It is a mistake to place Crow Wing County probation under the umbrella of community services. Crow Wing, Morrison and Aitkin counties have a strong partnership (Central Minnesota Community Corrections) which is serving the Brainerd area well. I am the director of CORE Professional Services which serves 52 counties. The CMCC corrections agents are one of the best examples in the state of how probation can work with service providers in the community to make the community safer. It concerns me that the decision to make this change is going forward despite complaints from judges, corrections agents, law enforcement and service providers, which is basically everyone involved in dealing with criminals. Working with most of the state, I have the opportunity to see what happens in other counties, and the truth is that people will have a new appreciation for CMCC if they lose it. We see offenders manipulating large bureaucratic systems to maintain criminal behavior in other communities regularly. I am hoping it doesn't come to this in Brainerd. Interfering with the effective supervision now provided, will result in more offenses. The year 2015 has been a violent year, not just in Brainerd, but across the nation. The Brainerd area is fortunate to have an agency that is working hard at keeping a lid on what's occurring here. The decision to move Crow Wing County Social Services under new leadership is already having negative ramifications. The Family Sexual Abuse Treatment Program was dropped by a local mental health clinic because it was no longer profitable. Social workers initially scrambled to find another provider for victims of sexual abuse in the Brainerd area, but their efforts get lost in the community service system and to this date, nothing has been accomplished. You can't afford to have this kind of mistake occur with offenders. Keep the CMCC system intact. It works!
Frank Weber
Clinical Director of CORE Professional Services, PA
