Corrections Recommendations Project

The Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office (MCSO), with its partners, will develop and implement a meaningful response to the reports received in 2023/24, to ensure the safety, security, and wellbeing of adults in our custody and staff working in our facilities while centering the values and principles of the Sheriff’s Office.   

MCSO operates two jails in Multnomah County, the Multnomah County Detention Center (MCDC) and Multnomah County Inverness Jail (MCIJ). These facilities are currently funded (Fiscal Year 2024) to house up to 1,130 adults in custody (AIC). Both facilities undergo oversight evaluations required by state and county legislation.  

• The Corrections Grand Jury Inquiry is required by Oregon Revised Statute (ORS) 132.440 and is facilitated by the Multnomah County District Attorney’s Office. The review is conducted by jurors from Multnomah County on an annual basis.  
• The Oregon Jail Standards Inspection is required by ORS 169.076 and includes two audits to ensure compliance with 15 Oregon Department of Corrections standards and 313 Oregon Jail Standards. The inspection is completed by the Oregon State Sheriff’s Association with each facility being inspected every other year. 
• The Board of County Commissioners is required to conduct an inspection annually by ORS 169.040. Further, an Additional Inspection of County Jails is now required annually according to the Multnomah County Charter in which Commissioners are permitted to include at least one member of the general public.  

Other organizations also have oversight authority and may conduct evaluations, such as the Multnomah County Auditor’s Office and Disability Rights Oregon.  

In addition to the required evaluations in 2023, Sheriff Nicole Morrisey O’Donnell requested technical assistance from the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) and the Oregon State Police. This project will focus on observations and recommendations from the following reports and reviews:  

After close review and analysis of observations and recommendations from the reports, the following themes were identified:   

Operations: Recommendations focused on activities performed by staff in MCSO corrections, MCSO law enforcement or Multnomah County Corrections Health (Health Department) to meet legal requirements, fulfill expectations in their job description or meet the needs of adults in custody.  

Staffing: Recommendations focused on recruitment, hiring, training, retaining and assignment/deployment of staff for MCSO or Corrections Health.  

Facilities: Recommendations focused on making changes to the physical layout of the MCDC or MCIJ facilities, (to retrofit or repair), or resources therein (for example, cameras).  

The purpose of this project is for the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office, with its partners, to develop and implement a meaningful response to the reports received in 2023/24, to prioritize the safety, security, and wellbeing of adults in our custody and staff working in our facilities while centering the values and principles of the Sheriff’s Office. 

Deliverable 1: Organize recommendations into actionable goals

Develop and implement a plan to organize recommendations into actionable goals from reports and audits received:  

• National Institute of Corrections (NIC) Technical Assistance Report – Contraband Mitigation Assessment, received July 2024

• Oregon State Police review of MCSO in-custody death investigations 2023, received 2024 

• National Institute of Corrections (NIC) Technical Assistance Report – Suicide Prevention and Mental Health Policy, Procedure and Practice Review, received January 2024 

• Oregon Jail Standards Inspection, received January 2024  

• Individual Reports following Additional Inspection of County Jails 2023, received December 2023 

• Corrections Grand Jury Annual Report, received December 2023  

• Multnomah County Auditor’s Office Multnomah County Jail Conditions Audit, received April 2022 

Deliverable 2: Identify leaders to participate in workgroups to inform individual plans for reaching goals 

Bring together leaders from MCSO and our partners to participate in workgroups to inform individual plans for implementing goals developed from recommendations.  

The workgroups include representatives from:  

• MCSO division chiefs, executive team staff, policy advisor, data analysts and equity team 

• Representatives from Multnomah County Health Department and Corrections Health 

• Multnomah County Central Human Resources  

• Multnomah County Department of County Assets, Facilities and Property Management 

Objective: Utilizing funds from the Local Public Safety Coordinating Council (LPSCC) and an existing contract with Territory Consulting, key leaders from MCSO and Corrections Health will engage in a short term, intense Interagency Recommendations project. 

Through work sessions – MCSO and Corrections Health will become more aligned by developing a shared strategy about how to respond to the recommendations in the NIC report and make continuous improvements together. This project will result in a report for the Chair and Board of County Commissioners that will summarize the progress that is made and include any final products from the consultants. 

Deliverable 3: Develop and implement a communication strategy 

The communication strategy will prioritize providing regular updates and opportunities for feedback for the Multnomah County Chair’s Office and Board of Commissioners, MCSO staff and the public. 

Deliverable 4: Complete an evaluation of the project

The project manager from MCSO will evaluate the project by gathering feedback from workgroup participants and other interested partners.

Deliverable 5: Develop an Agency Policy

Utilizing the existing process for policy development and review, complete a policy that describes a framework for responding to required and requested evaluations in the future.  

This timeline is based on the information available to the project team at the time of the latest update to the webpage and may change as the project moves forward. 

The Sheriff’s Office has developed a dashboard, linked below, that offers a closer look at the progress workgroups have been able to make toward implementation of goals, based on recommendations from the reports received in 2023 and 2024. The dashboard will be updated at least monthly.

In May and June, leaders from the Multnomah County Sheriff’s Office and Multnomah County Corrections Health, County Health Department worked with a consultant to strengthen interagency communication and shared work. During that period, the team developed strategies for how to respond to recommendations and implement goals together. That team continues to meet regularly and work together and to guide those efforts, using the Strategic Framework and the Individual Goal Plan template to help capture the work.

 Interagency Recommendations Project - Strategic Framework for Collaborative Action

Individual Group Plan Templates