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Protection of the community.
Support the rights of victims.
Develop and operate correctional programs.
Provide institutional services for the courts.
Conduct court investigations.
Enforce court ordered sanctions.
Assist offenders to change for the better.
Educate the public about the value, need for and role of
PROBATION.
Probation is one component of a complex system of justice.
The citizens have given the system as a whole the responsibility
of protecting them from harm by criminal offender And this
decree has been enforced by the legislature which has statutorily
identified the system's prime responsibility as holding
our citizens safe from criminal harm.
Our mission as Probation Officers is to serve the citizenry
of Madera County by discharging the duties assigned us by
California statutes. Since these duties are many and varied,
our mission is multiple.
As fact gatherers, we have responsibility for recommendIng
those actions which offer greatest potential for positive
change by the offender when potential for such change is
seen to exist, provided this can be done without placing
the citizenry in harm's way. Where risk of harm is present,
our responsibility is to recommend that action which offers
greatest protection from that harm.
As enforcers and monitors, we must first see to the proper
execution and enforcement of the court's orders, doing so
in a firm yet humane manner. This role runs a continuum
from absolute enforcer to total supporter arid we must ever
adjust our position along that continuum as defendants behavior
decrees.
To effectively discharge our duties, we must have the ongoing
support of the citizens arid must maintain positive inter-agency
relations at all levels of service. This means each and
every staff member, in any contact with either citizens
of the community representatives of any agency, is representing
our entire agency and the image of our agency as a whole
is the composite of each and all of those contacts.
Included in our prime responsibility of protecting our
citizens from harm is the responsibility to protect our
clients from harming themselves, and therein is the blending
of the role of enforcer and helper.
Juvenile Hall: The Probation Department is also
responsible for operation and administration of the Juvenile
Hall. Juvenile Hall is a place of detention for juvenile
offenders taken into custody within the provisions of
Section 602 of the Juvenile Court Law. These young people
are detained for their protection or the protection of
the community, pending and/or serving final disposition
of their cases. Programs include temporary detention pending
court disposition, holding for other agencies, and varying
lengths of residential care. Treatment programs include
full-time school within the Juvenile Hall for continuation
of education.
Juvenile Boot Camp: On March 12, 1996, the Board
of Supervisors agreed to set into motion the necessary
plans to build a 60-bed Juvenile Boot Camp Facility. As
a result of the Board's actions, the Juvenile Boot Camp
began operation prior to the start of the 1997-98 budget
year. The Camp's objective is to instill, by way of military
protocols, structure, discipline, and accountability while
in a correctional environment. The Camp Program provides
therapeutic intervention, education and family involvement
in the rehabilitation process.
Court Day School: Any minor expelled from a school
district must receive their education from a Community School
under the auspices of the Superintendent of Schools. The
School is separate from the traditional school setting and
addresses special educational needs. The typical student
in a Community School is dysfunctional in the classroom
and not normally willing to accept authority. The School
is located on the County property next to Juvenile Hall.
The Probation Department assigns two Deputy Probation Officers
to be on-site as authority figures, as well as to interact
with the students, parents and staff. The Probation Department
uses a portion of the facilities for a Court Day School.
Minors who would otherwise be sentenced to Juvenile Hall
of truancies and non-violent offenses are committed to the
Court Day School and placed on electronic monitoring house
arrest for a period of 90 days.
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Overview
