CIC Recommendations

Each year, the Community Involvement Committee selects priority areas during their annual retreat. These focus areas create the foundation for subcommittee work and members work throughout the year to develop recommendations for the Board of County Commissioners.

During the 2022-2023 cycle of work, the CIC focused on two priority areas–youth engagement and community engagement around housing/homelessness and emergency response.

Over the course of the year, the Youth Engagement Subcommittee met with County program staff, attended meetings, and read County documents to learn more about current efforts to engage with and incorporate input from youth in Multnomah County. Their letter supports current efforts to incorporate youth voice such as the Multnomah Youth Commission, while recommending the County conduct an assessment of youth engagement points and gaps in the County, increase support for the MYC and other youth-specific leadership development programs, and meaningfully include young people and their advocates in the procurement process for youth services. The recommendation letter also supports youth calls for increased mental health support and youth direction in mental health programming.

The Housing, Homelessness and Emergency Response Subcommittee developed their set of recommendations after meeting with County staff involved in the planning, implementation, and response to homelessness and emergencies in Multnomah County, as well as with Portland State University's Homelessness Research & Action Collaborative. The subcommittee focused on how the housing crisis and emergencies intersect, and how different departments work together and with the community to respond. Their recommendations detail ways Multnomah County can improve transparency, community education and accountability and ensure County employees are trained to respond to emergencies and work with homeless community members in trauma informed and equity based methods. Their recommendations include notes on increasing opportunities for community input, especially of those directly impacted, and utilization of feedback received. They also recommend increased interdepartmental collaboration within the County as well as improved attention to jurisdictions within and around Multnomah County beyond the City of Portland.

The CIC will present these recommendations to the Board of County Commissioners at a Board meeting in July or August 2023 - exact date to be determined. You can find this year’s CIC recommendation letters linked below:

2023 CIC Youth Engagement Recommendations (331.06 KB)

2023 CIC Housing & Emergency Response Recommendations (316.62 KB)