Minnesota

2023 YIC Minnesota Juvenile Detention Association Team

Contacts:

Matt Bauer, Superintendent, Dakota County Juvenile Services Center

Amy Lauricella, Policy Director, Department of Corrections, State of Minnesota

Mindy O'Brien, Superintendent, Northwestern Minnesota Juvenile Center

James O'Donnell, Superintendent; Clay County; Minnesota

Nate Parker, Superintendent, Anoka County

Becky Pogatchnik, AJC Division Director, Arrowhead Regional Corrections

Trahern Pollard, Founder/CEO, We Push for Peace

Jim Schaffer, Associate Warden, Minnesota Department of Corrections

Dana Swayze, Superintendent, Hennepin County Juvenile Detention Center; Hennepin County, Minnesota

Capstone Description:

The Minnesota Team seeks to create a set of alternatives to Disciplinary Room Time to be used in Minnesota Department of Corrections Licensed Facilities, ultimately shifting the state’s approach to juvenile justice facility practice from correctional to therapeutic.

2011 MSI (Public) Hennepin, Stearns, Olmsted, Kandiyohi, and Martin Counties Participant

Contact:

Susan Ault, Senior Director - Casey Family Programs

Capstone Description:

Facilitate implementation of the Crossover Youth Practice Model in Minnesota by convening trainings and networking sessions (i.e. a learning collaborative) with five Minnesota counties that have expressed interest in the model.  This builds on the work of previous fellow Cheryl Kraeger who had John Tuell and Shay come present in MN on the CYPM.

2008 MSI CPI, Minnesota Participant

Contact:

Chris Bray, Director of Juvenile Services - Minnesota Dept. of Corrections

Capstone Description:

Improve mental health services for youth involved in the juvenile justice system by: collecting data, creating information sharing mechanisms, coordinating services, and mapping and redistributing current financing of services.

2008 MSI CPI Dakota County Participant

Contact:

Joan Granger-Kopesky, Deputy Director, Social Services - Dakota County

Capstone Description:

Develop and implement a diversion project targeting students with Emotional or Behavioral Disorders in a Setting IV school that had a history of high rates of charging students with disorderly conduct and other misdemeanors, diverting these students from charges pending participation in mental health assessment and wraparound facilitation services.

Capstone Update (2012): 

Joan made structural changes in the school system. For example, misdemeanor charges referred from the target school were reviewed by the County Attorney's Office for diversion to the Student Offender Assessment Program, and potential diversions were referred to a probation officer, who would meet with the student and family to discuss the diversion opportunity. Children and Family Services also purchased Truthought, a cognitive-behavioral curriculum used by Dakota County Juvenile Corrections. Training and support for using the curriculum was provided by Juvenile Corrections staff.

2017 YIC Duluth, MN 

Contacts: 

Jeff Bradt, President/CEO, The Hills Youth and Family Services

Kevin Szczyrbak, Assistant Director of Residential Services, The Hills Youth and Family Services

Capstone Description: 

The team is aiming to restructure agency protocols and practices, with the long-term goals of improving service quality and increasing youth's program completion. The policy changes will allow the agency leaders to better support program staff, particularly the therapeutic milieu, to recruit and retain diverse and qualified staff, and to provide rigorous training for direct care staff.

2017 YIC Hennepin County

Contacts:

Angela (Angie) Cousins, Department of Community Corrections and Rehabilitation Division Manager, Hennepin County Department of Community Corrections and Rehabilitation

Karen Kuglar, Area Director of Juvenile Services, Hennepin County Department of Community Corrections and Rehabilitation

Monica Long, Corrections Program Manager, Hennepin County

Adesola Oni, Program Manager, JDAI/Deep End Coordinator, Hennepin County Department of Community Corrections and Rehabilitation

Raj Sethuraju, Assistant Professor, Metropolitan State University

Cynthia (Cyndi) Slowiak, Human Services Area Manager, Hennepin County Human Services and Public Health Department

Stephen Turner, Corrections Unit, Supervisor Hennepin County

Angela Willms, Court Referee, 4th Judicial District

Capstone Description:

To improve your service model to meet the needs of all youth locally and individually by adopting a racial equality framework in their work with justice-involved youth and:

1. Partnering with youth, families and communities from intake through reentry

2. Improving screening, assessment and service matching

3. Developing an adaptive local continuum of care model

4. Eliminating the use of large congregate facilities and out of county placements

2011 MSI (Public) Hennepin County Team

Contacts:

Jerome Driessen, Area Director - Hennepin County Department of Community Corrections, Juvenile Services

Michelle Finstad, Program Manager - Hennepin County Human Services and Public Health Department

Judy Johnston, Managing Senior Attorney - Hennepin County Attorney's Office

Lisa McNaughton, Managing Attorney - Hennepin County 4th Judicial District Public Defenders' Office

Kathryn Quaintance, Presiding Judge of Juvenile Court - State of Minnesota

Capstone Description:

Implement the Crossover Youth Practice Model to improve coordinated case management for youth who cross over between the child welfare and juvenile justice systems. Includes the following components: 

1. Draft a Judicial order authorizing information sharing between DOCCR and HSPHD for the purpose of this project.

2. Develop an intake protocol to identify crossover youth. 

3. Coordinate joint case assessments.

4. Develop a case coordination protocol/policy.

5. Develop policy/protocol for joint case planning and review. 

6. One judge/one family.

2011 MSI (Private) Hennepin County Participant

Contact:

Karen Moller, Executive Director - KidsPeace Mesabi Academy

Capstone Description:

Webcams; family ecograms; develop collaborative partnerships (private agencies); track outcomes from youth who use their care/services.

Capstone Update (2012):

Karen and her team has made accomplishment in establishing relationships and collaboration with the school district and county youth-serving agencies. Mesabi Academy also provide RED data to Hennepin county to support Hennepin County's work in reducing disproportionality and disparity. 

2015 Diversion Minneapolis/St. Paul Team

Contacts:

Sergio Andrade, Diversion Manager/Counselor, St. Paul Youth Services

Gwendolyn DeGroff-Gunter, Juvenile Outreach Coordinator, Metro Transit Police Department

Capstone Description:

Create a uniform multi-jurisdiction diversion program that takes into consideration of disproportionality and socioeconomic status to help establish an equitable diversion program.

2010 MSI (Private) Minneapolis Participant

Contact:

Cheryl Kreager, Associate Director - NAMI Minnesota/Juvenile Justice Coalition of Minnesota (JJC) *Note* Cheryl is no longer with the organization.

Capstone Description:

Conduct a training an create a guidebook on inter-agency collaboration for serving cross-over youth.

Capstone Update (2015):

A CYPM introductory training was held in March 2011; approximately 250 individuals participated from 11 counties and state agencies. As a result of the training, a partnership was formed between JJC and Susan Ault from Casey Family Programs and CJJR to launch CYPM in Minnesota. While Cheryl  moved away from Minnesota and is no longer with the department, CYPM work continues in Minnesota.

2009 MSI White Earth Native American Reservation, Ojibwe Tribe Participant

Contact:

Anita Fineday, Chief Judge - White Earth Tribal Nation 

Capstone Description:

Establish a collaborative court for youth involved in the juvenile justice system, as well as in the child welfare system and/or facing truancy charges.

2017 SJP Pine County, MN 

Contacts:

Andrew Almos, Superintendent, East Central Public Schools

Carla Big Bear, Office Manager, Mille Lacs Band of Ojibwe

Terry Fawcett, Probation Director, Pine County Probation

Rebecca Foss, Director, Pine County Health and Human Services

Reese Frederickson, Pine County Attorney, Pine County

Stefanie Youngberg, Principal, ISD 2580

Capstone Description:

To reduce school-based citations into the juvenile justice system, increase attendance rates, and decrease the number of cross-systems youth through the use of restorative justice practices, staff training on trauma-informed care, creation of a multi-disciplinary school-justice partnership, and improved culturally sensitive interventions with native youth.

Capstone Update (2024):

The team was successful in creating a truancy program that brought the Judge into local and Reservation schools to conduct court. Additionally, the team secured funding this past year for more Restorative Practices and plans to implement more programs.

2008 MSI CPI Ramsey County Team

Contacts:

James (Jim) Loye, Assistant Deputy Director - Juvenile Division - Ramsey County

Becky Montgomery, Planner/Youth at Risk Project Manager - Ramsey County

Capstone Description:

Conduct internal analysis to streamline process/services for youth.

2016 MSI Red Lake Nation 

Contacts: 

Stephanie Autumn, Consultant, Self Employed

David Conner, Self Governance Coordinator, Red Lake Nation

Muriel Dudley, Juvenile Facility/Recidivism Director, Red Lake Nation Children's Healing Center

Cheri Goodwin, Executive Director, Red Lake Family & Children Services

Ashley Kingbird, Family Advocacy Coordinator, Red Lake Nation Child Welfare

Dana Lyons, Captain, Red Lake Department of Public Safety

Alyss Mountain, Intervention Specialist, Red Lake Nation Children's Healing Center

Mary Ringhand, Judge, Red Lake Nation

Capstone Description:

Develop a holistic, integrated System of Care model to increase the availability, quality, and coordination of services for crossover youth and their families. This System of Care model focuses on Ojibwe cultural teachings, trauma-informed care, and restorative justice practice. The team's strategies include:

1. Increasing the availability and coordination of mental health, substance use, parent education, and K-12 education supports.

2. Providing training on trauma-informed approaches and restorative practices to behavioral health, tribal courts, and school district staff.

3. Engaging Red Lake Tribal leadership and community members through focus groups and interviews to improve quality of services.

Capstone Update (2018):

Through SAMHSA's Red Lake Native Connections grant, the team is conducting a community systems analysis to gain a clear picture of the community needs and to develop a disparities impact statement. The team has also provided training on trauma-informed approach as well as diversion and restorative practices. In terms of system partnerships, the Red Lake Tiwahe team meets regularly to develop MOAs to improve collaboration between tribal, county, state, and federal providers. Furthermore, the Executive Tribal Administrator and the Red Lake Tiwahe team is working with NTTAC to review and expand data collection and information-sharing capacity.

2015 Diversion Minneapolis/St. Paul Team

Contacts:

Sergio Andrade, Diversion Manager/Counselor, St. Paul Youth Services

Gwendolyn DeGroff-Gunter, Juvenile Outreach Coordinator, Metro Transit Police Department

Capstone Description:

Create a uniform multi-jurisdiction diversion program that takes into consideration of disproportionality and socioeconomic status to help establish an equitable diversion program.

2014 MSI St. Paul Participant

Contact:

Becky Hicks, Supervisor: Foster Care Education - Saint Paul Public Schools Fostering Connections Program

Capstone Description:

Create a training program for relevant child welfare and public school staff on information sharing between these two systems.

2012 ISCP St. Paul Participant

Contact:

Kristine Piescher, Director of Research and Evaluation - Center for Advanced Studies in Child Welfare, University of Minnesota

Capstone Description:

The proposed project will expand the infrastructure of Minn-LInK (e.g., integration of additional data, expanding and maintaining codebooks for new and existing data, developing ready-to-use datasets and tools for efficient utilization), create and pilot the Minn-LInK Fellowship Program to prepare future researchers for cross-system research on child well-being, and organize a community of researchers comprised of Minn-LInK Fellows, university faculty and researchers, and members of the advisory board.

Capstone Update (2015): 

Kristine surveyed key stakeholders to assess the general awareness of Minn-LInK, perceptions of its utility, and satisfaction with various aspects of the project. A second survey will be administered in summer of 2016 as a post-project comparison. Based on the first survey findings, she has been working to improve Minn-LInK. For example, she has met with multiple state agencies to discuss information sharing, and the agencies have agreed to share (bold fonts are new data that wasn't shared before):

- Education: academic records, student disciplinary data, science assessment, standardized test records, GED data.

- Corrections: adult incarceration data

- Human Services: Medicaid data for research on Autism Spectrum Disorder, child protection records, children's mental health records

- State Court Administrator's Office: Juvenile Justice court records on a study-specific basis