Listen: Republican State Senator Jordan Rasmusson of Fergus Falls’ conversation with Austin Erickson August 6
Flag Family News erroneously originally reported the Clay County Jail was being remodeled to become a psychiatric residential treatment facility instead of the West Central Juvenile Treatment Center.
MINNESOTA – There will be more options for those needing mental healthcare in rural Minnesota.
A psychiatric residential treatment facility will be in the remodeled West Central Juvenile Treatment Center in Moorhead. Fifty more beds will be added to the Anoka Metro Regional Treatment Facility. It’s the state’s largest behavioral health hospital according to the Minnesota Department of Direct Care and Treatment.
A bill passed by the legislature this year funding $1.2 million of the juvenile treatment center project was authored by DFL State Representative Heather Keeler of Moorhead and co-authored by GOP State Representative Jim Joy of Hawley. A companion bill in the Senate was authored by DFL State Senator Rob Kupec of Moorhead and co-authored by GOP State Senator Paul Utke of Park Rapids.
“We know too many kids, some as young as 9, are being sen[t] out of state, held in hospitals or juvenile detention centers instead of receiving the high level mental health supports really needed,” Keeler wrote in a text to reporter Austin Erickson. “From the beginning of this effort we have left the party line[s] out of it and are committed to doing what is right for our kids. With over 25 counties supporting this effort we are proving how important it us for us to continue to make the steps forward.”
Five members of the Minnesota Senate, including Republican State Senator Jordan Rasmusson of Fergus Falls, introduced legislation passed as part of the bonding bill during this year’s special session giving $55 million to fund more beds at the hospital in Anoka.
Rasmusson said he heard from sheriffs and county attorneys about growing mental health challenges in rural Minnesota. That includes one person who stayed 100 days in a local jail to get psychiatric care.
“State hospitals across the state and across the country were shut down decades ago including Fergus Falls,” Rasmusson said in an interview with Flag Family News. “We went too far on the pendulum in terms of taking away this critical capacity and now we’re seeing some of the consequences of that. That’s why we needed to make an investment this year.”
A bill that would have given more than $25.7 million in state money to build a non-secure, 18-bed juvenile psychiatric residential treatment facility in Clay County wasn’t part of this session’s bonding bill. Keeler was the chief author in the House and it was co-authored by Joy. Kupec introduced a companion bill in the Senate.
Clay County Administrator Steve Larson said the county received letters of support or resolutions from 28 counties, five cities and all 11 tribal nations in Minnesota for the project. He said the County Commission has submitted paperwork to have it considered in this fall’s legislative bonding tour in hopes of securing funding in the upcoming session.
