Hennepin County attorney praises program diverting curfew offenders

Hennepin County officials say a new diversion program is helping keep curfew offenders out of the juvenile justice system.

Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman says it's important for young people and their parents to know about curfew laws — and know they can get help if they need it.

"Two thirds of the 313 curfew cases were deferred during the pilot project," he said. "Just over 10 percent of the families that were contacted accepted a referral for services to help everyone in the family understand the importance of being home late at night and strategies for making sure that would happen."

Under the program curfew violators were referred to a north Minneapolis based organization called The Link.

The group's executive director, Beth Holger-Ambrose, says sometimes kids who are out past curfew just aren't aware of the law. And there are often more serious reasons for why children are out late, she said.

"Some of them are struggling with pretty big barriers, such as poverty, homelessness, suffering from a mental health or chemical dependency issue," she said. "And so, what we want to do at The Link is really connect them with supportive services."

Freeman says the program is not available for young people with pending juvenile delinquency cases in court. In Hennepin County, curfew times vary by age group and day of the week.