Reforming Probation Culture
Probation is the most common court disposition for youth and therefore worthy of examination. “Getting probation right " often makes the difference of a youth exiting the justice system successfully or sliding deeper into the system. Depending on the jurisdiction, probation handles diversion decisions, oversees pretrial release programs, prepares social study reports, makes recommendations to judges on dispositions, makes referrals to services and programs, and directly provides post dispositional community services and supervision. Probation recommendations have substantial influence within multiple systems yet practice and philosophy of departments and officers vary across the county and in many cases from probation officer to probation officer in the same jurisdiction. These variances and inequities are pronounced for youth of color who are overrepresented in the youth justice system. The fact that probation is so influential in system outcomes, yet remains ambiguous in practice, signifies its fertility for reform.
Probation control vs assistance
From its inception in the United States, probation has functioned as an alternative to incarceration that contains elements of monitoring and support. John Augustus, the recognized founder of probation, convinced judges to bail adults involved in the criminal justice system into his custody. Individuals released to his supervision experienced compassion and support, as opposed to punishment. Because of his successful efforts, probation was formalized and expanded to national scale.
Since those beginnings, probation methods have largely been geared towards two somewhat opposing concepts: control vs. assistance
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Control refers to supervision, surveillance, drug testing, curfew, electronic monitoring, mandatory school attendance, abstaining from drugs and alcohol and compliance to probation rules.
A control model does not help a young person meet the challenges of adolescence, rather it stymies the acquisition of decision-making skills necessary for the transition into adulthood. In fact, extrinsic control often undermines adolescent development, leading to a power struggle between adult authority and youth autonomy
Assistance refers to the probation officer’s role in promoting positive development, providing restorative opportunities to repair harm, building youth competencies and skills, providing encouragement and incentives, connecting youth to services and promoting healthy connections to the probationer’s familial, educational, and community relationships.
A well-executed assistance model supports intrinsic growth and motivation. It assumes that youth inherently possess the capacity and desire for growth and change
A control model is often equated as a mechanism to promote accountability, yet herein lies an important irony: that through assistance, youth are more apt to hold themselves accountable and make positive change than a focus on compliance to mandates and rules applied from people in positions of authority. While JDAI and adolescent development research has helped advance the field of probation, the control model continues to be a prominent fixture in many probation departments
In 2018, the Annie E. Casey Foundation published Probation Transformation: A Vision for Getting it Right encouraging probation departments to maximize the number of youth involved in community-led diversion and promote inclusive probation practices that support positive growth in youth and promote race equity in the justice system.
It is unlikely that we will truly transform probation until we first take a step back and ask ourselves:
What is the purpose of juvenile probation, who should it be intended for and what goals should we strive to achieve?
What is our philosophy when working with youth, and is it consistent with principles of adolescent development?
How would we assess our daily probation practices with regards to control vs assistance?
Are current practices consistent with our stated purpose, goals and philosophy?
What practices should be stopped, started or refined to achieve our vision?
How do we better partner with community and families?
How do we achieve racial and ethnic equity in probation practices?
To answer the above questions through a thoughtful, critical and inclusive process, consider the following steps:
Examine Current Practice and Outcomes
Gather information on current probation outcomes disaggregated by race, ethnicity, gender, geography and offense (e.g. numbers on probation, length of time on probation, successful completion, response to technical violations.
Conduct a culture assessment of current probation practices on the control and assistance continuum.
Review related resources on JDAIconnect
Establish Vision and Purpose:
Convene cross-section of justice and community stakeholders, including youth and families.
Prime the pump with reading and trainings on adolescent development.
Convene the stakeholders in a facilitated process to establish a mission statement of the purpose of probation from a perspective of race equity and inclusion.
Develop a plan
Based on the culture assessment of current probation practices on the control and assistance continuum, engage staff and stakeholders in a discussion about what current practices should be stopped, started or refined in order to fulfill our vision.
Establish concrete steps and a road map to ensure that probation fulfills its purpose.
The work takes time and commitment. Yet, it must be done. It can be done. Promising examples from across JDAI sites include:
As one of the Probation Transformation Initiative sites, Lucas County,(OH) has diverted misdemeanor youth from formal probation.
As the other Probation Transformation site, Pierce County, (WA) has implemented, consistent with the principles of adolescent development, Opportunity Based Probation (OBP) and array of positive youth opportunities with an emphasis on race equity.
Summit County (OH), recently convened a probation retreat that utilized a control vs. assistance assessment process to transform probation practices.
Santa Cruz County (CA) continues to provide family-centered Wraparound services through the FUERTE (Familias Unidas en Respecto Tranquilidad y Esperanza / Families United in Respect, Tranquility and Hope) program to reduce out of home placement for youth of color on probation.
How will you improve your probation practices?