Building Local Continuums of Care to Support Youth

Better results for all youth can be accomplished by elevating community-based options and supporting system integration. The initiative's major purpose is to improve outcomes for adolescents and families by investing greater resources in preventative and intervention programming throughout a community-based continuum of care in communities that are disproportionately impacted by incarceration. This initiative will support the identified jurisdictions in Minnesota to conduct a planning process that will identify available resources and existing gaps in prevention and intervention services for youth at risk of involvement or already involved in the juvenile justice system. This cross-departmental collaboration between the Minnesota Department of Health (MDH) and Minnesota Department of Public Safety (DPS) will develop a blueprint for how communities can develop a pathway to care for at risk youth. A unique, community-based core advisory council comprised of impacted agencies and organizations will map out an ideal system for coordinating care and resources for system involved youth and families. DPS will serve as fiscal agent for this grant, oversee management of the grant and any sub awards. Additionally, DPS, Office of Justice Programs (OJP) serves as the Designated State Agency (DSA) for the Minnesota Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee (JJAC), which is Minnesota’s OJJDP-recognized State Advisory Group (SAG). JJAC will provide guidance and implementation support at various points throughout the grant. Additionally, DPS-OJP hosts Minnesota’s Statistical Analysis Center (SAC) and can provide statewide juvenile justice data and analysis. MDH will provide guidance around best-practice, evidence-based mental health delivery practices, and evaluation of Planning Team progress and outcomes.