Boys returning to Totem Town treatment program after judge halted referrals

Boys from Ramsey County's juvenile court will be heading back to a historic residential treatment program in St. Paul. The move comes two months after judges said they were concerned about security and programming at Boys Totem Town.

County officials said judges in Ramsey County District Court could start sending clients to Totem Town effective immediately. Judges halted referrals there earlier this year after a mental health therapist was charged with helping a youth escape, and later having a sexual relationship with him. Two car theft incidents, one involving a fatal crash, also caused alarm.

Boys already there in March were allowed to stay, but judges stopped sending new kids to the program.

The facility offers treatment for up to 36 boys, with programs that last from two months to a year. Boys Totem Town is located in St. Paul's Battle Creek neighborhood and has hosted juvenile corrections programs for more than a century. The campus is not a secure facility. It typically does not offer services to kids found to be violent and only takes boys.

A memo provided by the county says officials have since spent $200,000 to add more than 100 security cameras and instituted GPS monitoring for all boys at Totem Town. The memo, from county corrections director John Klavins, also says there are:

• Supervisory changes and better staff training
• Redesigned mental health services
• Enhanced cognitive-behavioral programming
• A new oversight committee structure

Judges have also asked for regular updates on clients at the facility, reports on how Totem Town is operating and quarterly updates to judges on programming and services.