A new law in Minnesota bars the prosecution of children 12 and younger, diverting them from the juvenile justice system to county social services agencies.
Up until last week, children as young as 10 could be charged with misdemeanor or felony crimes. Beginning this month, Minnesota joins two other states with a minimum age of prosecution set at 13. The adjustment applies regardless of the type or severity of the offense.
For months now, concerns have been raised about whether the state had prepared counties to carry out the new law, which requires social services agencies to take on new duties. But Friday, one day before it was to go into effect, the Minnesota Department of Children, Youth, and Families released an 11-page bulletin that offers guidance on how county workers who handle parental neglect and abuse cases, should respond after a preteen is accused of committing a crime.
Brown County Human Services Director Anne Broskoff was among those asking the state for better direction. While “it could have been beneficial to receive this information much earlier to help counties plan well in advance of the law going into effect,” she said she appreciated the “practical’’ and “flexible” nature of the bulletin. She noted its recognition that “county social services needs options to address the family and youth.”
“People are complex and so are their needs,’’ she said. “We can’t be so prescriptive in our response, we have to take into consideration so many variables. This guidance gives us the flexibility to do our best work.”
Proponents have said the law will allow youth and their families to receive resources such as behavioral and mental health support, instead of becoming entangled in the juvenile justice system, which once entered, is hard to escape.
A 2020 study led by University of California, Irvine researchers found that teens who are arrested are more likely to be re-arrested or incarcerated. They also engage in more violence and have lower school enrollment rates. Intervention that includes restorative justice, community resources and therapeutic services better serves youth and ultimately, the public, advocates argue.
Broskoff, who is a member of the Minnesota Association of County Social Service Administrators, agrees. She believes the new law will help children who are “starting to go down a path that they shouldn’t,” and that it ensures that “these youth are not pulled into the juvenile delinquency system over a single incident,” she said.
“Raising the age of delinquency is developmentally the right move,’’ Broskoff said. “Most 10, 11 and 12-year-olds can be served through county social services. We know how to quickly assess needs and work with families to access services, when needed, to turn things around.”
According to Minnesota state data, 747 youth between ages 10 and 12 were arrested in 2023. Of those, 290 were arrested for misdemeanor crimes and 278 for alleged felonies.
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