Hennepin County Opens Youth Stabilization Center To Fill Critical Gap in Care for Children in Crisis

Hennepin County has begun full operations this month at its new Youth Stabilization Center, a short term therapeutic facility designed to serve children and teens ages 8 to 17 who are experiencing acute mental and behavioral health crises. County officials say the center is intended to address a long-standing systemic gap that has left some of the region’s most vulnerable youth cycling between hospital emergency departments, short term holds, or juvenile detention facilities that are not designed to provide sustained treatment.

The center officially opened in mid December 2025 and is now scaling up admissions. It is located inside the Hennepin County Behavioral Health Center at 1800 Chicago Avenue in Minneapolis, in the Ventura Village neighborhood. County leaders describe the program as a first of its kind “short term haven” focused on stabilization, assessment, and transition planning rather than punishment or prolonged hospitalization.

At full capacity, the Youth Stabilization Center includes 13 beds, along with four dedicated withdrawal management spaces, and is designed for short stays averaging 30 to 45 days. The program is operated in partnership with Nexus Family Healing and was developed through a $20 million county capital investment, paired with ongoing annual funding for staffing and services.

A therapeutic alternative to emergency rooms and detention

For years, Minnesota child welfare and behavioral health systems have struggled with a shortage of appropriate residential treatment beds. As a result, children in crisis have sometimes spent days or weeks “boarding” in emergency rooms or have been placed in secure detention settings simply because no therapeutic option was available.

The Youth Stabilization Center is designed to interrupt that pattern. It provides a secured, locked environment for safety, while maintaining a treatment focused and youth centered approach. During their stay, youth receive intensive assessment, crisis stabilization, and coordinated care planning aimed at identifying the most appropriate next step, whether that is a safe return home with support or placement in a longer term residential program.

County officials describe the center as a bridge rather than a destination, buying time for clinicians and case managers to make thoughtful decisions without the pressure of an emergency setting.

Designed to feel less institutional

Unlike hospitals or correctional facilities, the center was designed with direct input from youth and families to feel as home-like as possible. The facility is organized into two smaller “neighborhoods” to create a more personal, family style atmosphere.

Each youth has a private bedroom and bathroom, along with personal space for schoolwork. Programming includes individual therapy, family therapy, expressive therapies, and recreational activities, all supported by 24 hour intensive staffing, including nurses and mental health professionals.

Education continuity is also a core component. A licensed teacher from Minneapolis Public Schools provides onsite instruction so students can continue their coursework while receiving care.

Who the center serves and how to access it

The Youth Stabilization Center is not a walk in facility and is not open to the general public. Admissions are limited to county connected youth who screen positive for a mental health crisis and who are referred through a Hennepin County case manager or the county screening team.

Families who are concerned about a child in crisis are encouraged to begin by contacting the Hennepin County Family Response line at 612 979 9511, which operates 24 hours a day. That service provides mobile crisis response, de-escalation support, and evaluation of whether a referral to the stabilization center or another service is appropriate.

A targeted response to a growing need

County officials and service providers emphasize that the Youth Stabilization Center is intended for a relatively small but high need population of children whose complex diagnoses, trauma histories, or behavioral challenges have repeatedly exceeded the capacity of existing systems.

By creating a space dedicated to stabilization, assessment, and coordinated transition planning, Hennepin County aims to reduce reliance on emergency departments and detention facilities while improving outcomes for children and families navigating some of the most difficult moments of crisis.

For county leaders, the opening of the Youth Stabilization Center represents both an acknowledgment of past system failures and a concrete step toward a more humane, effective continuum of care for young people in Hennepin County.

MinneapoliMedia