Umatilla County Human Services rolls out the expansion of drug, alcohol; treatment

Umatilla County Human Services rolled out an expansion of drug treatments and alcohol rehab programs at the start of February month. Department director Amy Ashton-Williams claimed that the moves are about offering more services to more individuals.

Ashton-Williams took the job in the year of July 2016 to head up a county division that lost its director and 2 alcohol and drug counselors the year before after an administrative investigation. She stated that the department’s staff was doing the best it could in the wake of the turmoil, but she needed to explore ways to better give intensive outpatient treatment for individuals with drug or alcohol issues.

“It took about 4 months of evaluating what new curriculum we required, what really were the requirements of our clients ... and getting a couple of clinicians trained in a specialized parenting program,” she said.

The expansion gives a “pretty comprehensive outpatient program,” she stated, that considered the needs in Pendleton, Hermiston and Milton-Freewater.

Milton-Freewater went from 3 drug and alcohol groups to five, involving two for Spanish speakers and an English-speaking group concentrated on how to stop addiction relapses. Ashton-Williams also said a third Spanish-speaking group is likely.

Hermiston and Pendleton added groups in the mornings and afternoons to better meet the requirements of swing and day shift workers. The Umatilla County Human Services also added a drop-in group at 8:30 a.m. in Hermiston and one at noon in Pendleton. She stated that these are good fits for those who’re not certain they have an issue or about treatment but want to check out the possibilities.

Hermiston and Pendleton also now have groups meeting twice a week for youth with addiction issues. Ashton-Williams claimed that there are 5 clients in Hermiston and 3 in Pendleton, and she is hopeful those will draw more youth in need.

“We know in our communities there are youth who’ve struggled hard with alcohol and drug use,” she stated, and these groups can assist break those cycles of addiction.

And 2 human services workers learned the community model of the Parenting Inside Out program, which the prison system utilizes to teach parenting skills to offenders. Ashton-Williams claimed that the community model is for parents with open cases in the Oregon Department of Human Services.

“We’ve many clients that come to us from DHS,” she asserted, and this program deals with parenting “from birth until they leave the home.”

Ashton-Williams applauded the clinicians with making the improvements while still giving stress and anger management and other services.

And starting in the month of March, she said her department is joining hands with county public health to have an alcohol and drug prevention worker take on suicide prevention.

Umatilla County Human Services, like other regional governments, is searching at a tight budget for the time period of 2016-17. Ashton-Williams said her staff knows that road well and know how to do more with less.

“We have seen a minor decrease in our budget from the state,” she said, “but not so much that we cannot continue the services that we are presently providing.”