Rep. Shields Announces Drug and Alcohol Treatment Hearings

The human services and public safety budget committees to meet jointly

Salem, Ore. - As the Oregon Legislature prepares to balance the state's budget in the face of a serious short fall, legislators are seeking input from both alcohol and drug treatment providers and their former clients on how to improve the treatment systems in rural and urban Oregon.  Testimony will take place in front of members of both the Public Safety and Human Services Budget Committees.
 
"We cannot look at Oregon's public safety budget and our Human Services budget as separate and unrelated," said Representative Chip Shields. "The fact is that they are deeply intertwined especially when it comes to dealing with substance abuse."
 
Among other things, the hearings will focus on the role of community corrections, county governments, the department of corrections, housing programs, drug courts and the department of human services. The public is invited to attend but the committee will only receive invited testimony.
 
"Our public safety sytem is out of balance.  I think these hearings will show that balancing the budget will require a more creative solution than simply cutting treatment dollars" said Rep. Shields. "People with mental health problems don't go away simply because we refuse to provide treatment. Rather, they end up in the prison system, which is far more expensive in the long run."