Sponsor: County Attorney's Office
Title
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Grant Agreement with the Minnesota Department of Public Safety for the Crossover/Dual Status Youth Grants 2025 Program
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Recommendation
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1. Ratify the submittal of the grant application to the Minnesota Department of Public Safety for the Crossover/Dual Status Youth Grants 2025 Program.
2. Accept a grant award and approve a grant agreement with the Minnesota Department of Public Safety for the Crossover/Dual Status Youth Grants 2025 Program for the period upon execution to June 30, 2026 in the amount of $300,000.
3. Authorize the Chair and Chief Clerk to execute the grant agreement.
4. Authorize the County Manager to establish the budget for the Minnesota Department of Public Safety for the Crossover/Dual Status Youth Grants 2025 Program in the County Attorney’s Office.
5. Authorize the County Manager to enter into agreements and execute amendments to agreements in accordance with the county’s procurement policies and procedures, provided the amounts are within the limits of the grant funding.
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Background and Rationale
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With a grant budget of $300,000, County Attorney’s Office (RCAO) plans to use: $51,000 for technical assistance, assessment, and development; $150,000 for a full-time navigator, and $99,000 for community-based services.
RCAO’s goal is to improve the response to youth who ‘cross over,’ i.e. are referred to the delinquency system who have a history of abuse, neglect or involvement in the child protection system. The technical assistance funding will enable RCAO to create a comprehensive plan for youth who are referred for domestic violence charges, missing (runaway), and youth who are at risk of being deemed incompetent as youth in these circumstances are often held at the Juvenile Detention Center (JDC) for long periods of time. Currently, families may wait weeks or more before they hear from a provider or system partner. RCAO’s focus is to strengthen communication with families/caregivers who are reluctant to pick up their child from the JDC, lessening the response time for families in crisis and time the youth remain at the JDC. To achieve this, the Navigator will work closely with JDC staff, who already assess some of a youth's needs through their Risk Assessment Instrument (RAI) at the time of intake. Currently, JDC staff assess a youth's documented history of running away from home or placement within the last 24 months. Additionally, staff also assess prior offense history and mitigating factors, such as if a parent or guardian will take custody and deliver youth to court if applicable, which the Navigator may use to perform a preliminary assessment of the types of services needed. Youth and their families will have direct access to the Navigator, providing regular feedback about their care plan.
Hiring a full-time Youth Navigator will enable RCAO to consult with attorneys, social workers, JDC staff, community, and court to identify crossover youth and coordinate a unique care plan for them and their families. To do so, this Navigator will work closely with RCAO’s Youth Services Coordinator (who supports the community providers) and Restorative Outreach and Support Coordinator (who engages families), in addition to collaborating with the youth's school community to improve attendance. Ultimately, this team will create a holistic care plan working towards family stability, ensuring that resources are available, and services are rendered where needed.
Service funding will enable RCAO to expand community-based services to address the needs of youth suffering from intrafamilial violence and enhance restorative responses through circle dialogue. Depending on the needs and types of services provided, RCAO expects this funding to serve around 50 to 75 youth and families. These youth, under the traditional system, would have been petitioned to court. This dedicated funding will allow RCAO to invest in new culturally responsive community-based organizations trained to respond to domestic violence. Keeping youth connected to their families and communities while ensuring safety through wrap-around services, conflict resolution, mental health services will help reduce unnecessary confinement of youth engaging in intrafamilial violence.
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County Goals (Check those advanced by Action)
☒ Well-being ☒ Prosperity ☒ Opportunity ☐ Accountability
Racial Equity Impact
As young people referred to the justice system, finding themselves at JDC due to intrafamilial violence, largely identify as Black/African American, this effort, if successful, will significantly reduce disparities in terms of who is being confined and unnecessary confinement at the JDC, ideally addressing the underlying issues driving the violence, so families can stay together and out of the justice system.
Community Participation Level and Impact
As with all of RCAO’s efforts to (re)imagine justice for youth, staff are engaging community in co-design, governance, decision-making and responding to the challenges involving youth in the community. This is an expansion of those efforts, in collaboration with Youth Justice Transformation, to address an area of significant need driving detentions in JDC.
☒ Inform ☒ Consult ☒ Involve ☒ Collaborate ☐ Empower
Fiscal Impact
State grant funding will fund the costs associated with personnel services and professional services under this grant in the County Attorney’s Office budget. RCAO will hire a limited duration 1.0 FTE Planning Specialist under this grant award.
Last Previous Action
None.
Attachments
1. Grant Agreement - Crossover/Dual Status Youth Grants 2025 Program