Hennepin County Attorney Mike Freeman has terminated a decades-long contract with a nonprofit providing diversion programs to first-time offenders in favor of a cheaper, for-profit company whose leadership staff has no formal training.
The move likely will force Operation de Novo to shut down permanently, after 46 years of offering programs for offenders to complete to avoid a criminal charge or get it dismissed.
"I'm frustrated and disappointed in the decision," said Operation de Novo Executive Director Niki Leicht. "I'm worried that clients won't get the services they need to be successful."
Freeman's office said the move was partly a cost-cutting measure. De Novo officials say their services this year will run the county $600,000 — though the officials say it's closer to $730,000. A bid from the incoming program, Diversion Solutions, came in at $200,000.
But there's a stark difference in credentials carried by the outgoing and incoming agencies.
The staff and leadership of Operation de Novo is composed of college educated professionals, some with master's degrees and all trained in behavioral sciences, Leicht said.
That's not the case for Diversion Solutions.
"We are not big on titles and having degrees," said Diversion Solutions CEO Scott Adkisson. "We are big on employees who have the time to help someone."