Minnesota Teen Challenge, the subject of the story “Up in smoke: Will Ramstad’s faith-based earmark hurt his chances to win drug czar post?,” has asked for space to respond. As MnIndy did not contact the organization for that piece, we complied. Here’s the full letter from MNTC executive director, Rich Scherber:

This is in response to the recent Minnesota Independent article by Andy Birkey, “Up in smoke:  Will Ramstad’s Faith-based Earmark Hurt His Chances to Win Drug Czar Post?” (December 9th, 2008).

This article presents an unfair portrayal of Minnesota Teen Challenge which we would like to address.

It is important to note that the federal earmark sponsored by Congressman Ramstad – approved with bipartisan support by many other lawmakers, including Senator Amy Klobuchar (D) and Congressman Keith Ellison (D) – was designated for Minnesota Teen Challenge’s Know the Truth drug and alcohol abuse prevention program. This program is completely separate from our recovery program and is entirely secular (non-religious) in nature. This widely respected program has been presented to more than 30,000 junior and senior high school students across the state of Minnesota.

Here are additional comments about points made in the story.

Minnesota Teen Challenge is an independent and autonomous program and any incidents, treatment methodologies, or comments made by individuals affiliated with other Teen Challenge centers are not attributable to Minnesota Teen Challenge.

Minnesota Teen Challenge is a successful recovery program for those looking for a faith-based program. A 2007 independent scientific research study conducted by the Wilder Foundation and nationally recognized researcher, Dr. Patricia Owen revealed that 74% of 2005 graduates had been abstinent in the previous six months, a high rate by any measure. Additionally, 87% of graduates stated that their circumstances today would be a lot worse if they hadn’t gone through the Teen Challenge program.

Minnesota Teen Challenge operates a respected program licensed by the Minnesota Department of Human Services and employs qualified licensed chemical dependency counselors. We follow the same rules and procedures for client care as all other treatment programs in the state of Minnesota.

All participants in the Minnesota Teen Challenge program do so voluntarily. Any individuals that are court ordered into the program must first specifically request that the judge do so. We do not accept any clients that do not want to participate in the program. Furthermore, all clients are free to leave our program at anytime and receive a referral to another program.

Minnesota Teen Challenge does not engage in illegal discrimination of applicants with differing beliefs and our application process makes it clear that those with different or no religious belief are eligible for employment. The hypothetical examples cited of people being terminated for praying in their car or displaying pictures of loved ones are very far-fetched, outrageous, and simply would not happen.

We are very troubled that this article may leave readers with the wrong impression of Minnesota Teen Challenge. While we recognize that not everybody will agree with our religious viewpoint, we hope that we can all agree that assisting people overcome their addictions to drugs and alcohol is a worthy goal. We do appreciate the opportunity to set the record straight. The Minnesota Independent was created as another voice in news coverage and we appreciate their commitment to accuracy, balance, and fair play.

Sincerely,

Rich Scherber

Executive Director