Court Ordered Probation Officer
Note: Has been working as a probation officer since 2016
1. There are disadvantages and advantages; however, she is still learning. In one of her cases, the juvenile was placed in North Texas State Hospital. The hospital had a duel diagnostic program which provided mental health and substance abuse treatment. By placing the juvenile within the hospital there was a lack of communication between the hospital and herself, which she expressed was a disadvantage.
2. She did not answer this question because she did not feel she had enough experience
3. According to her there is a list of current resources and counselors located at the front desk. However, programs can be introduced by other probation officers …show more content…
As a whole we utilize more contracted services through the community. These resources include counselors, services with ARCADA (Abilene Regional Council on Alcohol and Drug Abuse) where we have a “SASSY” done. SASSY stands for substance abuse subtle screening which tests if a child is abusing drugs or dependent on drugs. In her opinion private and public sectors are not equal. For her particularly, TJJD is a last resort and is only used when all other community resources have been exhausted.
2. We utilize our counselors a lot, BCFS or Health and Human Service which provides us with YAD (youth diverted from delinquency program). This program helps kids obtain and ID, build a resume, offers mock interviews, helps the child obtain employment, and provides transportation. YAD used for kids under court ordered probation. BCFS is used for kids who are not on probation, typically kids under conditions or deferred probation
3. A lot of times a spokes person within the community for a particular program will come out and talk to probation officers about their services. Other times, programs are incorporated in staff meetings or training; however, a lot of what we learn about these programs are from word of mouth and by talking to other probation …show more content…
Programs should be assessed individually. It is important to have a good connection with a child. Two programs which she has researched and would recommend include Project Phoenix and MCH Family Outreach. Project Phoenix Program is designed to provide structured support to troubled youth that are “first time” offenders of the law or have behavior issues at home or school. The program provides activities and opportunities for the youth to have a safe place to go to after school and in the summer, while providing in depth discussion and counseling on decision and consequences. The program is based on behavior performance with the goal of graduating out of the program equipped with new tools to maneuver through the rest of their life positively and effectively. MCH Family Outreach offers foster care and family preservation services. The services are designed to help children between the ages of 0–17
3. Her philosophy early on has been to work on committees, discover programs, and get involved. She has also attended conferences which also help her become aware of the programs available for at risk youth.
4. She assess the offense, the willingness of the parent and child to comply, knowledge regarding specific program, and the need level of that particular child.
5. Part of a programs success relies on the willingness of the child to change. No treatment is ever a waste and what most people don’t understand is that it may take a several efforts before a child understands or makes