Request for Committee Action

**Pending full implementation of the recently passed government structure charter amendment, and any resulting changes to the City’s process for authorizing the following staff activities, this RCA is being submitted to Council under the City’s prior authorization process.***

This Request for Council Action is intending to replace Council Action 2022A-0274, which referenced the old contract number that was superseded by C-42542A. The act would be amended as follows:

"The Minneapolis City Council hereby authorizes an increase to contract C-42542 C-42542A with Urban Ventures, Inc., in the amount of $480,000 for a total amount not-to-exceed $890,000 $790,000, and an extension through Jan. 31, 2025, to fund the Pathways Gun Diversion Program."

The City Attorney’s Office (CAO) is responsible for prosecuting all gross misdemeanor gun crimes which occur within the City of Minneapolis. In 2015 the CAO examined the data around cases it prosecuted and determined that many of the individuals who were prosecuted were young black males, with no criminal history, who were carrying the weapon “for protection.” Further analysis of the data showed that after being convicted by the CAO for the gross misdemeanor offense, approximately 70% of these individuals went on to commit new crimes, many of which were violent felonies.

The CAO contracted with Urban Ventures to develop and implement Pathways to New Beginnings (Pathways). Pathways was officially launched in May 2017. Priscilla Brown, Program Manager at Urban Ventures designed the Pathways program and over the past 5 years has worked closely with the CAO to improve and add new material and classes. The CAO reviews all the cases and determines whether an individual is eligible to participate in Pathways. If eligible, the individual enters the program by entering a guilty plea to the charge in court and receiving a stay of adjudication of sentence for a term of 2 years and probation is conditioned on entering and completing the Pathways program.

The program is designed with the goal of reducing recidivism through a community-based program that will address the risk factors and the needs of the individual participants.  Pathways is designed to help participants develop skills to address the root causes of illegal gun possession, such as decision-making skills, new coping skills and awareness of the impact of trauma.  The long-term goal for Pathways is to see a reduction in recidivism among the participants.

The curriculum being used for Pathways was uniquely designed by Priscilla Brown at Urban Ventures and has been modified over the course of the past 5 years in consultation with the CAO. The classes are facilitated by staff who are licensed Social Workers and Therapists.  Currently, Pathways is a 9-month program that includes 80.5 hours dividing into three phases.  Phase 1 is Healing from the Pain, Phase 2 is Crutches No More – A Healthy Alternative, and Phase 3 is Enrichment. The program is based on a cognitive behavioral model which includes understanding trauma, regulation of emotions, cognitive restricting, effects of substance use, and curriculum presented from a motivational speaker on staff at Urban Ventures, who is a formerly incarcerated individual. 

As of February 2022, the CAO has screened 388 cases for the program and 228 were deemed eligible. Of those 228, 130 have participated in the program with 64 graduating, 23 failing and 43 currently in progress. The program has shown great success in reducing the recidivism of participants. The recidivism among our graduates has been drastically reduced – 20 graduates have a new case (31%) – 12 individuals have committed a new gross misdemeanor or misdemeanor offense and 8 individuals have committed a new felony.