Tom Horgen News Today

In Minnesota, as in much of the country, alternative approaches to handling youth crimes have been slow to gain public support. But Colorado has overcome these obstacles through a series of hard-won legislative victories and a commitment to measuring outcomes.

Extended youth probation was once heralded as an innovative alternative to prison for adolescents who commit violent crimes. Instead, an alarming number end up incarcerated for minor probation offenses.

As youth detention centers close, Minnesota runs out of places to rehabilitate kids who commit serious crimes.

Each day, Minnesota judges and prosecutors make life-altering decisions about children who break the law. Most kids end up entangled in the county court system, but some youth are offered an alternative, known as diversion. A child’s future can hinge on the path that is chosen.

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It can be a struggle to find our social stride now that the world has opened up again.

A Star Tribune examination of hundreds of juvenile court records finds that the system is failing to effectively intervene in the lives of Minnesota’s most troubled youth, often despite anguished pleas from parents.

New roles and new hires are key in newsroom effort to better reflect communities it serves.