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Lake Center for Youth and Families reviews programs, cites county contracts and grant funding
Summary
Dr. Linda Madsen told the Forest Lake City Council that Lake Center’s three program areas—enrichment, intervention and counseling—served hundreds of children and adults last year and that a renewed state grant and a five‑year contract with the city helped stabilize operations.
Dr. Linda Madsen, community outreach coordinator for Lake Center for Youth and Families, gave the council an annual update on the nonprofit’s work and funding.
Madsen said Lake Center, founded in 1976, runs three program areas: enrichment (including Youth First after‑school programming), intervention and counseling. She told the council Youth First ran last year with 120 participants and 596 sessions; the intervention program served 189 clients with 258 sessions; and the counseling program served 217 clients in 3,468 sessions. Madsen said many of those served live in Forest Lake and Washington County and that the center does not turn clients away for financial hardship, citing a sliding fee scale used by 33 clients last year with roughly $33,000 budgeted to support those subsidies.
Madsen said the center receives income from program fees, grants, charitable gaming and events; she noted a state grant for the prevention work was renewed in 2024 for two years at roughly twice the previous level. She thanked the council for a five‑year agreement between the City of Forest Lake and Lake Center that helps the organization plan and budget.
Council members praised Lake Center’s longtime local role. Mayor Roberts and others noted the center’s partnerships with Forest Lake Police and Fire on safety camp and with the Forest Lake School District to provide in‑school therapy through an interagency agreement.
Madsen closed by offering to answer questions and invited the council to the Taste of the Lakes fundraiser on May 1 at Tanners Brook.
The council did not take formal action on the presentation; Madsen’s update will remain part of the city’s regular reports to elected officials.
