Clean Slate FAQ 1. What is the Goldilocks Clean Slate program? Goldilocks is a District Attorney led initiative that seeks to identify the Just Right intervention for individuals suspected of drug-related crimes. Clean Slate is the first tier of the program, and offers pre-charge diversion for individuals suspected of only possession of a controlled substance (PCS). Eligible participants can participate in Clean Slate at Level I or Level II based on the results of their personal risk assessment screenings. Level I participants receive referrals to services, but are not charged with a crime regardless of whether they avail themselves of the services or not. Level II participants are directly referred to a participating primary care provider (PCP) at one of two federally qualified health centers (Mosaic Medical or La Pine Community Health Center) in Deschutes County. If Level II participants engage in and substantially benefit from their medical care, and if they remain crime free for a year, they will not be charged with the crime that made them eligible for the program. 2. What happens at the Clean Slate Orientation meeting? The weekly Friday meeting starts at 10:15am at the Central Oregon Collective in Bend. All eligible program participants in attendance meet as a group with District Attorney Hummel or one of his deputy district attorneys to learn more about the program and to ask questions. Then individually each person meets with a defense attorney privately to discuss their case and to decide whether or not they want to participate in the voluntary program. If the individual choses to participate, s/he will sign the program s release of information (ROI) form. The participant then meets with the substance use disorder (SUD) counselor privately to review the screening tools. At the end of that discussion the SUD counselor informs the Clean Slate coordinator of the individuals Clean Slate level. The coordinator then reviews with the individuals the program requirements, schedules appropriate medical and insurance appointments, and provides the participant with any required documentation.
3. When and where does the Clean Slate meeting occur? The Clean Slate meeting occurs every Friday at 10:15am at the Central Oregon Collective (COC) in Bend. The COC is located at 62070 SE 27 th St, Bend, OR 97701. It is located in the same parking lot as the Walgreens and Wilco at the corner of NE Hwy 20 and SE 27 th Street, right behind the Schlotzsky s deli. The meeting is held upstairs in the COC building. 4. How long does the Clean Slate Orientation meeting last? Participants should plan to be at the Clean Slate Orientation meeting for a couple hours. The meeting starts at exactly 10:15am, and eligible participants are encouraged to arrive around 10:00am to complete paperwork and to be one of the first people in line. Since participants meet with three different professionals privately the first person to the meeting is the first one to go through the process. The length of the meetings varies depending on how many eligible participants attend that day. Most weeks the first person is done by around 11:30, and the last participant is usually through the process by 1:00pm, but some meetings have gone later. Eligible participants should not schedule other appointments that day, which may conflict with their ability to engage in the entire Clean Slate Orientation. 5. Why does the meeting start at 10:15AM? The start time for the meeting was set at 10:15am because one of the three bus routes that services this area doesn t get to this location until 10:12am. 6. What if a potential participant cannot attend at the scheduled date and time? Individual s interested in Clean Slate will need to attend the Friday orientation meeting if would like to participate in the program. Due to participants meeting with three professionals through the process, it is not possible to take those that arrive late, and alternate days cannot be accommodated. 7. How are participants screened to determine their Clean Slate Level? Participants provide answers on three evidence-based tools that provide the program s substance use disorder counselor with a brief assessment of the participant s current life situation. The program uses the Texas Christian University (TCU) Drug Screen, the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study (ACES), and the Connor-Davidson Resiliency Scale (CD-RiSC). 8. How is someone selected to participate in the program? When law enforcement cites an individual for a PCS-only crime, the officer may give the individual a Clean Slate card. Each week the District Attorney s Office reviews all PCS police reports to determine if there are any potential participants that did not receive a card. All potential participants cases are reviewed by a DDA to determine final eligibility. The DA s Office then attempts to contact all eligible individuals to inform them of the program, and encourage or remind them to attend the Clean Slate Orientation meeting each Friday until the arraignment date listed on the citation. 9. When should an eligible person attend the Clean Slate Orientation meeting? Eligible participants should attend a Clean Slate meeting prior to the court date listed on their citation. If the DA s Office has been unable to contact an eligible person, the DA s Office will wait 2
to charge the case until after the arraignment date in hopes that the potential participant will go to court and visit the DA Office window to inquire on why their name is not listed for court that day. At that time, the individual will receive a Clean Slate card and be informed that if they want to participate they must attend the upcoming Friday meeting to still be eligible for the program. 10. What happens if an eligible participant learns about the program after his/her case has been charged? 11. How long does a person have to participate in the Clean Slate program? Individuals must participate in the Clean Slate program for 12 months, which starts from the time the participant attends the Clean Slate Orientation meeting. 12. What are Level I participants required to do? Level I participants only requirement is to not engage in activities that will result in being cited for another charge during a twelve-month period. Level I participants are offered an appointment with a PCP and/or with an OHP enroller if they don t have insurance, but they are not required to engage in those activities. 13. What are Level II participants required to do? Like Level I participants, Level II participants cannot be arrested for another crime within 12 months from the date that they attend the Clean Slate Orientation meeting. Level II participants then must meet with a primary care physician (PCP) and comply with the PCP s medical care recommendations for a full year. These recommendations may include seeing other medical, drug treatment or behavioral health care specialists. Since each person s health care needs are different there is no set number of visits any participant is required to have with their doctor. Some individuals may only see their PCP) two or three times during the year, while others may see their PCP and/or other health care specialist regularly through out the year. It is important to note that Level II participants are not fully enrolled in the Clean Slate program until they attend their first appointment with their program PCP. Failure to attend that appointment revokes the individual s right to participate in Clean Slate now and in the future. 14. What happens if a participant can no longer attend their initial doctor s appointment? The first doctor s appointment is equated to that of a court date and cannot be missed or rescheduled. Attending the appointment is what officially enrolls an individual into the program and it is imperative that they go to the appointment made at the orientation meeting. When the appointment is scheduled the team does their best to work closely with participant to select and day and time that works for his/her personal schedule. 15. Does it cost anything to participate in the program? The Clean Slate program was designed so that participation would be free or as low cost as possible; however, everyone s health insurance and financial situation is unique. Participants with private insurance or individuals that do not qualify for Oregon Health Plan (OHP), may have some out of pocket expenses due to co-pays or potential procedures that the individual and their PCP feel are critical. For individuals enrolled on OHP, most care provided is free of charge. 3
16. What happens if a participant doesn t have health insurance? Clean Slate program participants can request an appointment with an OHP enroller. Many Clean Slate participants are able to enroll and qualify for OHP insurance right at the orientation meeting. 17. Are participants required to go to drug treatment? Substance abuse is a complicated disease, and for an individual to successfully become sober the person must be ready to make that commitment to sobriety. For participants that are ready to enter drug treatment at the Clean Slate Orientation meeting, or while under the care of their PCP, successful completion of that treatment program becomes part of their medical care program. For individuals that are not ready to take that step, it could still be a requirement if deemed necessary by your PCP. The objective of this program is for participants to develop a healthy relationship with a PCP, who can help guide them toward a healthier lifestyle that will eventually lead to sobriety. 18. Can a participant enter the program more than once? Level I participants that are rearrested for another PCS-only crime may enter the program again, but they must attend a new Clean Slate Orientation meeting and will be engaged as a Level II participant. If an individual does not reengage prior to the arraignment date for the new arrest, the individual will no longer be eligible to participate in Clean Slate. Level II participants only have the opportunity to participate in the program once. 19. If a participant feels they are innocent of the charge, will they get a chance to state that they are not guilty? An active program participant s case is not filed in court, so the individual does not have to enter a plea of guilty or not guilty. 20. What happens if a participant decides not to participate or drops out of the program? Clean Slate is a voluntary program, and was designed to not have negative consequences for eligible participants. Unlike violating a probation requirement, the decision not to participate in or to leave the Clean Slate program will never be used against the individual in court. However, by choosing to not participate, the individual s case may move forward through the criminal justice system as it normally would have had this program not existed. This can happen whether the person decides to not participate at the very beginning of the enrollment process, or months after they have been participating in Clean Slate. 21. What happens if a participant moves out of the area after enrolling in the program? The individual and their physician may coordinate continuation of care with a different doctor, but only if the current doctor agrees and feels it is appropriate. 4
22. Are there transportation options available for participants who don t have their own vehicle? Individuals that receive a Clean Slate card from law enforcement, and also do not have reliable transportation can obtain a full-day, multi-zone bus pass to get to the Clean Slate meeting. There are three bus routes (5, 6, & 7) that service this area. All have a transfer at the Hawthorne Station for individuals coming from a different part of town or outside of Bend. For participants that need transportation to their first doctor s appointment and/or to attend an OHP enrollment appointment, bus passes can be obtained at the Clean Slate Orientation meeting for these initial appointments. In addition, individuals eligible for OHP may schedule free rides through OHP for future approved health care appointments. 23. How is participant information being used or shared within the program? The Clean Slate program is a pilot project, funded by both national and local private foundations. Participating individuals will sign a Release of Information (ROI) when they agree to participate. The ROI provides specific details on how and what personal information will be used and shared with the Clean Slate participating partners, and funding agencies, as well as how aggregated data about program participants will be included in program s public assessment reports. It is important to note that no personal health information covered by HIPPA will be shared by the participant s PCP with any of the participating partners. The Clean Slate program believes that personal health information should be kept private. 22. Who do I contact if I have additional questions about the Clean Slate program? Questions regarding Clean Slate should be directed to the Clean Slate team at the Deschutes County District Attorney s Office. The direct line for the team is 541-317-3175. Questions can also be answered via email through the DeschutesSafe@dcda.us email address, or via a private message through the Clean Slate Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/deschutescleanslate/). Additional information can be found at http://www.dcda.us/deschutessafe/cleanslate/. 5