Goodhue County treatment court reports participant outcomes and a roughly $12,000 county-funded gap

Goodhue County judges and treatment court staff told the county's committee of the whole in Red Wing that the court has referred 213 people since 2019, produced 29 graduates and faces roughly $12,042 in program costs the county is expected to cover for the most recent state fiscal year.

The presentation on the county's treatment court emphasized participant outcomes, community activities and the program's finances. "Once people have been in the treatment court and hopefully graduated, they stop coming into court so often," said Judge Doug Bailey, one of the judges at the Goodhue County courthouse, who opened the presentation. "If they graduate from programs like this and they are in stable housing, they have a driver's license to go back and forth to work and they're working and they're paying taxes, then you flipped that paradigm."

The nut graf: Treatment courts aim to reduce recidivism and reliance on incarceration by combining court oversight with treatment, testing and community supports. Presenters said Goodhue County's program produces measurable gains for many participants but continues to rely on a mix of state awards, judicial-branch support, county funds and volunteer time.

Program size and outcomes Jessica Schumacher, the treatment court coordinator, provided updated participant counts and outcome measures. She said 213 clients have been referred to the program since it began in February 2019; not all referrals enter the program because candidates must meet eligibility criteria and be Goodhue County residents. Schumacher…