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Goodhue County court services reports 68% rise in open probation cases, flags staffing strains
Summary
Goodhue County Court Services told commissioners its caseloads surged in 2024 — a 68% increase in open probation cases and a 50% rise in juvenile cases — and outlined program responses including expanded risk assessment, a youth rehabilitation grant, and reliance on an out-of-county contracted bed that costs $644 per night.
Rhonda Van Schoonhoven, director of Goodhue County Court Services, told commissioners the office saw a 68% increase in open probation cases in 2024 and a 25% rise in the number of individual people processed through the system.
Van Schoonhoven described how her office separates cases into administrative (low risk), traditional and state-adjudication categories, and said agents perform risk assessments and monitor conditions such as treatment referrals, random testing and specialized programming. She said the office is shifting staff time toward higher-risk clients and training agents on the LSCMI risk instrument to improve prioritization.
The presentation highlighted marked changes in offense types: traffic and accident cases rose about 231% (from 136 to 450), DWI cases rose 45% (184 to 266), property damage more than doubled (9 to 19), domestic assault increased 52% (31 to 47) and theft rose 82% (39 to 71). Van Schoonhoven said the caseload remains majority male (64%) but noted increasing female representation in some categories.
Juvenile cases grew 50% (from 110 to 165) and juvenile "bodies" increased roughly 20%, she said. The office has two juvenile agents; Van Schoonhoven said she is trying to keep one agent's caseload smaller because that agent represents the county on multiple boards and conducts school outreach. Juvenile risk-level shifts showed medium-risk juvenile cases up 47% while high-risk cases fell slightly.
On programming, Van Schoonhoven described the Youth Rehabilitation Program (YRP), funded by the Office of Justice Programs, which offers 4—6 hours weekly of individual or family therapy, up to 10 hours of skills work per week, and program durations typically of 3 to 7 months. She estimated the program can provide 180—500 hours of services per youth and said avoiding out-of-home placements could save an estimated $5,000 to $15,000 per youth, based on an internal return-on-investment review. She said the office plans to apply for the grant again after a favorable site visit.
The office reported spending over $131,000 on out-of-home placements in 2024 for 21 unduplicated youth. Van Schoonhoven updated commissioners on a contracted Houston County bed that the office used 59 nights from January to May and said the nightly charge when used averages $644. She described logistical challenges, including transport time for sheriff or police officers and limited onsite programming at the facility, but said Houston County staff facilitated court hearings and worked cooperatively.
Van Schoonhoven also said juvenile agents used the Maizey screening tool and that mandated juvenile screens generated just under $33,000, which is routed to Health and Human Services for children's mental-health case management. She reiterated that pre-sentence investigations are mandated by statute and can require 8—20 hours to complete.
Staffing and operational constraints were a recurring theme: Van Schoonhoven said the office has the same number of agents despite substantially more cases, that front-office staff (Lindsay) must manage data entry for approximately 1,800 "bodies" while answering phones, and that the office has not had a juvenile STS (sentence-to-service) crew since April. She proposed creating a half-time case-administrator position to relieve data-entry burdens and free staff for counter and client-facing responsibilities.
On fees, Van Schoonhoven said the department is not a revenue-generating unit and reported that a planned sunsetting of fees has been delayed to 2029; she said there is also internal pressure to retain fee revenue given county budget strains.
A commissioner asked whether low-risk, administrative cases are truly "once-and-done." Van Schoonhoven said some are but she did not have a percentage on hand and offered to provide the figure later; she cautioned that excessive officer contact with low-risk individuals can increase their future system involvement.
Commissioners thanked staff for the detailed report. The presentation concluded with transition to a Health and Human Services meeting; Van Schoonhoven said the office would continue pursuing grants and training to manage growing demand.
