In December 2018 Central City Concern’s (CCC) Executive Leadership Team and the Board of Directors approved the 2019 CCC Public Policy Agenda, intended to guide our public policy and advocacy engagement efforts. Since then, CCC has sought engagement opportunities for staff, clients, residents and patients that aligned with the agenda. Dozens of staff and nearly 100 current and former clients have participated in advocacy activities across local and regional efforts, Oregon’s 2019 state legislative session and the 116th Congress and federal administration.
During the first six months of the year the state legislative session has dominated our public policy team’s attention; we reviewed and tracked more than 40 bills through the legislative process. Dialogue about any of our policy focus areas often circled back to two main issues: affordable housing and the needs of communities impacted by the criminal justice system. For example, the State of Oregon is currently working on a waiver update to the substance use disorder 1115 Medicaid waiver. When this effort was initially announced in January 2019, housing was not part of the expected changes; seven months later, we expect supportive housing and better engagement with reentry populations for the purpose of improving access to substance use disorder treatment.
Our public policy team, other staff and clients have also participated in a number of legislative activities since the beginning of the year:
City of Portland passed the Fair Access in Renting (FAIR) ordinance
- Two CCC staff members attended regular meeting for seven months to support the crafting of this legislation
- CCC’s Flip the Script program staff and participants provided public testimony and a joint letter of support during the council’s review of the legislation
Multnomah County Budget hearings
- 100 clients and former clients from the Recovery Mentor Program, Law Enforcement Assisted Diversion (LEAD® program) and Puentes attended to advocate for substance use disorder treatment, mental health care and housing investments
- Eight clients and former clients provided direct testimony to county commissioners
State legislative session
- CCC staff, clients and program alumni took 31 meetings with 14 of the 17 legislators that represent CCC programs/properties and sent in more than 140 emails to senators and representatives
- CCC’s Health Service Advisory Council, a group of current patients, sent a budget letter seeking more funding for behavioral health and palliative care
- Staff and clients participated in four lobby days with our community partners at, the Housing Alliance, Partnership for Safety and Justice, Oregon Primary Care Association and Oregon Council for Behavioral Health
- Staff provided public comment at five committee hearings to advocate for palliative care, supportive employment, opposing criminalization of homelessness, supportive housing and self-sufficiency/wraparound services for families on Temporary Assistance for Needy Families (TANF)
- Significant state budget and policy changes for which CCC advocated include:
- – $334 million in new revenue for Oregon Health Plan
- – $13 million to increase reimbursement rates for behavioral health
- – $54.5 million capital and rental subsidy investment for permanent supportive housing
- – $20 million for TANF recipients to access stable housing, employment and behavioral health services in addition to standard TANF benefits
- – Substance use disorder was declared a chronic illness to support more health focused responses over criminalization
- – 1% increase in the Oregon state Earned Income Tax Credit (EITC) for low-income families
- Public Charge: CCC opposes the federal government changing its policy on how low-income immigrant communities can use social services, including access to urgent care clinics and food stamps. While the “public charge” rule has been in place for several decades, the current administration seeks to make it even more penalizing for community members to seek assistance in times of crisis. We believe the current rule is burdensome enough and doesn’t need to increase targeting of low-income communities.
- Mixed Status in affordable housing: CCC opposes evicting immigrant families from subsidized housing. Current rules prohibit non-citizens (including immigrants in the US with legal status) from using housing benefits. The current rules allow for parents of citizens or spouses of citizens receiving housing benefits to also reside in the same home. The current administration seeks to remove allowances for families to stay together in the same household even if the non-citizen member is not receiving the housing assistance directly.
CCC sent in letters to the federal registry opposing federal administrative changes that will hurt our communities
CCC advocated for some bills, including SB 179 for Palliative Care and HB 2310 for supported employment, that were not successful this session and we are committed to continuing the work needed to make these services available to those most in need. In the big picture, we saw great movement toward solutions for the communities we serve during this first half of the year.
There is always more work to be done and more advocacy that will be needed to secure the future we know our communities deserve. For the remainder of the year we will stay focused on our priorities, including the Coordinated Care Organizations (CCO) 2.0 roll out, funding for Community Health Centers in the federal budget ($1.68 billion), ensuring equitable access to housing developed by funds from the Metro Bond, additional improvements to our criminal justice system and the statewide strategic plan for improving access to substance use disorder treatment.
As we move forward, we aim to involve friends and supporters of CCC even more in our advocacy work! Check in regularly with our newly refreshed Advocacy and Public Policy page to find out what we're working on. You can also sign up below for our periodic advocacy emails to learn about ways to get involved, including attending meetings, contacting elected officials and spreading awareness about the legislative issues that affect those we serve.
Of
course, we were thrilled to get national recognition for CCC and Oregon’s strong programming to help families. The strength of Oregon’s support
to needy families is, in part, due to the good work of the Oregon TANF Alliance*, a consortium of agencies. This alliance works with the Oregon
legislature and the Oregon Department of Human Services to ensure the TANF program reaches every eligible family for the federally allowable time-limit
of 5 years, protecting thousands of children from the most extreme form of family poverty: zero income. Without this cash benefit, as well the
childcare expenses and the supportive case management services covered by TANF, thousands of families would be living on Portland’s streets.