Aging buildings and precipitous drops in the number of juveniles sent to residential treatment have Ramsey and Hennepin counties looking to each other for help with their fading juvenile home schools.
Both counties agreed in early August to meet and see whether they could work together on a new facility somewhere in the geographic middle of the Twin Cities.
"Both the Hennepin and Ramsey County boards have the problem of old juvenile corrections facilities that need significant work," Hennepin Board Chairman Mike Opat said. "We also know that operating a facility together could benefit both counties and the kids we serve. A joint project is not for certain but deserves consideration."
Hennepin County runs a home school on 167 lush acres along County Road 62 on the eastern edge of Minnetonka — land that would be highly marketable for another use. Ramsey County operates Boys Totem Town, a residential campus for juvenile delinquents in St. Paul's Battle Creek. Currently, Hennepin has about 50 residents at the school; Ramsey County has about 20. Both are down at least half from their peak.
The urban juvenile system has been an unmitigated success in recent years, largely because of the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative. Fewer juveniles are being stashed in home schools and detention centers. Assistant Hennepin County Administrator Mark Thompson touted the initiative's method of keeping juveniles in their homes to teach them and their parents coping skills rather than dropping them into the home school. The trend of sending young men to out-of-state facilities has slowed recently.
No one, however, expects to eliminate the need for a residential facility to treat youths ages 13-20 for problems from crime to sexual abuse. But both boards agree the timing is right for merger talks. Only Ramsey County Commissioner Janice Rettman voted against a merger discussion out of concern for surrendering control to the larger Hennepin County.
"The rebuilding of Totem Town is something that we are committed to, and if we need to add more services there, I'm prepared to do that there and make sure we're east-metro strong, and not be dwarfed by the much bigger entity of Hennepin County," Rettman said.
But other Ramsey commissioners see merit in a partnership.