Multnomah County District Attorney Mike Schmidt today announced that 12 people have officially completed STEP Court, representing the first graduating cohort of the program. STEP (Strategic Treatment and Engagement Program) is a specialty court for those charged with certain Ballot Measure 11 crimes. It uses an evidence-based approach to reduce the likelihood that an individual will re-offend, meaning fewer victims and safer communities.
“As DA, it is important for me to ensure we keep our communities safe and find new, smarter, more effective approaches to criminal justice, and this program does just that,” said DA Mike Schmidt. “Accountability is at the core of STEP, and we are getting better public safety results than incarceration by tailoring our responses to individual needs, addressing root causes of criminality, and keeping communities together.”
“I had the privilege of serving as a circuit court judge in Multnomah County for 20 years, and I am proud to have been a part of launching STEP Court, which is the first of its kind in the nation because of the population it serves,” said Judge Eric Bloch, who spearheaded STEP Court with DA Schmidt. “STEP Court is the latest application of treatment courts, among the most studied and validated criminal justice interventions in existence. In short, treatment courts work. STEP represents the first time we’ve used a treatment court model for individuals convicted of certain Ballot Measure 11 crimes. We should not shy away from an opportunity to use the tools we know can be more restorative of community safety and more restorative of the individual.”
STEP Court consists of five phases, with participants progressing through the steps only when they’ve successfully met the requirements of each phase. The program uses risk and need assessments to determine the level of treatment, supervision, court appearances, and other supports each participant needs and with which they are required to comply. After completion of the five phases, participants move into an aftercare program for a minimum of 90 days. Graduates continue to be supervised by the Department of Community Justice until completion of their supervision sentence.
To date, there have been 59 STEP Court participants, with an 8.5% recidivism rate. This is significantly low compared to the 46.8% recidivism rate in Multnomah County for high-risk individuals convicted of person crimes.
STEP Court is a partnership between the Multnomah County Circuit Court, Department of Community Justice, the Multnomah County District Attorney, Metropolitan Public Defender, Multnomah Defenders Inc., and Portland area community-based service providers.
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