The Minnesota Department of Human Services (DHS) says it has reached a settlement agreement with Nexus Family Healing in East Bethel.
The agency says the agreement avoids putting into place a temporary immediate suspension of the youth psychiatric facility’s license.
“All youth placed previously at the East Bethel facility have been moved to new locations,” a DHS statement reads. “Nexus has agreed to implement additional terms under the new agreement and can continue operations under these terms.”
The center opened in late 2023, with 40 beds for 10- to 20-year-olds with a higher level of mental and behavioral health needs; at last count, about 21 people were being cared for there.
DHS says it suspended the provider’s East Bethel license in mid-May, saying in a letter to Nexus CEO Michelle Murray that “DHS has determined there is an imminent risk of harm to the health, safety, and rights of children in your care.”
The list of violations cited by the agency included:
- Unreported suspected maltreatment
- Medications not being administered safely
- Treatment services without adequate supervision
- No monitoring of implementation of safety policies
- The facility not in good repair
Last month, East Bethel City Administrator Matt Look told 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS there were frequent 911 calls from Nexus, noting there were 178 emergency calls in 2025 alone.
“There were a lot of calls of self-hurting,” he explained at the time. “There were calls of assaults, there were calls of kids leaving the facility, and police were called; fire responds at that point if there’s any injuries.”
This past Friday, Nexus issued a statement saying it “has reached an agreement with DHS, and the suspension has been lifted.”
But the settlement agreement has a number of conditions, which include:
- The facility’s census can’t exceed six residents for at least 60 days, but that number can increase by six-person increments as long as Nexus remains in compliance.
- Nexus must repair all broken doors at the facility and submit documentation.
- All broken glass tiles in bathrooms must be repaired.
- Nexus must identify the role of the program’s Medical Director and must hire a centralized Director of Nursing.
- Documentation that staff have been trained on individual support plans, and that staff would be available by phone within 30 minutes, 24 hours a day.
The agreement also says that failure to comply with the terms may result in immediate reinstatement of the temporary immediate suspension of Nexus’s East Bethel license.