85 People Turn Out to Hear About Boys Totem Town

Eighty-five people turned out last night for a presentation and discussion about the future of Boys Totem Town. The meeting, a joint venture between Ramsey County and the District 1 Community Council, was meant to update the community about what has happened in the evaluation of the facility at Totem Town, an assessment of the programming for juvenile corrections, and the process for determining how to best use the 80 acre site. (An added note - the 100th year anniversary of the founding of Boys Totem Town is coming up on October 9 from 3-6p at the facility - 398 Totem Road - the public is welcome.)

Erika Martin, District 1 Council President, welcomed the attendees and introduced County Commissioner Jim McDonough. Commissioner McDonough introduced the Ramsey County Corrections staff attending, including Corrections Director, Carol Roberts; Deputy Director for Juvenile Corrections, Michael Belton; Boys Totem Town Superintendent Steve Poynter and his Assistant Superintendent, Keith Lattimore; Treatment Director, Neerja Singh;  and Chris Crutchfield, Deputy Director for Community and External Affairs; and other corrections staff. Several of these officials made brief presentations or answered attendees' questions.

The buildings at Boys Totem Town were identified some time ago as being inadequate for the way in which treatment of juvenile offenders is now conducted. The main building at the site is the second oldest in Ramsey County; the newest building on site is from 1975. The purpose of Ramsey County's work around the facility at this time is to better align the programming (based on best practices of a Juvenile Detention Alternatives model (JDAI) and on evidence-based treatments, that is, focusing on what has been demonstrated to work) with the available facilities.

Boys Totem Town (BTT) has a capacity to house up to 85 young men, but has only been housing 20-40 youth over the last several years. This lowered number of residents is a result of 1) a significant reduction in juvenile crime, and 2) the use of JDAI approach - finding the appropriate treatment for each youth rather than applying a "one size fits all" approach. In addition to the reduction in use of beds at BTT, the juvenile detention center in downtown has seen a consistent reduction in the number of youth confined. So the range of juvenile corrections facilities has been in need of reassessment.

In 2008, a consultant was hired to assess the facility at BTT. (Read the report or executive summary at these two links.) The consultant came up with 6 possible alternatives. At the current time, Corrections staff is working to take the consultant's report and narrow the alternatives to 2 or 3 based on: 1) what kind of facility is needed, 2) how big the facility should be, 3) what services are necessary, and 4) where the location should be. A part of this assessment is determining whether BTT and the Juvenile Detention Center should be co-located. This narrowing of alternatives should be completed by November. This narrowing will be done by Corrections staff based on the needs of the youth.

Once the alternatives are narrowed, the information will be taken to the County Board of Commissioners who will decide if more information is needed about this narrowed list of alternatives, before the County Commissioners decide which alternative the County can make happen. Regardless of whether the decision is to build on the current site, or to vacate it (either option of which is probably 3 1/2 years in the future), the County is committed to working with the community to determine what happens at the current site.

Director Belton outlined how the County's juvenile justice system works, the many players in that system - from law enforcement to the judiciary to the corrections professionals. Within the later group there are three branches - the detention center ("juvenile jail"), juvenile probation and supervised release, and BTT - the residential treatment center. In addition, there are regional and state facilities and players.

The mission of BTT is two-fold: to provide safety for the community and for youth, and to provide treatment to turn around the lives of the youth at BTT and reconnect them in a positive way with the community. The young men ordered to go to BTT are between the ages of 12 and 18 years.

Questions from the attendees included:
1) How does the future planning for the site play in with existing community plans which designate a vacated site to remain as open space? Are such plans a covenant? - District 1 notes that the existing community plan is in the process of update; the community is and will continue to be involved in that process; and any update will assure sustainability of the proposal. Current plans are available for review by the public and are a part of the updating process. (Highwood Plan here, D1 Community Plan here)
2) Can the open space be used for urban agriculture? Housing? - These types of suggestions or concerns will be addressed in the planning process once the decision is made about what is best for aligning corrections' needs with facility needs. District 1 notes that it currently is receiving assistance from UM's Center for Urban and Regional Affairs to assess housing needs in the area.
3) What can residents do now? - The decisions being made now require professional expertise from corrections personnel. Residents can read the materials linked here, sign up for email notices about next steps, talk to others about what they have heard, ask questions of and make your opinions known to County Commissioner McDonough and to City Council President Kathy Lantry or District 1.
4) How unique is BTT? and How can the programming there make best use of the setting? County Corrections staff compared BTT to similar facilities across the state, spoke about how they work with other facilities that offer different options, and said that they will try to see how they can incorporate the environmental amenities into their programming.
5) What is the timeline? - Again - November for a reduction of the options from 6 to 2 or 3, leaving the option open for the need for further input in order to select the prime alternative, an extensive period for community process to determine how the site fits in with the community and with this prime alternative, and PROBABLY a break ground date 3 1/2 years down the road.
6) How do we assure that equity issues are addressed in this planning? How do we involve the populations most affected by the decision in the decision-making to come? - District 1, Ramsey County Corrections, Ramsey County and the City of Saint Paul are committed to do everything possible to assure equitable community involvement. We all welcome your suggestions and assistance in making that happen.