Sponsor: Safety and Justice
Title
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Joint Powers Agreement with the City of Maplewood for the Appropriate Responses Initiative’s Community Responders Pilot Program
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Recommendation
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1. Approve the joint powers agreement with the City of Maplewood for the Appropriate Responses Initiative’s Community Responders Pilot Program for a period upon execution through December 31, 2026.
2. Authorize the Chair and Chief Clerk to execute the joint powers agreement.
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Background and Rationale
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Appropriate Responses Initiative (ARI) was created through a co-design process where stakeholders were brought together from across the county including Ramsey County community members, internal staff, police departments (including the Ramsey County Sheriff’s office), city officials including a suburban city representative and police and fire representation from St. Paul and suburban Ramsey County. Co-design members also represented the community through youth, cultural, faith, service provision organizations, advocacy and lived experiences.
Co-design was used to discuss the ways the system was currently working and opportunities that were seen for changes. In regard to public safety, members found:
1. Law enforcement needed help and support in responding to calls that they did not have specialized training in.
2. The individuals answering the 911 calls needed a deeper set of resources to be able to meet the complex and nuanced needs of the people on the other end of the phone.
3. Community members needed responses that centered wellness, invested in community institutions, and helped people get the core of their needs met.
In partnership with the City of Maplewood the launch of ARI’s Community Responders pilot program will provide alternative response services to a subset of low-level, non-violent, non-life-threatening 911 calls and resident situations in the city. Community Responders will provide in the moment support by connecting residents to resources based on needs, complete outreach to city organizations and residents, as well as follow-up with community members after immediate situations has been resolved.
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County Goals (Check those advanced by Action)
☒ Well-being ☐ Prosperity ☐ Opportunity ☐ Accountability
Racial Equity Impact
Ramsey County’s focus on justice system transformation is centered in community and wellness, where changing the system is rooted in partnerships with community and system stakeholders that align with community values. Black and American Indian communities in Ramsey County are burdened by significant disparities across life outcomes, including rates of arrest and incarceration. ARI seeks to disrupt these disparities by finding new ways to keep neighborhoods safe, disrupt pathways to incarceration, and empower community.
ARI aims to achieve several key outcomes for our Black and American Indian communities by:
• Improving the well-being of communities.
• Reducing the engagement of communities with the justice system.
• Lowering incarceration rates.
• Reducing financial obligations to the justice system.
• Decreasing crime and victimization rates.
Community Participation Level and Impact
Community members will work alongside the ARI planning team to collaborate on the implementation of the Community Responders pilot program in the city of Maplewood. Maplewood residents will receive intentional marketing communication informing them of the Ramsey County and Maplewood Community Responder program partnership.
☒ Inform ☒ Consult ☒ Involve ☒ Collaborate ☐ Empower
Fiscal Impact
Ramsey County has a client services agreement with Minnesota Care Partner LLC, DBA Roots Wellness Center. The county will pay the contractor a not-to-exceed amount of $668,065 over the life of the contract to provide the Community Responder services for the pilot program. Funds have been allocated to a project in support of the county’s strategic priorities.
Last Previous Action
On May 27, 2025, the Ramsey County Board of Commissioners held a workshop on the Strategic Priority: Putting Well-Being and Community at the Center of Justice System Transformation - Appropriate Response Initiative.
Attachments
1. Joint Powers Agreement