent any earned money directly to victims.
Closure Despite Success
District Attorney Paige Clarkson said participation numbers were “really encouraging” at 50 enrollees during RESTORE’s first year, almost hitting the program’s capacity. To date, nearly 2,700 people were referred to the program with nearly 400 successful completions.
The popularity spurred officials to believe that funding would hit $2.9 million, but the actual allocation was $1.9 million.
The district attorney’s office announced on January 8 that future enrollment ended although current participants may finish.
Clarkson expressed disappointment “that our state could not see the value in an operational program that sought to get offenders the treatment they need while simultaneously making victims whole and helping our community in the process.”
Nevertheless, Marion County will continue to operate LEAD, and RESTORE’s funding will be diverted to finance LEAD projects and wraparound aftercare services aimed at preventing relapse.
Discover Recovery Services Today
Even as RESTORE shuts down, those in need of recovery services can still take measures to address addictions. Look for drug rehabs in Oregon or call
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