Stearns County’s Human Services Dept. received national recognition for its prevention efforts in family and children’s services. 

Its Juvenile Community Action Team (JCAT) won a National Association of Counties’ (NACo) 2024 achievement award, which recognizes outstanding county government programs and services. They won best in the children and youth category in which there were over 2,000 applications.

Formed in 2022, when dealing with an extremely high number of child welfare cases which exploded during the COVID-19 pandemic, JCAT was established to be proactive with youth and families who were at risk of child maltreatment and criminal justice involvement. Working with schools, law enforcement, the health care system, mental health providers, probation and social services staff, they were able to identify youth with significant behavioral and mental health needs vulnerable to being sheltered in hospitals, jails, or county buildings, and then proactively address their issues. The JCAT works with families before they get into a crisis, letting them be the decision-makers on their need for services.

The program is seeing success, it is saving money and families are being served. Children are not in the ER, sitting in jail, or waiting for out of home placement. Youth and families are now effectively served by providing early multi-systems interventions and guidance to assist in building a sense of belonging and success.

Prior to implementation of the JCAT team, children were housed in the county building, while staff desperately sought dwindling to non-existent placement options; 22 children were housed for 67 days in the county building. After implementation of the JCAT team, the County reduced its out of home placement budget by $400,000 and the number of children entering care was reduced by an average of 24%. The county is on track to save $1 million this year alone from its reduction of out-of-home placements. 

Human Services Administrator Melissa Huberty emphasized that this program’s success is attributed to the many who play a role in the team and the collaboration of all the partners. It is these kinds of efforts that make a real difference in the lives of those the County serves by identifying issues early and being innovative in the approach.