In 2017, the Deschutes County DA’s Office received an Innovation Site grant through the John D. & Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation Safety & Justice Challenge to fully develop, and implement a pilot study of Goldilocks, a three-tiered innovative initiative to address drug crimes in Deschutes County.

The District Attorney’s DeschutesSafe Advisory Group had determined through extensive research that drug crime, particularly recidivism associated with drug crimes was having a negative impact on the community. In addition, a countywide public safety survey and public meetings, confirmed that county residents were also concerned with drug use in the community and its associated criminal activity.

Using this information, Hummel crafted the concept of Goldilocks, the three-tiered initiative Clean Slate, Boost, and Deter to find the right intervention for each drug crime offender based upon the individual’s specific crime and substance use disorder. The program identifies the ‘just right’ intervention for each person to help Deschutes County become a safer and healthier community.

In addition to the DA’s Office, the Goldilocks program involves law enforcement, federally qualified health centers (Mosaic Medial and La Pine Community Health Center), drug treatment providers, and public defenders. Goldilocks puts an emphasis on providing quick access to treatment and medical care for low level offenders cited for possession and using enhanced prosecution strategies for individuals taking advantage of our community by operating a criminal drug enterprise.

The Goldilocks pilot study will run from October 2017 to March 2018. During that time the program team will carefully evaluate the effectiveness of Goldilocks and look for ways to improve our efforts and change our community’s drug crime problem.