1. Paying for Housing One Night at a Time
Vol. 1 No. 1 • March 2007
Over a five year period, 266 offenders spent an Churning through Social Service
average of one-out-of-every-seven days in a
county funded facility costing Hennepin County Almost all of the 266 offenders used health, support
more than $4.2 million. and behavioral related health services.
266 Social Service Use
Bed Hopping: Jails and Shelters
Unknown 0.40%
Offenders often have difficulty stabilizing Work Support 1.50%
their situations because of chemical
Veteran Services 5.60%
dependency problems, mental health issues,
Front Door 9.40%
poor housing histories, limited incomes and
Eligibility Health Related
criminal records. 94.70%
Eligibility Support
The Resource Drain 96.20%
Child, Youth & Families 8.60%
A recent analysis of offenders on probation in Child Protection 8.60%
2007 found 266 offenders who spent 68,566 Aging/ Disability 4.10%
days in Hennepin County’s Adult Correctional Behavioral Health 77.40%
Facility, Adult Detention Center, emergency
0% 20% 40% 60% 80% 100%
shelters (Harbor Lights, Catholic Charities and
Simpson Housing Services) or detoxification
facilities. Criminal Offense History (Hennepin County only)
Nearly one-fourth of the 266 accounted for 90% had warrants issued for failure to appear
half of the shelter, detox or jail bed days. in court for a total of 1,539 missed court
Total Number of Days in County Funded Facilities (n=266) appearances.
18.4% had been convicted of a violent felony
crime (murder, rape, robbery or assault).
ACF
18,106
The 266 had nearly 2,500 criminal convictions
Shelter 26% in their criminal histories; 72% were for
28,770 misdemeanors.
42% All were active on probation supervision in
January 2007 by definition;
50% were on supervision for a narcotics or
Detox Jail
18,511
theft charges.
3,179
5% 27%
Profile of the 266 Reducing Cost and Dependency: How Much Bang
Issue Brief for the County Buck?
1. What identification tools are available to detect
246 (92%) were male
cyclical service users?
The average age was 41 years old.
215 (81%) were African American, 44 2. How does the County develop a “targeted services
(16.5%) were White, six were Native model” so that cyclical users receive an appropriate
service dose?
American and one person was Asian.
3. Are there cost-effective strategies for reducing the
111 (42%) had at least one detox admit in
level of service consumption among cyclical service
2002-2006.
users?
Hennepin County Office of Criminal Justice Policy & Planning
C-2353 Government Center • Minneapolis, Minnesota 55487-0238 • 612-348-8981