Caledonia Argus

New therapy approach to be used for young offenders

Posted: 2/19/02

by Jane Palen
Managing Editor

The county board learned more about a form of therapy known as MRT, Moral Reconation Therapy, at its meeting of February 12.

Court services director Kevin Siebold and Lori Kuehn of Hiawatha Valley Mental Health Center spoke to the board about using MRT with youths who are in the court system.

According to Kuehn, the focus of the therapy is making decisions, honesty, and respect. Most of the time, she said, the juveniles who are in trouble have not had the opportunity to learn good decision-making skills. A group therapy approach is used, she said, because individual therapy is less effective with youth.

The MRT group meets once a week with a facilitator from Hiawatha Valley Mental Health Center.

Siebold told commissioners ìThereís not a lot we can give them,î referring to the ratio of youthful offenders to probation officers, which is about 100 to 1.

Commissioners agreed to support the program and suggested that it might be a way to avoid costly out-of-home placements for youth. The county has grant funds available to cover the cost of the program, estimated at $2,500 to $3,000 per year .

Health educator will focus on oral health

In other news, the county board agreed to hire a full-time health educator whose primary focus will be dental health.

Previously, the county had approved the hiring of a dental hygienist and banded that position at B-2-4, with a wage of $13.33 per hour. Public health director Linda Grupa told commissioners that it was not possible to recruit someone with those qualifications at that rate.

ìWe would like someone to triage clients,î she said.

ìSwitching it over to a health educator is probably a good idea,î noted Commissioner Kevin Kelleher.

The position will be split between Houston and Fillmore Counties.

Grupa told commissioners that it is becoming extremely difficult for Medical Assistance clients and the ìworking poorî on Minnesota Care to receive dental care in the county. Only two clinics in the county accept MA clients.

ìIf they would pay dentists more, they would take those MA clients,î she commented.

On another matter, Grupa discussed with the board the 11-county tobacco endowment of $29,620. Goodhue County is the lead agency in the program which has a three-pronged approach: to warn of the dangers of secondhand smoke; treatment and cessation programs for smokers and compliance checks for businesses.

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