Marion County Calls Out State Health Agency For Rules That Put Staff And Residents At Risk - 06/30/26

SALEM, OR — Marion County sent a formal letter on June 29 to Oregon Health Authority (OHA) Director Dr. Sejal Hathi urging the state agency to reverse a series of recent administrative rule changes that endanger staff, patients, and the community, while increasing costs and undermining the effectiveness of mental health and residential care programs.

"OHA is making sweeping rule changes in a matter of weeks with little to no input from the people directly impacted," said Commissioner Danielle Bethell. "These rules will deeply affect the safety of staff working in difficult conditions and the residents they're trying to help. I urge providers, clients, other counties, and cities to get informed on these rule changes and weigh in.”

Among the most alarming changes are a new rule that requires county health staff to stand by and wait until a physical assault has already occurred before they can remove a dangerous resident from a facility. Under OAR 309-035-0170, staff cannot act on an emergency safety threat unless a resident has already caused "serious physical harm" to another resident or staff member. Even then, the rule offers no protection if a visitor or neighbor is the victim.

The letter also raises concerns about:

• Alcohol in residential treatment facilities. OAR 309-040-0394 requires providers to allow residents to consume alcohol on the premises, even when it directly undermines treatment for that resident or others around them.
• Unnecessary compliance costs. A May 2026 rule update requires county facilities to meet standards "substantially equivalent to landlord-tenant laws," despite a state statute (ORS 90.110) that specifically exempts facilities providing medical, counseling, or similar services from those laws.
• Forced admissions. A new rule requires providers to conduct a screening interview before denying any placement and compels programs to accept referrals directly from OHA, even when a provider knows that individual is not a safe or appropriate fit for their program.

Marion County called on OHA to pause the current amendment process until they have consulted with counties, providers, and the individuals impacted to revise the rules with patient safety and staff wellbeing in mind.

Marion County Health And Human Services Center Street Campus Expands To Better Serve Youth And Families - 06/23/26

In July, Marion County Health & Human Services (MCHHS) will relocate its Youth & Family Services (YFS) programs from Beverly Avenue NE to 3180 Center Street NE in Salem, expanding the range of services available on the MCHHS Center Street Campus.
 

Each year, Youth & Family Services helps hundreds of children, youth, and families access mental health care and support. Programs include Children's Behavioral Health (CBH), which provides outpatient mental health services for Medicaid-eligible youth and their families; the Early Assessment and Support Alliance (EASA), which serves young people experiencing early signs of psychosis; and Marion County Wraparound, a family-centered program designed to support youth with complex mental health needs through coordinated care and community-based support.
 

In addition to these programs, YFS offers Peer Delivered Services, where individuals with lived experience provide support and encouragement to youth and families. YFS also provides bilingual-bicultural Spanish services to better serve Marion County residents.
 

The relocation will take place in two phases during July. Children's Behavioral Health and Early Assessment and Support Alliance will move first, followed by Marion County Wraparound later in the month. To support the transition, temporary office closures will occur on the days of each move. Existing phone numbers will remain the same.
 

Relocation Schedule

Children's Behavioral Health (CBH) and Early Assessment and Support Alliance (EASA)

• Office closed for relocation: July 16
• Reopening at 3180 Center Street NE: July 17 at 1 p.m.

Marion County Wraparound

• Office closed for relocation: July 30
• Reopening at 3180 Center Street NE: July 31 at 1 p.m.

Once the move is complete, Youth & Family Services will be located alongside Housing & Residential Programs (HARP) and Intellectual & Developmental Disabilities (IDD) services at 3180 Center Street. Administrative Services, WIC, Public Health, and the Public Health Clinic will continue operating from the neighboring 3160 Center Street building.
 

For community members, the benefit is simple: more services in one place. Residents visiting the Center Street Campus will have access to a broader range of supports in a single location, making it easier to connect with programs and resources. The move will also create opportunities for staff across divisions to work more closely together when serving individuals and families with complex needs.
 

"This move is about improving access and strengthening connections across our programs," said Phil Blea, MCHHS Outpatient Division Director. "By locating more services on our Center Street Campus, we can better support children, youth, and families while making it easier for community members to access the services they need."

For more information about Marion County Health & Human Services programs and services, visit mchealthy.net.

Cities Join Marion County In Calling On U.S. Army Corps To Halt Draining Detroit Lake (Photo) - 06/23/26

SALEM, OR — On June 22, 2026, Marion County submitted a formal letter on behalf of a community coalition to U.S. Army Corps of Engineers urging them to cancel any deep drawdown of Detroit Reservoir in 2026 and reevaluate future draining plans. The community coalition included the cities of Stayton, Sublimity, Mill City, and Idanha as well as the Detroit Lake Foundation, Detroit Lake Marina, Woodburn Area Chamber of Commerce, and North Marion Tourism Collaborative. 

The letter cites serious risks to downstream drinking water systems, local recreation, and local fish populations.

"The Army Corps' own analysis acknowledges that this operation would adversely affect drinking water, water supply reliability, and recreation,” said Commissioner Colm Willis, Chair. “The risks to our communities strongly outweigh any perceived, hypothetical benefits from this drawdown."

The letter comes after Marion County filed a lawsuit in May against the Army Corps. The lawsuit asks a federal court to pause efforts to drain the lake until the Army Corps completes a federally required turbidity that is more than four months overdue.

Marion County also sent letters in December 2025 and in January 2026 asking for a halt to the drawdown and perform a more formal review, pointing to the 2023 Green Peter Reservoir drawdown, which caused significant damage to downstream water filtration systems and killed hundreds of thousands of kokanee salmon. Despite those warnings, the Army Corps published its Final Supplemental Environmental Impact Statement in May without completing the required turbidity study and without establishing enforceable operational thresholds or clearly defined mitigation commitments.

The joint letter asks the Corps to refrain from authorizing any deep drawdown in 2026 and to satisfy five conditions before revisiting any future draining plan:

• Complete the federally required turbidity report and conduct additional quantitative analysis of sediment transport, drinking water treatment impacts, and effects on kokanee and resident fisheries;

• Establish enforceable adaptive management triggers that require modification, suspension, or termination of drawdown operations if water quality, recreation, or fishery impacts exceed defined thresholds;

• Demonstrate through data that prior Willamette Basin drawdowns have produced measurable improvements in fish passage sufficient to justify the documented risks;

• Consult directly with downstream water providers, local governments, and emergency managers to establish operational coordination and emergency response protocols before any action; and

• Identify and commit mitigation funding in advance for impacts to drinking water systems, local businesses, and resident fisheries.

The letter also highlights current drought conditions and below-average snowpack across Oregon as additional reasons for caution. The Corps' own SEIS acknowledges that in dry winters, it may be unable to refill Detroit Reservoir to minimum conservation pool by February, which could compound harm to downstream water supplies.

"Any changes to Detroit Lake's water level must be grounded in data-backed science with meaningful protections in place for our downstream communities," said Commissioner Danielle Bethell. "We will continue working to ensure that decisions made at the federal level align with the needs of local communities."

"Our residents depend on clean, reliable drinking water," said Commissioner Kevin Cameron. "The Army Corps should complete the analysis required by law before taking on any risks that could harm that supply."