The County Board's Open Appointments Policy and MN Statutes Section 383B.102 require that appointments to unclassified service have confirmation by the Board of County Commissioners. With the impending promotion of the current director of Community Corrections and Rehabilitation department, it was necessary to implement the succession strategy. At the request of County Administration, Human Resources advertised for the position and recruited candidates. A list of qualified candidates was provided to County Administration. Applicants were screened and interviewed, with final applicants interviewed by a panel comprised of representatives from the Bench, County Attorney's Office, the Public Defender's Office and County Administration. The county administrator recommends that Catherine Johnson be appointed as the director of Community Corrections and Rehabilitation.

Catherine Johnson has been with the Minneapolis Police Department for 22 years. She has most recently served as the Inspector for the 3rd Precinct in south Minneapolis. Previously, she was a division commander overseeing the Violent Crimes Investigations Division and the Special Crimes Investigations Division. In these roles, she was responsible for employee performance management and development, administration of staffing levels and personnel assignments, generating and maintaining collaborative problem-solving partnerships with multiple criminal justice partners and the community, and budgetary oversight related to overtime and division or precinct procurement. She was also involved in strategic planning and goal setting for the divisions and precinct in conjunction with overall strategic planning for the department as a whole. Ms. Johnson currently serves as co-Chair of the Hennepin County Adult Detention Initiative where evidence-based practices provide the foundation for the efforts to reduce disparities in the criminal justice system.

It is requested that the county board confirm the appointment of Catherine Johnson as the department director of Community Corrections and Rehabilitation. As required by the Open Appointments Policy, a list of final applicants who interviewed for this position is on file with the Clerk of the County Board.