Ramsey County district judges have reversed a prohibition on sending boys to a county-run juvenile treatment facility that came under fire earlier this year when a contract therapist allegedly helped two boys escape.
The decision was reached May 18 and announced Monday by John Klavins, director of Ramsey County Community Corrections.
"This has been a learning process for many, which I believe will help us all to improve on our work," Klavins wrote in an e-mail to staff at the county's juvenile division and the facility, Boys Totem Town.
Ramsey County judges had unanimously decided in February that they would stop sending boys to Boys Totem Town because of criminal charges filed against Karen A. Meyer.
Meyer is charged with one count of aiding an offender for allegedly helping two boys escape Feb. 11. In March, additional charges — three counts of third-degree criminal sexual conduct — were filed against her when police apprehended one of the escapees, a 17-year-old with whom she is accused of having a sexual relationship.
Chief Judge Teresa Warner wrote Klavins on Feb. 25 telling him no boys would be sent to Boys Totem Town until "we are confident that measures are in place to protect the safety of these young men and the public." She also cited previous, unrelated incidents involving boys from the facility as cause for concern.
Klavins said in his May 23 e-mail that judges would start accepting probation officers' recommendations to send boys to the facility "effective immediately" because of a number of changes the county has made.
"Chief Judge Warner has acknowledged the hard work that we have undertaken over the past three months …," Klavins wrote.
Those changes include: installing more than 100 security cameras throughout the facility, enforcing GPS monitoring for all boys during their entire stay, supervisory changes, ongoing training for staff and the creation of an ongoing oversight committee to focus on safety, security, programming and training, among other measures.
Klavins told county employees that the judges had ongoing expectations: open and regular communication with the county, notifications when youth abscond from the facility, 30-day reviews for each resident given to judges and probation officers, and quarterly updates on the facility.
Chao Xiong • 612-270-4708
Twitter: @ChaoStrib
