Ramsey County Corrections Juvenile Alternatives to Detention Program

About the Program

Category: Criminal Justice and Public Safety (Best in Category)

Year: 2013

The Ramsey County Corrections Juvenile Alternatives to Detention Program is a countywide collaborative approach to improving public safety while steering at-risk youth toward positive social development. It serves an urban county of 514,000, including Minnesota’s capitol, St. Paul. The program has cut admissions to juvenile detention by 46%, allowing us to close three detention pods. It has reduced racial disparities and kept 2,500 youth of color out of detention. It has preserved public safety: almost nine out of ten youth do not re-offend during participation. It has reduced the inappropriate use of detention and replaced it with a collection of community-based Alternatives to Detention that include home supervision, Evening Learning Centers, Weekend Learning Center, Community Coaches, and Work Readiness. It has done this cost-effectively; the annual cost is$757,500, but the program saves Ramsey County $600,000 in referrals to out-of-home placement for detention.The program has catalyzed reform of Ramsey County’s juvenile justice system. At its heart, this is a careful, intentional collaboration, involving numerous focus groups, community mapping, and active recruitment of participants from all sectors. This group has effectively woven together disconnected services and created a unified vision that cost-effectively improves public safety and taps community wisdom to improve the lives of at-risk youth.