Hennepin and Ramsey counties are partnering up to offer a joint residential treatment center for teen criminal offenders.
Although the new facility won’t open until 2019, the joint center will save both counties money, and it will allow both counties to expand the treatment services they offer. Ryan O’Connor, Ramsey county’s policy and planning director, said the new facility will ensure more teens have access to a greater range of services.
“It shouldn’t matter if you’re a young person living east or west of the Mississippi River … you should have access to the same continuum of services,” said O’Connor.
Logistics and Location
Early projections suggest that the facility will be able to treat between 126 and 163 juveniles at a time. Officials don’t have an exact location lined up up just yet, but they said the new facility could replace either of the two old sites, which are located in Minnetonka and St. Paul. Facility planners want to look at all their options and ensure the location is centrally located and easily accessible by public transportation.
The residential services are important aspects of the juvenile reformation process. The facilities focus on numerous treatment techniques that help teens:
- Stay off drugs
- Get behavioral therapy
- Connect with a social worker
- Learn life skills
- Transition out of gangs
Admission to these rehabilitation centers are generally ordered by the court after certain crimes, like burglary or drug crimes, and they help kids transition out of habits that lead up to their crime. One unnamed teen who was quoted for the story said he believes the program is working for him.
“Don’t do illegal activity or you end up here,” said one teen. “Me being here, I’m getting tools and I’m going to use those tools.”
We’ve talked about the importance of intervention strategies for at-risk individuals on the blog before, which is why we fully support this move by Hennepin and Ramsey counties. Hopefully they will get the funding they need in order to offer extra services to teens at a crucial point in their lives.
Related source: Star-Tribune
