The Minnesota Independent

Department of Human Services - Latest Stories

MN Sex Offender Program costs $70 million a year but rehabilitates no one

By Paul Demko | 11.13.09 | 9:39 am

By any reasonable standard the Minnesota Sex Offender Program has been an unmitigated failure. In its nearly two decades, it has failed to rehabilitate a single patient. The only people who have graduated from the program have done so in body bags. Yet, since 2003, the program’s budget has ballooned by nearly 400 percent, from $18.5 million annually to $71.6 million.

Demand for meth treatment is down, but anti-meth billboards are still up

By Chris Steller | 02.06.09 | 11:22 am

Good news: Demand for help to get off meth is down by half in the Twin Cities. And that indicates lower meth use, according to the Minnesota Department of Human Services, Minnesota Public Radio reports. The proportion of meth-related admissions…

Budget bloodletting: Grim outlook for health and human services

By Paul Demko | 01.23.09 | 11:40 am

In his State of the State speech earlier this month, Gov. Tim Pawlenty focused on the good news. He promised not to cut K-12 education funding. He vowed not to drop any children from state-backed health-insurance programs. The governor even proposed slashing taxes for corporations by 50 percent in order to spur job growth. Missing from the speech was any realistic assessment of what those proposals would mean for other areas of the state budget if enacted.