Minnesota has roughly five million residents compared to Florida’s over 18 million. Each year probation, parole, evaluators, therapists, child protection investigators, victims’ advocates, attorneys, judges and offenders’ advocates, and other interested parties from around Minnesota and surrounding states, meet for several days for presentations, discussions and collaboration. There are 600 professionals and other stakeholders at the conference in Minnesota which has been going on for over 20 years. Partners Day is our first step to create programs having a broad appeal for a number of parties. This year, on Thursday we’ll have a Partners Day. We have fifty slots for “partners from DOC, DJJ and many others who share the same passion for safety, and to move forward sanely and fairly for all. You can attend if you’re a Partner or if you bring a Partner with you. We are buying lunch for our “Partners” and if you come the lunch will be $25, which is what we pay the hotel. We have reached out to various state agencies at the top, but we also need to reach out to the grassroots, meaning those you work with and interact with each day. They will not have to pay for the Partners Day. You will notice we have tailored the Partners Day talks to things we think our Partners will find particularly on point. The day is “shortened” for those who wish to drive in and return home in one day.

-George Deitchman, PhD, President