MANKATO — Jaime Knebel’s son has certain behavioral regulation, causing him to have issues controlling his anger. That became an issue for her family when he was young.
“He was not able to be in either mine or my ex-husband’s home safely,” Knebel explained. “He was a risk to his sibling, myself, his dad (and) his grandpa.”
That’s where the Leo A. Hoffmann center came in. Based out of St. Peter, the Hoffmann center is a mental health clinic that offers both in-patient and out-patient care for those that need it most.
“The Hoffmann Center is a non-profit that’s been in the area since 1979, so we’re a pretty well established non-profit mental health clinic,” Tricia Johnson, executive director at the Hoffmann Center, said. “We work with boys 10 to 18, and we can have up to 32 children on our campus. Currently we have 20.”
And their work has helped many families in similar situations to Knebel’s.
“He’s learning the skills with therapy and then going and putting them into practice. … It’s been huge just because that was kind of the piece we were missing,” she said.
But after almost 50 years of helping people in southern Minnesota, it’s now the Hoffmann Center that’s in need of help.
“This year has been kind of a disappointing year on the funding side of things,” Johnson said. “The state of Minnesota determines the rate for our services through a cost report, and we took a nearly $60 pay cut per child per day.”
Johnson says that amount may sound small, but those funds can stack up quickly. For the year, she says the center is short about $50,000 a month that they’re going to need to figure out how to work without.
Those aren’t the only funds the Hoffmann center is missing. Johnson says there were also some funds, previously allocated by Congress, which were rescinded because they were attached to a bill that, “had some provisions that were dangerous” and was then voted down. And those missing funds are already taking a toll on their in-patient campus.
“We’ve been trying to save up for different projects, like getting our roof repaired and we need our parking lot upkept,” Johnson said. “Just that kind of maintenance stuff that gets costly when we’re running a campus.”
According to Johnson, the reason the state lowered their day rate was because of those projects.
The Hoffmann Center was saving for these maintenance issues, but it caused the state to think they could simply work without spending as much money.
“Our daily rate is established by a cost report that we do based on the previous year, so how we spent in 2024 determines our rates for 2025. … We did a lot of saving last year, and that kind of came back to bite us this year.” Johnson said, adding that, from the legislator’s point of view, they figured the center could do, “more with less.”
Although Johnson stresses that the center is “stable” right now, she admits that, if these funding shortfalls continue, it could lead to them having to close their in-patient campus or stop providing services entirely. That would take a toll on families like Knebel’s.
“Having a place where (my son) can go that has 24/7 supervision, where he’s safe, that kind of stuff has been huge just for my peace of mind as far as a parent, right, knowing he’s getting the help he needs but is also in a safe environment,” Knebel said.
Knebel, who works with individuals with disabilities herself, said that losing a place like the Hoffmann Center would be a “disservice” to the area; especially considering the lack of similar clinics in the state.
“Based on the research I’ve done … it would be a detriment. … There’s like three (residential facilities) within the state of Minnesota, and because of insurance, only certain places will take you,” she said.
“(The state Legislature) needs to take a look at actually providing more funding for youth and mental health, because it is a continuing trend of youths needing services that just aren’t available.” As for now, Johnson said she’s working on seeking funding through “non-traditional” routes like grants.
For those wanting to help support the Hoffmann Center’s work, Johnson encourages you to go to their website where you can find a button to donate financially, or a list of items the center is in need of.