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Hennepin County to withdraw from youth curfew/truancy joint powers agreement; redesign will use an MOU and centralized oversight
Summary
The county approved moving to withdraw from a decades-old joint powers agreement with the City of Minneapolis and Minneapolis Public Schools and instead negotiate a memorandum of understanding to continue Youth Connection Center services under a new operating model overseen by Safe Communities and a community-provider RFP for Jan. 1, 2026.
Hennepin County administrators told the committee on June 24 that the county will withdraw from a longstanding joint powers agreement (JPA) with the City of Minneapolis and Minneapolis Public Schools for the Youth Connection Center (YCC), and will negotiate a new memorandum of understanding (MOU) to continue curfew/truancy support services.
County staff said the JPA dates back to the 1990s and had been reaffirmed in 2017; Minneapolis Public Schools withdrew last year leaving the city and county as the remaining members. Administration said the JPA structure constrained nimble contract management and that an MOU overseen by the county’s Safe Communities department would allow the county to issue a request for proposals for a community provider to run the program beginning Jan. 1, 2026.
Under the proposed redesign, Minneapolis would continue to provide physical space for services and the Safe Communities department would oversee the new contract. Administration described planned services as connections to culturally responsive community resources, family engagement, behavioral and mental-health referrals, substance-use treatment, truancy supports and workforce development. The county plans to relocate the program to new space at the Minneapolis South Safety Center on Minnehaha Avenue once agreements and provider selection are complete.
Commissioners asked who would participate in the MOU and whether Minneapolis Public Schools would be a signatory; administration said Minneapolis Public Schools would remain an important partner but did not confirm whether the district would be a named MOU signatory. Commissioners also pressed for assurances that suburban municipalities could access services and asked staff to explore satellite YCC arrangements; administration acknowledged prior concerns that the downtown Minneapolis location created access barriers for suburban partners and said broader county-wide access and partnerships would be part of future design.
The committee voted to approve the county’s withdrawal from the JPA and to proceed with MOU negotiations and the RFP process for a provider to start Jan. 1, 2026.
