by April Scheinoha
Reporter
The Pennington County Board heard an update on the local probation office at its meeting Tuesday, July 25. The update was provided by Cody Underdahl, supervisor for the Minnesota Department of Corrections Bemidji District 2 Field Office.
The district includes Kittson, Lake of the Woods, Marshall, Pennington and Roseau counties. It employs Underdahl as well as 14 probation agents and four support staff members. Currently, the district serves 483 adults and 44 juveniles. Of the adults on probation, 59 are on supervised release.
Specifically, Pennington County has 191 adults on probation. Underdahl said that the county has the most probationers of the counties served by him and his staff. Twenty-four of the adults are on supervised release and 31 are subject to predatory offender requirements. Twenty juvenile offenders are also on probation in Pennington County.
The Pennington County probationers are served by a field office located at the Pennington County Justice Center. Serving Pennington and Marshall counties, the field office employs seven probation agents and two support staff members. Underdahl said they hope to soon fill a vacancy created by the resignation of Probation Officer Wayne Nomeland, who had been with the DOC for 20+ years.
Of the probation agents based in Thief River Falls, three supervise adult probationers. One agent supervises enhanced predatory offenders, which involves high-intensity supervision and working with the Sex Offender Treatment Program. Another agent supervises juvenile offenders.
Two other probation agents work respectively with the Pennington and Marshall County DWI Court, and the Pennington County Drug Court. Grants fund their work. Both courts utilize a multidisciplinary approach to reduce recidivism. Nineteen Pennington County residents and five Marshall County residents currently participate in DWI Court. Twelve people are participating in Pennington County Drug Court.
Recently, the local DOC field office expanded its cognitive behavioral programming. More female-specific programming has been added. It has also added the Decision Points Program for offenders of any gender.
Underdahl outlined various recent legislative changes. One change is the Minnesota Rehabilitation and Reinvestment Act, which allows prison inmates with lengthy sentences to receive a reduction in their prison time after completing 50% of their sentence. As part of that program, the inmate has to develop a release plan with a case manager.
Juveniles certified as adults in adult court with life or lengthy prison sentences now have the ability to have their cases brought back to the justice system.
Another impact on Underdahl’s office is Restore the Vote, which allowed felons to restore their right to vote after being released from prison. Field office support staff members were then tasked with notifying probationers of this option.
The county’s Opioid Funding Committee provided information about how the committee plans to spend the county’s opioid settlement money.
Kayla Jore, a committee member, said the county is slated to receive $1.15 million over the next 18 years as part of opioid settlements. She indicated the committee has been meeting for about a year to uncover data, any issues and identify partners. In northwest Minnesota, women of childbearing age from ages 24 to 35 have the highest use of opioids. With that in mind, the committee has been focusing on prevention.
The committee has created a Family Based Program to support families dealing with substance abuse. These services will be provided to children/families at risk due to drug and alcohol use and abuse.
To that end, the committee is establishing a core team that includes representatives of social services, public health, county schools, Sanford Behavioral Health and law enforcement. The core team will meet monthly to review program referrals. If the family agrees to participate in the program, an appropriate support team will be created for the family and the team will develop a plan for services/supports. The support team will work with the family, its goals and determine if there are additional services that the family needs. Agencies will bill the committee for time/travel/services provided.
The committee will provide information about its plans to representatives of the cities of Goodridge, St. Hilaire and Thief River Falls on Thursday, Aug. 3. The meeting will be held at 1 p.m. in Meeting Room A at the Government Center.