Update on Boys Totem Town

The Ramsey County Board of Commissioners met on January 28 to hear from their Corrections Department

about issues related to the Juvenile Justice facilities for the county. As you may remember, a report was released last year that found that Boys Totem Town, as it is currently housed, has some major inadequacies. In addition, the downtown Juvenile Detention Center has also developed some facility short-comings related to safety and environmental controls (like temperature, access to light, etc.).

At the same time, JDAI (the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative) has been examining the whole process that we use to deal with youth who get into trouble - along the whole range of what "getting into trouble" can mean. "The purpose of the Juvenile Justice System, as agreed to by Ramsey County JDAI Stakeholder Group, is to attend to public safety and foster positive youth outcomes that are fair and equitable." (This is from the JDAI website.) The county and the community recognize that the juvenile justice system is only one part of a system (including families, neighborhoods, institutions, etc) that looks to the well-being of our young people. But they also recognize that there is a preponderance of young people of color (particularly African American youth) who actually end up entangled with the juvenile justice system. Consequently, we all need to be addressing the factors that create that reality. (For example - 70% of youth in the system are African American, 70% have substance use or abuse issues, 50% have mental health issues, and 75-90% have experienced significant trauma in their lives.)

But to start with, looking at the continuity of services that the Ramsey County Juvenile Justice System provides means assessing the programming at the Juvenile Detention Center and Boys Totem Town. And once that programming is assessed, do the facilities allow for the effective range of programming that we know helps youth and their families address past actions and prepare for positive participation in our society?

Over the last months, the Corrections staff has identified three potential approaches to assuring that facilities and programming are aligned for most effective work with troubled youth. They are:

• Have a new BTT facility co-located with a new JDC
• Have a new BTT facility and a JDC that is either renovated or not at the current location
• Develop a partnership with Hennepin County's Home School (BTT equivalent)

The meeting this week focused on discussing the merits and difficulties of the third option. It is important to understand that at this point in the discussions, the County Commissioners are collecting information on all the options so that a decision can be made as to which will provide the best possible outcomes for Ramsey County youth and their families.

The partnership with Hennepin County is being explored because it could potentially provide expanded services for Ramsey County youth - currently BTT is for boys only, girls who have problems are not being addressed in other ways; and currently Ramsey County contracts out work with sex offenders to other agencies. Hennepin County has successful programs for both girls and for sex offenders.

Discussion focused on whether there is philosophic alignment among the programming approaches for the two counties and where the two complement each other. There was discussion on the variety of ownership models that exist for joint programming as this approach suggests. There was discussion of the implications for human resources (how would staffs be merged, how would contracts be established, seniority be dealt with, etc. etc...) and for the governance of such a joined program and facility.

There was NO discussion of where such a potential joint facility would be located. There was NO decision about whether this was a preferred option among the three or not. There was ONLY a decision that the option should continue to be explored; that elected and court officials from both counties should meet, be brought up to speed on discussions so far, and that the implications of such a choice on everyone involved be further explored.

The hope is that there will be another meeting of the Ramsey County Commissioners in March at which time there MAY be a decision made as to which of the three options - new, co-located BTT and JDC (Ramsey County only); new BTT built and JDC at downtown location either renovated or not (Ramsey County only); or new joint venture between Ramsey and Hennepin County initiated - which of these three best meets the objective of an effective, fair and equitable juvenile justice continuum of services for our youth.

Stay tuned for how the community can be involved in all this...

Community Discussion on Youth - D1 Board minutes 1/27/14

The District 1 Community Council Board met on January 27 at Conway Rec Center. Thanks to the 20+ individuals in attendance on this very, very cold evening! The Board approved its end-of-budget year financial reports that showed a less than $1000 decrease in our net assets. This decrease represented a portion of the investment we put into our new database system. We had strong financial support from our donors that compensated for much of the total investment made.

Our guest was Chuck Armstrong, Chief Legislative Officer of the Rixmann Companies (parent company of Pawn America, PA Exchange and PayDay America). He talked to us about how things are going at the Suburban Avenue location, their desire to consolidate into one location all three of these local businesses and then talked about the commitment they have to the community. They were a big supporter of National Night Out, but are making an additional commitment of $2500 for our youth programming. We are now in the process of outlining just what we will use that money for.

We had a discussion about the youth programming and planning for future youth investments. We heard from Tim Turner and Chris Melendez about the Young Men’s Group that they have been shepherding over the last year. They now have about 30 young men between the ages of 10 and 18 years who are attending their weekly gatherings. These gatherings include discussions about a variety of topics, hearing from speakers with wisdom to share, and sharing a monthly meal courtesy of Culvers Restaurant. Thanks to Parks and Rec, Brueggers at SunRay and the Sanneh Foundation, they are also cooking, serving and sharing breakfast on Saturdays before sports activities. We also heard a summary of work that Ebony Young (our youth initiative organizer) is doing around a Young Women’s Group, including a partnership with Battle Creek Middle School for a “chapter” of the YWG that will be held after school twice a week. Our organization is seeking funding from a variety of sources to support and expand all this work.

As we talked about the future, one of the young men who attends the YMG said that, before the group came along, he had never had a way to actually meet other young people in the neighborhood. He said that he had been skeptical about joining the group, but when he understood that the young men actually had OWNERSHIP of the group, when he understood the commitment the adult facilitators had made to the youth, he felt as if he had found home.

One of the suggestions that he had was that there be more “events” for youth in the area. As we think about the businesses, organizations, and activities we have and want in the area we need to think about how the entire community can be involved in creating such events – think potlucks and board game nights, regular time slots for all-age pick-up games or tournaments – things that cost very little time and money but have a huge impact on a sense of belonging.

There was also discussion about connecting youth and elders – examples of how that is already happening but what can be done to bolster those connections. We will be discussing with our funders purchasing YOUTH GROUP t-shirts that will identify the young people working together in the community as they take it upon themselves to do snow shoveling, raking, litter clean up and so on.

We need to get the word out that all this is happening, can be happening even more, and that EVERYONE is welcome to participate.

Annual Battle Creek Regional Park Earth Day Clean Up 4/26

This event takes place in April every year. This year the event is on April 26. Volunteers are always needed for the following duties:

• Picking up trash.
• As site leaders — checking in volunteers and joining the clean-up efforts

The event began in 1993 when a group of Battle Creek area residents coordinated a small clean-up effort in the park areas adjacent to their neighborhood. Since that time, the Battle Creek clean-up has grown to over 300 volunteers who collect several tons of trash and debris each year!

The event happens every year in April. For groups wishing to participate, registration should happen by April 14.

To participate, call 651.748.2500, x400. Once you are registered, a volunteer will contact you with complete details, as well as your assigned clean-up location and where to meet. 

Consider becoming an Election Judge

In the last two years Ramsey County has had many election judges retire from serving. We have a mid-term election coming up this year that will see a healthy turn-out of voters. So having more judges committed to assuring a fair electoral process is essential.

Ramsey County is looking for people with an interest in the election process and in assuring that everyone who has a right to vote is able to vote. 

This year’s election will be larger than last therefore more judges are critical. Training is available and judges are paid to serve.

[As someone who has served as an election judge for at least 12 years (this is Betsy talking...), I can honestly say that being an election judge is one of the most rewarding experiences related to American citizenship I have ever had. To assist first-time voters - whether they are youth or have recently earned their citizenship status - is fantastic. To see how important it is for people to exercise this right will restore any lost faith you may have in our political process.]

If you are interested in serving, or want to know more, you can contact Janine Valento by email at  janine.valento@co.ramsey.mn.us or phone 651-266-2219 and she would be happy to talk with anyone with questions.

Ash Tree Removal in District 1

Removals of declining or infested public Ash trees on the eastside, including District 1, will begin later next week. A total of 196 public boulevard ash trees will be removed on the eastside, and then replanted (either spring or fall depending on species).

This removal is a part of Parks' Emerald Ash Borer management plan, and as Forestry has done with success over the last 3 years, we will be notifying every homeowner that will be directly affected by these removals via postcard at least a week before the removals begin (residents should receive their notification today or tomorrow). Parks has also scheduled an open house/meeting hosted by Forestry at Hazel Park Rec. Center at 6 p.m. on Jan. 13. 

Following the removals and prior to replanting, we leave a door "knocker" at each house with what species tree we plan to replant. Homeowners are given the option of calling Forestry to request a different species (but we limit some species choices so we have a diversity). 

Following the Eastside removals, there will be removals in the Highland area, and then a significant set of removals along Lexington Parkway from University to Como Park. City Forestry is using multiple tools to slow the spread to help pace funding and replanting throughout the city, but it is crucial that residents are informed about the potential hazards of this pest and what options they may have for their own private property ash trees. The City's EAB website - www.stpaul.gov/eab - has a lot of information about what the City is doing, and what homeowners can do for their own tree.

The areas in District 1 that will have trees removed are Conway between Birmingham and Germain, 3rd Street between Birmingham and Hazelwood, and Germain between Conway and 3rd.