Youth stabilization center

Hennepin County is developing a youth stabilization center. The center will serve youth with complex mental health and behavioral needs.

The project is within the Behavioral Health Center, 1800 Chicago Avenue in Minneapolis.

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Target population and services

County-connected youth with complex mental health and behavioral needs
Treatment and therapeutic supports while triage, assessment, and planning take place with families
Culturally responsive services delivered by a community agency
13 beds for short-term stays of 30-45 days

Stabilization services

A small population of county-connected youth have significant needs due to complex diagnoses, behaviors, and trauma. Gaps and barriers in Minnesota’s human services and juvenile justice systems mean these youth do not have access to appropriate care settings.

Residential crisis stabilization services fill an important gap for youth who cannot remain safely at home, offering treatment and therapeutic supports for youth while triage, assessment, and planning take place with families.

Timeline and updates

August 2025 updates

Construction

Construction progressing; on track for completion in November
Construction underway for outdoor youth activity space; temporary construction fencing installed on north side of the building entry off Chicago Avenue

Licensing, contracting, and programming

Contract with provider Nexus Family Healing signed and approved by the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners on July 29
Supervised Living Facility certification nearing completion from the Minnesota Department of Health
Nexus program leadership hiring underway; program leadership will begin meeting with Behavioral Health leadership to coordinate and plan services
Planning for open house tours prior to program opening

Community engagement

Sessions held with the Somali Parent Autism Network, Latino Youth Development Collaborative and Aspen House, for a total of seven sessions held (four with youth, three with parents/caregivers)
Themes and findings across engagement sessions:
- Safety and environment are critical; ensure the center is non-institutional, trauma-informed, and youth-centered
- Recovery plans that include families and community organizations to increase youth’s success after departure
- Values: Cultural and linguistic responsiveness, youth- and family-centered, data-driven
- Hope and future: Youth expressed a resounding hope for their generation

More about the project

Partners and providers

Mohagan Hansen, architects
Human eXperience, behavioral health design firm
Nexus Family Healing, service provider

Building a System of Care

Hennepin County has a vital role in addressing children’s mental health and keeping youth, their families, and the community safe. We have adopted the federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) System of Care framework to guide our work.

In recent years, we have invested at every level of the mental health continuum – early intervention, crisis response, and deep-end services – to serve more youth and families, and achieve better outcomes for all.

Learn more about System of Care

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