Carlton treatment center spared by legislature

A Carlton-based state treatment facility will remain open, after the Minnesota Legislature removed CARE Carlton from a proposal to shut it and other rural facilities down.

CARE Carlton employee Tarajee Goorhouse reported to the Carlton County board on Monday that “the House and Senate have removed CARE Carlton from the proposal to close us down.” Gov. Tim Walz had sought to reallocate the funding used to maintain the program.

CARE Carlton is a 16-bed all-women facility aimed at the treatment of chemical dependence and mental illness. Women who attend the facility are court-ordered and do so on a civil commitment. CARE Carlton is adept at treating women who have high-risk pregnancies in addition to addiction or mental health disorders.

AFSCME Council 5 employees and union leaders held an informational picket outside the facility April 15, calling for the treatment program to remain a part of the Minnesota Department of Human Services network of CARE facilities.

Goorhouse told the county board that the facility would next look to get bonding funds during the next legislative session “to build our own facility, so we’re not renting any more.”

Rep. Jeff Dotseth, R-Kettle River, was a leader in advocating to keep the facility open. He visited the facility recently and said he appreciated the staff and its efforts.

“CARE Carlton is a vital local resource for women,” Dotseth wrote April 16. “It would be unacceptable to lose these important services.”

Dotseth was worried women treated at the facility would “fall through the cracks” if it closed. He was critical of Gov. Walz, who, Dotseth said, could have funded the facility using the $18 billion surplus in 2023.