Oregon Code § 137.835·Enacted ·Last updated March 01, 2026
Statute Text
Justice Reinvestment Program; rules.
(1)(a) The Oregon Criminal Justice Commission shall administer the Justice
Reinvestment Program described in this section to award grants to counties that
establish a process to assess individuals involved in the criminal justice
system and provide a continuum of community-based sanctions, services and
programs that are designed to reduce recidivism and decrease the countys
utilization of imprisonment in a Department of Corrections institution while
protecting public safety and holding such individuals accountable.
(b) As part of
the program described in this section, the commission shall additionally make
grants to counties for programs that are designed to reduce recidivism and
substance use disorders and that are guided by evidence-based and, if
applicable, tribal-based practices, risk and clinical assessment tools or other
research-based considerations. The grants may be used to provide supplemental
funding for:
(A) The operation
of local jails;
(B) Appropriate
treatment services for persons with substance use disorder who are on
probation, parole or post-prison supervision; or
(C) The intensive
supervision of persons with substance use disorder who are on probation, parole
or post-prison supervision, including the incarceration of persons with
substance use disorder who have violated the terms and conditions of probation,
parole or post-prison supervision.
(c) The
commission shall further establish a program to award supplemental grant funds
to counties for downward departure prison diversion programs as part of the
program described in this section. The commission shall use any moneys
appropriated to the commission for the supplemental grant program described in
this paragraph, including any moneys appropriated to or deposited in the Oregon
Public Safety Fund established under ORS 137.838 for grants described in this
paragraph, to award supplemental grant funds for downward departure prison
diversion programs to counties selected by the commission to receive the funds.
(2) Funding
available to the Justice Reinvestment Program, including funds described in
subsection (1)(b) and (c) of this section, shall be apportioned in the
following order:
(a) No less than
10 percent of grant funds awarded under this section must be distributed to
community-based nonprofit organizations that provide services to victims of
crime, with priority given to culturally specific organizations and culturally
responsive services.
(b) No less than
15 percent of grant funds shall be retained by the commission for the purpose
of funding local public safety priorities and awarded to grant recipients who
meet the goals described in ORS 137.830 (9)(d).
(c) Remaining
funds shall be apportioned in accordance with the formula used to distribute
baseline funding under ORS 423.483.
(d) The
commission may retain up to three percent of the funds described in paragraph
(c) of this subsection to support analysis or evaluation of outcome measures
related to public safety in this state.
(3)(a) The
commission shall regularly evaluate the community-based sanctions, services and
programs funded under this section. The commission shall specifically assess:
(A) The extent to
which each county is reducing utilization of imprisonment in Department of
Corrections facilities by offenders convicted of felonies under ORS 137.717,
475.752 to 475.980, 811.182, 813.010 or 813.011; and
(B) The extent to
which each county is reducing recidivism by offenders convicted of felonies
under ORS 137.717, 475.752 to 475.980, 811.182, 813.010 or 813.011.
(b) The
commission shall make the results of an evaluation conducted under this section
available to the public in a clear and accessible format, either in a report or
on the website of the commission.
(4) The
commission may adopt rules to administer the Justice Reinvestment Program,
including:
(a) A methodology
for reviewing and approving grant applications and awarding grants;
(b) A process for
distributing any unallocated funds, with priority given to counties funding
programs for historically underserved communities including rural communities,
racial, ethnic and minority communities and tribal communities;
(c) A process for
evaluating the efficacy of community-based sanctions, services and programs
funded under this section;
(d) Provisions
related to requests by grant recipients to adjust their grant awards; and
(e) Provisions
related to partnerships or collaborations between applicants.
(5) As used in
this section:
(a) Culturally
responsive service means a service that is respectful of, and relevant to, the
beliefs, practices, cultures and linguistic needs of diverse consumer or client
populations and communities whose members identify as having particular
cultural or linguistic affiliations by virtue of their place of birth, ancestry
or ethnic origin, religion, preferred language or language spoken at ho