Looking Ahead

December is a time for reflection on the past and thinking ahead toward the future. Rice County has accomplished many things to reflect on such as lower crime rates, lower drug use among our children, and drastically fewer DWI’s and alcohol related deaths. The citizens of Rice County together with the Rice County Chemical Health Coalition, Rice County TZD Safe Roads Coalition, Rice County Drug Taskforce, Drug Court, Rice County Family Service Collaborative, and many other partnerships have established programs including Take It To The BOX, Tip 411, Rice County ZAP (zero alcohol providers), SMART (Sexual Assault Multidisciplinary Action Response Team), Drug Court, and Sober Cab. We need to be vigilant in our efforts to prevent crime. These and other programs need constant maintenance and renewal. Relationships and partnerships do not sustain themselves without the efforts of all participants. As a partner and collaborator in these efforts, I know how everyone works towards achieving the goal of a healthier, safer Rice County.

I leave Rice County with new collaborative projects in the works. One is the Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative (JDAI) grant and another is the Blue Print for Safety grant which deals with victims of domestic assaults. Both of these projects will make Rice County a safer place for all its citizens even if you are not a juvenile or victim of domestic violence. The root cause of many crimes stems from violence in the home or a juvenile being corrupted through inappropriate detention.

With the JDAI grant, we will seek to:

•Eliminate unnecessary use of secure detention for juveniles

•Prevent racial/ethnic disparities

•Redirect resources to effective community-based/culturally appropriate services for youth and their families

The grant we received allows Rice County to begin the process of applying evidenced-based practices to promote child well-being by investing in the development and use of rigorously evaluated programs that help kids reach critical milestones on the path to a healthy adulthood. The first year will be spent collecting information and data on our current practices. We will then be in a position to implement programing that will strengthen our community, improve the outcomes for our children, and improve public safety. Other communities in Minnesota who have implemented the JDAI program have found not only have they reaped the noted benefits, but also all have seen savings in the cost of out-of-home placements. The tax payers of Rice County should also see these benefits.

The Blue Print for Safety program stands on six foundational principles of intervention that maximize safety for victims of domestic violence and holds offenders accountable while offering them opportunities to change. The communities who have adopted these principles recorded a decrease in homicides associated with domestic violence and overall a reduction in domestic violence. The outcome for the victims of domestic violence improved immensely when they were engaged in the process and the process is focused on the needs of the victim and offender.

The success of our past collaborations in addressing community concerns bode well for the success of these two new initiatives in the New Year and beyond. All future success though rest on all of us doing our part to make Rice County a better place to live.

And on a personal commentary-Thank you to all of the citizens of Rice County for the opportunity to serve you as the Rice County Attorney over the last 15+ years and thank you to all those wonderful people I have had the privilege of serving with and working with to make Rice County a better and safer place to live. Merry Christmas and have a Happy New Year!

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