Motivational Interviewing: Activating the Healthy Self

Wednesday, January 16 – Noon Central (one hour)

There is no charge for this webinar.

As clinicians, we are concerned with how best to help someone who is at a stuck point in their lives. Motivational interviewing has helped clinicians maintain a therapeutic alliance as their patients struggle to find a healthier alternative to what they have been doing. Dr. Allen Berger has developed an ancillary approach to motivational interviewing that helps a patient who is stuck or resistant to change activate a part of themselves that he refers to as the healthy self. Dr. Berger will teach clinicians how to draw out this part of a patient and how to activate the healthy self so it can become a joint contributor to a person's emotional well-being.

Speaker: Allen Berger, Author

Dr. Allen Berger is a talented psychotherapist, lecturer and popular recovery author who has written extensively about the experience of recovery, the important topic of emotional sobriety, integrating modern psychotherapy and the Twelve Steps, and the psychological forces operating in the Twelve Steps. He is author of 12 Stupid Things That Mess Up Recovery, 12 Hidden Rewards of Making Amends, 12 Smart Things to Do When the Booze and Drugs Are Gone and his most recent Hazelden book, 12 More Stupid Things That Mess Up Recovery.

Minnesota Association for the Treatment of Sexual Abusers Invite you to be an Exhibitor or Conference Reception Sponsor at our 23^rd  Annual Conference - April 10-12, 2019

Thank you for your continued efforts to maintain public safety.  Your work provides an important link, helping to connect other professionals, offenders and victims to services. We would like to offer you the opportunity to expand your visibility to others in the field.  We anticipate over 600 professionals from Minnesota, as well as neighboring states and Canada, in attendance at our annual conference. Our preconference and keynote speakers are well-known researchers, clinicians and authors.  This year’s lineup includes Dr. Jan Looman, Al Vernacchio, Marian Hatcher, Samuel Simmons, and many others.

The 23^rd Annual Conference reflects the goals of the organization to develop and support cooperative efforts to educate professionals and the public about sexual abuse and develop effective prevention, treatment, and management strategies.  The conference is designed for a multidisciplinary audience including psychologists, social workers, probation agents, mental health providers, judges, attorneys, sex crimes investigators, polygraph examiners, dispositional advisors, victim advocates, correctional staff and treatment professionals. We are offering two options to increase awareness of your business or organization to the professionals who need to know about you.    Conference Exhibitor:  Information and materials from your organization or business may be displayed from the morning of April 10 through 3 pm on April 12.  Cost for each 8-foot skirted table is $385.00.  (Continental breakfast, lunch, and break treats are included for one person at each exhibit. If additional people who aren’t registered help at your exhibit and eat the snacks or meals they must pay $64 per day, which is our actual cost.) If you wish to attend workshops you must register for the conference.  Electrical service is available for an additional $100.00 for the three days.     Your name will be printed in our program and your exhibit will be located in the break-out area where breakfast and breaks are provided. This offers excellent potential for interaction with conference attendees.

 Your exhibit should be set up by 8:00 am on Wednesday, April 10.  You may set up on Tuesday evening if you contact us ahead of time.  You will pick your spot when you set up, first come-first served.  The conference schedule is attached.

   Conference Reception Sponsor:  On Thursday evening, April 11, a 1 ½ hour social networking reception is offered to all participants.  We are asking for your financial support of this networking opportunity and in return we will provide a link from our webpage to yours for one year.  Your name and contact information will be printed in the program and displayed during the conference and at the reception.  We are requesting a minimum gift of $100. When:   Wednesday, April 10 through Friday, April 12, 2019

Where:  Minneapolis Marriot Northwest, 7025 Northland Drive, Brooklyn Park, MN 55428

 Questions?  Please contact 4mnatsa@gmail.com   Please reply by March 18, 2019.

Conference brochure and additional information is available at www.mnatsa.org after January 7^th.

2019 PARENTING EDUCATION SYMPOSIUM

January 10, 2019, 9:30-3:30 at the University of Minnesota, St. Paul Student Center, North Star Ballroom. Space is limited, register soon!  

The Parenting Education Symposia are part of Minnesota's P3 work, which consists of building comprehensive, coherent systems before birth and up through third grade. The focus is on great leaders, great teachers, and great systems while building and sustaining capacity for coherence throughout the learning continuum.

"Working Together on the Challenges of Homelessness" for coherence throughout the learning continuum.

LEAD. LEARN. BUILD. • Lead learners model making growth a priority and lead capacity building. Mainstream programs play a significant role in preventing and ending homelessness in Minnesota - particularly through specific, local efforts and through the Minnesota Interagency Council on Homelessness' Foundational Service Practices that are intended to make these programs work more effectively for people in the midst of a housing crisis (from Heading Home Together). Addressing homelessness, and its negative impact on children and families, requires intentional, collaborative, and focused efforts. The 2019 Parenting Education Symposium will bring together family professionals from a variety of sectors. Together we will learn and plan together, advancing our work to better address the needs of families.

Leaders build systems. They empower and build others. They help build opportunities. The available resources for ending homelessness must be used in the most efficient and impactful way possible. We must understand the needs of families experiencing homelessness and make connections to resources that best meet those needs (from Heading Home Together). Person-centered, trauma-informed, and Housing First practices will help advance our work. These three best practices must be incorporated into mainstream programs.

EVENT DETAILS "Working Together on the Challenges of Homelessness" Parenting education symposia were designed to be engaging, constructive forums where participants discuss and share best and promising practices in parent and family education. The 2019 symposium focuses on the work of family professionals in response to homelessness in Minnesota. The goal is to build knowledge and strategies for working with families and for collaboration. Participants will hear from experts in the field and then discuss strategies that will help us build a system that best meets the needs of families experiencing, and those at risk of experiencing, homelessness. 

SYMPOSIUM GOALS Minnesota school districts and communities collaborate to build and support human and social capital in family programs and services so that

• All Minnesota children are ready for school and schools are ready for children.
• Achievement gaps between children are closed.
• All 3rd graders are reading at grade level.

More information and registration: http://parented.wikidot.com/2019-symposium

Minnesota Corrections Association & Minnesota Association of County Probation Officers Presents

1st Annual Juvenile Justice Conference

January 17, 2019 8:30 a.m. - 3:30 p.m.  Eagan Community Center 1501 Central Parkway Eagan, MN  

• Youth Trauma and Strategies for Families Presented by:  Elizabeth "Libby" Berman, Director from Family Enhancement Center
• Collateral Consequences and Expungement Presented by:  Josh Esmay, Legal Rights Center Benefits and Risks of Data Sharing Presented by:  Arielle McHenry and Robin Phinney, JJ21 Researchers
• YMCA Youth Panel 

ATTENDEE REGISTRATION: Registration includes lunch $35 for MCA and MACPO Members $50 for non-members

Click Here for More Details

 Warehouse Logistics

•  Start: 9:00 AM - Jan 07 2019
• End: 3:00 PM - Jan 18 2019

Gain the skills and certifications you need in this 2 week program on warehouse logistics and lift operation training.

For more call 612-341-3358 or CLICK HERE.

Provider’s Clinical Support System - Medication Assisted Treatment Grant

Application Due Date: Tuesday, February 26, 2019

The Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA), Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (CSAT) is accepting applications for fiscal year (FY) 2019 Provider’s Clinical Support System - Medication Assisted Treatment (Short Title: PCSS-MAT) grant. The purpose of this program is to expand the number of Drug Addiction Treatment Act (DATA) 2000 waived providers, increase understanding of the importance of medication-assisted treatment and ultimately increase access to MAT through expanded prescribing of FDA-approved medications for the treatment of opioid use disorders. Although the current initiative has provided multiple trainings and mentoring support, there still remains a significant need to increase the number of healthcare providers to address the nation’s lack of adequate access to care and treatment for opioid and other substance use disorders. The PCSS-MAT program will continue to provide up-to-date and evidence-based information to support the training of health professionals and to address the complex issues of addiction.

Click on the link below for eligibility requirements and for more details about this grant.

Request for Proposals: Technology Platform to Help States Reduce Recidivism

Across the country, revocations from community supervision drive between one and three of every four admissions to state prisons. Despite the financial and human cost, however, statewide supervision agencies struggle to adopt comprehensive, sustainable, and safe strategies to reduce revocations. Through its work with more than 30 states, the CSG Justice Center has seen firsthand that analytic capacity is a significant hurdle preventing statewide supervision agencies from identifying the drivers of revocations and effectively crafting and deploying strategies to reduce revocation admissions to prison.

This lack of analytic sophistication means that supervision data is often unanalyzed, decoupled from decision-making, and/or outdated by the time it reaches decision-makers. As a result, data is not consistently used in most states to inform policy or practice or assess impacts at the state, district, and caseload levels.

The CSG Justice Center seeks a highly skilled technology partner to assist in realizing an automated, open-source analysis platform to help states gain the real-time analytic capacity needed to reduce revocation admissions to prison by ingesting criminal justice data from existing data systems, connecting siloed information, and automatically calculating revocation and other recidivism metrics.

Interested parties are invited to submit proposals that use technology tools and platforms to help states increase and maintain analytic capacity and better track and reduce recidivism. To apply, please review the full Request for Proposals and download the accompanying budget template linked within it. Please note the budget template will download automatically when clicking the link.

Applications are due by Tuesday, January 15, 2019. 

Apply Now: FY19 Coordinated Tribal Assistance Solicitation

The U.S. Department of Justice is seeking applications for FY 2019 funding to improve public safety and victim services in tribal communities. Strategic plans should address improving public safety through community-oriented strategies, identify the priority needs facing the applicant’s justice system, and outline a detailed, strength-based, victim-centered strategic planning strategy. The plans should include law enforcement; courts; community corrections; alternatives to incarceration; tribal jails programming; crime victims’ rights and services; programming to serve juvenile justice needs, from prevention through reentry; and community resources that support alternatives to incarceration and reentry into the community from incarceration.

The solicitation provides further details about the program. Applications are due February 26, 2019.

Paul Schnell to take over Minnesota Department of Corrections Beginning January 7, 2019

MPR News Story by Cathy Wurzer · Dec 21, 2018

Gov.-elect Tim Walz named Paul Schnell to lead the Minnesota Department of Corrections.

Schnell has spent his career at various police departments around the Twin Cities; he's currently the police chief of Inver Grove Heights.

For more on this story or the hear MPR's Cathy Wurzer's Conversation with Shchnell, click the link below.

Transition Planning Tool for Justice Involved Youth

In 2017, CSH partnered with juvenile justice stakeholders in Minnesota to identify opportunities for improving the consistency and effectiveness of transition services for youth and young adults (ages 14 - 21) involved in juvenile justice and adult correction systems within the state. The focus of this work was on how to make improvements in communication and coordination as youth and young adults enter, move through and exit community based programs and facilities administered by the county and state agencies. Transition planning with justice involved youth is a significant opportunity to prevent and end youth homelessness! We can prevent homelessness upon exit by beginning transition planning immediately when a young person arrives at a facility.

The Project Team for this work consisted of representatives from CSH, the Department of Human Services (DHS), Department of Corrections (DOC), Department of Public Health (DPH), Department of Public Safety (DPS), and the Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee (JJAC).

The Project Team engaged in the collection of qualitative and quantitative information using the Release Planning and Transition Services for Youth Exiting Licensed Residential Settings in Minnesota Survey Tool to inform their work. Leadership staff and program personnel were interviewed in seven different facilities across five counties representing urban, suburban and rural communities in Minnesota. (Hennepin, Ramsey, Dakota, Beltrami and Kandiyohi). The primary findings include:

• Limited or no tracking of housing stability and/or homeless as youth enter and exit
• Youth are being held longer due to lack of housing options: no home and ineligible for social service placement (i.e. foster care/group home)
• Generational poverty, parent chemical dependency and family homelessness (for youth returning home) are a significant issue.
• Probation plays a huge role when youth are in placement and up to a year after. Quality and duration of probation services is a primary factor in preventing youth from entering into homelessness.
• There is potential for education service providers in the facilities to help track and respond to the needs of homeless and highly mobile youth.

Using this data, the Project Team created a transition planning tool for providers working with justice-involved young adults in order to prevent and end homelessness among this group. I have attached the transition planning tool above. You can also access the tool on our website here.

This transition planning tool is a cross-departmental effort to concisely examine the intersection of youth homelessness and Minnesota’s juvenile justice system. It identifies best practices in transition-planning, including:

• Dedicating staff to release-planning;
• Connecting and accessing housing; and
• Engaging community providers, families, and supportive chosen families

We want to ensure that you receive a copy of this tool as a leader, partner or stakeholder in the work to prevent and end homelessness for youth. This tool was also provided to everyone in attendance at the 2018 MN Coalition for the Homeless Conference, including during a presentation at this conference; shared with all MN JJAC committee members; and sent to State and local government and corrections partners.

Click HERE now for your copy of the guide. 

Story By Cole Heath, Fox 9 KMSP

BROOKLYN PARK, Minn. (FOX 9) - A local restaurant owner says he is trying to give people with criminal records a new chance.

The restaurant is called Fat Chance and owner Ben Dossman is giving people with a troubled past a second chance at life.

In the kitchen of Fat Chance, a Brooklyn Park sandwich shop, you will usually find Stanton Williams whipping up one of the restaurant’s signature subs.

“I’m a cook, I take orders, I clean, whatever needs to be done,” he said. “I came to Minnesota to change...went through a few problems.”

Those problems put Williams in hot water.

“I had a bad temper and I got into a fight a long time ago and hurt a guy,” he said. “Ended up going to prison for it.”

After serving six years, Williams went to school and eventually was connected with Fat Chance where he’s worked now for about a year.

“They really go the extra mile to help people,” he said. “If you want help, they did it for me.”

Assistant Manager Terrance Lynch said that’s unique. “A lot of people don’t get a second chance with things, we give people second and third chances.”

“Some of the employees come with needed life skills so kind of step in the gap and help them in other areas as well,” said Dossman.

Of his nine employees he’s hired since opening the restaurant in 2016, he says four have criminal records.

“It is the ultimate goal - not just criminal records, but having a checkered past in general,” Dossman said.

According to the Minnesota Department of Corrections’ most recent data from 2016, 65 percent of offenders remain free of felony convictions for three years post-release statewide.

Nationally, the Bureau of Justice Statistics says 68 percent of state prisoners released were re-arrested within three years.

The Minnesota Department of Corrections released the following statement:

Recidivism reduction is an important measure of public safety and is key to the DOC’s mission. Programming in prison is a critical part of preparing offenders to be released back into our communities, and preventing new crime. Whether it be through treatment, cognitive thinking classes, education, or job training, many offenders are committed to change, and return to our communities as productive law abiding citizens.

Dossman said he’s “noticed if someone gets out of prison and gets a job and has a decent place to live their chances of going back are pretty slim. That’s what we try to focus on.”

To help, he allows them to focus on serving food, so they don’t serve more time.

COMING SOON! 

The 15^th Annual Justice Involved Women Conference is CALLING ALL ARTISTS & POETS

The term Intersectional Identities recognizes that all systems of oppression (and privilege), such as race, social class, gender, sexuality, age, and ability are linked to one another in our everyday experiences. You cannot separate their efforts.

The planning committee for this conference is inviting artistic creations or poetry for the conference. We are accepting poetry and artwork of all types from current and former justice involved women and girls. Please limit entries to one per person/group. Submission will be honored and displayed at the conference. The committee will select three submissions from each category (visual and written) to receive $50 honorarium.

Please include your name, address, phone number (or staff at your facility we can contact as your representative) so that we may return your items and/or send the honorarium. Finals for the honorarium will be selected on the following criteria: relevance to the theme, intensity of the message and originality.

SUBMISSIONS ARE DUE MAY 3, 2019.

Please submit your work to your caseworker, probation/parole agent, or counselor, or email it to: Tracy Zabel, Rice County Community Corrections, 128 3rd Street NW, Fairbault, MN 55021 or email: tzabel@co.rice.mn.us

Contact Tracy Zabel, tzabel@co.rice.mn.us, for any inquiries.

AccessAbility, Inc. is pleased to announce the opening of our new Licensed Intensive Out-Patient Substance Abuse Treatment Program!  Operating under the name “Project Connect”, this new Program will complement our existing suite of services.

Project Connect works with men and women with multiple barriers to successful employment and community inclusion.  With a focus on high risk persons involved with the Criminal Justice System, the Project Connect staff is prepared to support life change.

Project Connect provides job and life skill training, as well as supportive services for unemployed and underemployed individuals in the community.  Following training, AccessAbility offers immediate work opportunities for participants while simultaneously working with employers to facilitate long term community based placement.

Adding Substance Abuse Treatment will allow program participants the opportunity to complete job and life skill training, receive important supportive services, work on adult basic education as well as complete required drug and alcohol treatment programming. 

Services offered through Project Connect’s treatment program include evidence-based curriculum designed for Justice-Involved clients.  Services include the following:

• Rule 25 Assessments
• Men’s groups: Intensive drug education and relapse prevention–primary tool Moral Reconation Therapy (MRT)
• Women’s groups: Intensive drug education and relapse prevention–primary tool Moving On

Contact us for more information, to schedule a tour, or to make a referral!

Brooks Waldron, Director of Behavioral Health Programs, 612-852-1877

We are now seeking community partners who work with people affected by adoption to help us gather stories for THE OVERACHIEVERS WEB SERIES and THE INCARCERATION PLAY PROJECT. Contact us if you’d like to get involved! Learn more about what being a community partner is all about.

Thank you to offices, departments, and individuals at the Minnesota State Capitol campus who helped organization story circles and helped us make The Capitol Play Project, including:

• Minnesota Historical Society
• Council for Minnesotans of African Heritage
• Department of Administration
• Facilities Management
• Department of Procurement

Thank you to organizations that sponsored story circles for The Adoption Play Project and contributed to post-show discussions:

• MNAdopt
• Ampersand Families
• Minnesota Coalition for Adoption Reform
• Connection to Independence
• Bellis
• Concerned United Birth Parents
• Children’s Home Society
• Lutheran Social Service

Thank you to our community partners for The Veterans Play Project

• Beyond the Yellow Ribbon
• Coming Home Collaborative at Our Saviour’s Lutheran Church
• Minnesota Department of Veteran Affairs
• Minnesota Humanities Center
• Minnesota National Guard
• University of Minnesota Student Veterans Association
• Veterans for Peace
• Veterans in the Arts
• Women Veterans Initiative

Wonderlust Productions illuminates a community’s story through live performance, mixing community members with professional artists.

Central Minnesota Transition Coalition

Date: Friday, January 18, 2019

Time: 10:00 a.m - 12:00 p.m

Location: Nystrom and Associates, Ltd.-13045 Falcon Drive, Suite 100 - Baxter, MN

Topics: Conditions of Release and Technical Violations – Changes in supervision practices

Presenters: Kelley Heifort, Reentry  Services Director, MN DOC

Snacks and beverages provided.  Please bring brochures and business cards to share.

Contact: Sue Vanek - svanek@nystromcounseling.com, or alisha.lacina@state.mn.us
            

Southeast Minnesota Transition Coalition

Date: Wednesday, January 9, 2019

Time: 10:00 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.

Location: Olmsted County Government Center
151 4th Street SE Rochester, MN 55904, First Floor—Boardroom

Topic: Transition Housing and Programs Available for the Recovery Community 

Presenters: Tiffany Hunsley from Recovery is Happening and Tori Utley from Doc's House

Contact: Michael Weaver- MWeaver@bop.gov

Duluth Minnesota Transition Coalition

Date: Wedensday, February 6, 2019

Time: 2:00 p.m - 4:00p.m

Location: SOAR Career Solutions (205 W 2nd St Ste. 101 Duluth MN 55802)

Topic: TBD

Presenters: TBD

Contact: Jason Beckman- jbeckman@soarcareers.org, Ashley Lovold-alovold@soarcareers.org, or Traci Laughlin- LaughlinT@StLouisCountyMN.gov

Mid-Minnesota Transition Coalition

Date: Thursday, January 17, 2019 (There will not be a meeting on December 20th 2018.)

Time: 10:15am - Noon

Location: St. Cloud Great River Regional Library; Array Community Room 105 

Topic: TBD

Presenters: TBD

Meeting Reminder!  Please bring brochures and business cards to share.

Contact: Courtney Shain or Pastor Michael Laidlaw dreamcenterpath@aol.com

Please visit https://midmntc.wordpress.com/ for the latest updates. 

Twin Cities Transition Coalition

Date: Friday, January 11, 2019

Time: 10:00 am - 11:45 am (Networking from 9:30-10:00 & 11:30-Noon)

Location: AccessAbility, 2205 East Hennepin Avenue, Minneapolis, MN 55413

Topic:AccessAbility Program 

Presenters: Brooks Waldron, Director of Behavioral Health Programs

Contact: Alisha Lacina at  alisha.lacina@state.mn.us