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January 18, 2008 (MINNEAPOLIS) – Juveniles in Hennepin County who are picked up by law enforcement for low-level offenses such as breaking curfew will be taken to a new Juvenile Supervision Center in Minneapolis City Hall.

“We’re changing the way we deal with youthful offenders,” explains Sharlene Shelton of Hennepin’s Human Services and Public Health Department (HSPHD). She said the new model is the culmination of three years of research and planning. “The Juvenile Supervision Center will offer youth and their families assistance in an effort to prevent delinquency.”

The old model of handling youthful offenders failed to involve the families or to assess the young person for needs, Shelton explained. “It was a traditional model, and we weren’t able to connect youth to services. We were holding them until a responsible adult showed up.”

The new model will allow law enforcement officers, either police or sheriff, to bring any Hennepin youth aged 10 to 17 picked up for low-level offenses such as truancy, curfew violation or vandalism to the center, where they will receive voluntary assessment and referrals.

“The Juvenile Supervision Center will help us determine and respond to juvenile delinquency-risk factors,” says David Brummel of HSPHD. “We anticipate most of the youth will be handled by a call to mom and dad, but some will need more help, which could include referrals for the youth and family to community-based agencies and other government resources.”

Based on past years, it is estimated that 4,000 youth will be brought to the center in 2008, primarily from Minneapolis. The center will be staffed 24/7 by The Link, a Minneapolis nonprofit.

Besides offering law enforcement a single drop-off point for at-risk youth, the center will provide consistent data collection and ongoing monitoring of outcomes, including recidivism, truancy rates and arrest rates for juvenile crime.

The opening of the new center comes as many city, county and community leaders are working together to more effectively prevent youth violence before it occurs. On Jan. 7, City of Minneapolis leaders released a Blueprint for Action to Reduce Youth Violence in Minneapolis that outlined 34 steps to reduce youth violence, including support for the Juvenile Supervision Center.

The center is under the direction of the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners and the Curfew-Truancy Joint Powers Agreement, which includes Hennepin, the City of Minneapolis and the Minneapolis Public Schools. Funding is derived primarily from Hennepin (about $610,000) and the City of Minneapolis ($110,000).

“Our goal with the new Juvenile Supervision Center is to prevent further youth involvement with the criminal justice system. By providing wraparound services, we believe we can help young people get on the right track,” said Hennepin County Commissioner Gail Dorfman.

“One of the best ways that we can prevent youth violence is to intervene at the first sign that a young person is becoming involved in troubling behavior,” said Minneapolis Mayor R.T Rybak. “Having this center will help us better connect with young people heading in the wrong direction to get them back on track with exactly the right kind of support and opportunities they need to succeed.”

Hennepin County Attorney Michael Freeman said, “I'm very excited about the opening. Fifteen years ago we recognized the importance of having kids at home safe in bed at night and in school awake, alert and ready to learn the next day. These are important components in crime prevention and the new center will represent a significant expansion in our ability to make that happen.”

Minneapolis Police Chief Tim Dolan said he believes that the center will be a significant factor in combating juvenile crime and in reducing violent crime. “Over the past two years, juveniles accounted for almost half of all those arrested for violent crimes. Those numbers have dropped by 20 percent due to a renewed focus by officers on violent offenders as well as curfew and truancy. In fact, schools that worked with the police reported a 75 percent improvement in truancy problems,” he said.