What happens when a teenager commits a serious crime? Often the gravity of their offense, or a prior criminal record, make it impossible for them to be sentenced through the juvenile corrections system. Yet sending them to prison with adult offenders is not a good solution either.

Enter the EJJ (Extended Jurisdiction Juvenile) program, instituted by the state of Minnesota in 1995. It provides special funding to counties to work with juvenile offenders and find solutions short of a prison term. Probation officers who work in this system say it fills a critical need, is less expensive than traditional corrections programs and provides an opportunity for young people to rehabilitate themselves and prevent crime.

The EJJ program could be eliminated, however, under a proposal now being considered by the state Legislature. It is part of larger cuts to corrections programs slated under the omnibus budget balancing and appropriations bills. Find out more about this program - and how a cut in state funding could affect you - on the next Minnesota at Work show.

The program, 'Juvenile offenders - One last chance?' airs this week on cable TV stations in the Twin Cities metro area and Duluth. View the program schedule.

Guests are probation officers who deal with juvenile offenders every day. They talk about the challenges and successes of their work and how treatment of juvenile offenders affects the entire community. Guests are Donna Gillitzer and Rick Lindberg, probation officers in Hennepin County and members of AFSCME Local 552; David Nelson, probation/parole officer in Ramsey County and member of Teamsters Local 320; and Dennis Karp, Olmsted County probation officer and member of Teamsters Local 320.

'Hundreds of delinquents have been supervised through this model,' Lindberg noted. When Hennepin County examined the program three years ago, it found that 80 percent of the juvenile offenders successfully reached their 21^st birthday without engaging in any serious offenses.