Salem-based Oregon State Hospital is in compliance with a long-standing federal court order for the first time in two years, Oregon Public Broadcast reported June 22.
“This is a positive development for Oregon Health Authority and Oregon State Hospital, but more importantly, this is good news for the people requiring admission,” hospital spokesperson Amber Shoebridge said in a statement to OPB.
Here is what to know.
1. Since 2002, the state has been under a federal court order that dictates how the criminal justice system treats mentally ill patients in jail. If a defendant is found to have acute mental illness, they must be removed from a county jail and admitted to Oregon State Hospital within seven days. In June 2025, the state was found in contempt of that order and was fined $500 per day for every person held too long in jail.
2. The state now faces nearly $4.5 million in fines as part of a contempt order related to admissions The Oregon Health Authority told Becker’s that unpredictable spikes in admission orders have made compliance difficult and that expanding community-based treatment capacity is essential to reducing pressure on the hospital and improving access to care statewide.
3. On June 1, a district court judge tightened restrictions on who can be admitted to the hospital and how long patients can be held there. June 8 was the state’s first day back in compliance since May 2024.
4. Under the new order, people with “non-person Level C felony charges” and have a sentence of 90 days or less, and pretrial detainees being held in jail on a list of certain charges cannot be admitted to the state psychiatric hospital. The ruling also limited the extension time for people with violent felonies who have stayed at the hospital past one year.
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