Santa Barbara County Probation
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The Santa Barbara County Probation Department main office is located in Santa Barbara, California and serves the needs of Santa Barbara County by monitoring people who have been placed on probation.
The Probation Department’s overview description reports that,
“Probation is a county correctional program, and its basic legal framework and mandates are found in sections of the Penal Code and the Welfare and Institutions Code. Each county in the state has a probation department. The Santa Barbara County Probation Department serves the Courts and assists adult and juvenile offenders in establishing and maintaining law abiding, productive lives. The type of service provided is determined by the law, the orders of the Court, the risk the offender presents to the community, and the needs of the offender and family. Probation officers are peace officers and may arrest probationers if they commit new law violations, or if their actions violate the orders of the Court or the conditions of their probation.”
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[edit] Adult Services Division
The Santa Barbara County Probation Department utilizes Neighborhood Supervision Units (NSU) to supervise adult criminal offenders placed on probation. Neighborhood Supervision Units employ strategies of community supervision, including assigning caseloads to deputy probation officers(DPO) based upon where offenders reside. Geographically-based caseloads allow DPOs to provide better service to the community and the offenders they supervise because DPOs can spend time in that area mashaling resources and listening to the concerns and needs of the neighborhood. Neighborhood Supervision Officers view the community as their customer and they involve the public, when appropriate, in problem solving through collaboration and accountability boards.
An adult offender placed on probation by the Superior Court in Santa Barbara County is supervised out of the office nearest his/her home. The area offices are located in Santa Barbara, Lompoc, and Santa Maria. The level of supervision each person receives is based upon evaluation of the probationer's risk to the community and services needed. Probationers who present the highest risk to the community are given the most intensive supervision.
Adults released on probation in the community may have spent some time in the County Jail as a condition of probation and may be required to participate in drug and alcohol programs, treatment programs, counseling, vocational training and/or job placement programs. A probationer may be contacted at home, on the job or in the community and in addition, may be required to submit to drug testing and to permit search of his or her personal property for contraband. The payment of fines or fees and/or restitution to victims is also an important part of supervision caseloads.
[edit] Juvenile Services Division
The Juvenile Services Division protects and serves the community by providing investigation and supervision services for the court, providing services to victims of crime, and providing treatment opportunities to offenders and their families through maximizing collaborative partnerships within the community. The Juvenile Services Division is composed of the Court Services Units and the Neighborhood Supervision Units.
The Court Services Units are located in Santa Barbara, Santa Maria, and Lompoc where they serve the Juvenile Courts in these communities. The Court Services Units provide intake, investigation, and assessment services to the Juvenile Court and the minors and the families it serves.
The Neighborhood Supervision Units are also located in the communities of Santa Barbara, Santa Maria, and Lompoc. The Neighborhood Services Units utilize community supervision, which stresses neighborhood caseloads and family-focused, strength-based, collaborative service delivery in the supervision of minors placed on probation.
Santa Barbara County has Juvenile and Adult Services offices in Goleta, Lompoc, and Santa Maria, providing services in court investigation and probation supervision.
[edit] Counseling and Education Centers (CEC)
Santa Barbara County operates three Counseling and Education Centers, one each in Santa Barbara, Lompoc, and Santa Maria. Staffing at each program consists of a Senior Probation Officer, a Juvenile Institutions Officer, a clerk typist, a teacher, a teacher's aid, a specialized resource person and a licensed California Marriage Family and Child Counseling (MFCC) Mental Health Practitioner.
The focus of the program is to allow the minor, who is a Court ward, to remain in the community in the least restrictive setting. The minor attends the program during the day and resides at home or in a local group/foster home. Daily progress is charted and the length of the commitment to the program is dependent upon the minor's behavior.
Both the minor's educational needs and acceptable behaviors are the focus in the Centers. One-to-one counseling and group counseling are an integral part of each minor's program. Each program has the capacity to serve 22 minors and families.
[edit] Juvenile Institutions Division
The Juvenile Institutions Division protects and serves the community by operating safe and secure juvenile detention and treatment facilities, providing alternative programs to custody for juvenile offenders, and contracting for shelter care services.
The Santa Barbara County Probation Department operates four juvenile institutions facilities. The Santa Barbara and Santa Maria Juvenile Halls primarily house minors who have been charged with crimes and are awaiting the Juvenile Court process. In addition, some minors in juvenile hall have been committed there by the Juvenile Court for short periods of time as part of the terms and conditions of their probation.
The Los Prietos Boys Camp/Tri-Counties Boot Camp are residential treatment facilities co-located in the Los Padres National Forest, approximately 20 miles (32 kilometers) north of the City of Santa Barbara. These facilities serve males under the age of 18 years who have been committed there by the Juvenile Court as a result of their delinquency.
The Juvenile Institutions Division also operates Community Confinement Programs, which serve as alternatives to confinement in the Juvenile Hall including Electronic Monitoring, Home Supervision, and the Weekend Work Program.
In order to care for those minors who have not committed criminal offenses but are in need of the emergency shelter, the Probation Department also contracts for shelter care services for these minors.
[edit] Los Prietos Boys' Camp
Established in 1944, Los Prietos Boys' Camp is a county-owned, 24-hour, correctional/treatment facility located on 17 acres of wooded land in the Los Padres National Forest. This program, set in a rural environment twenty miles from the City of Santa Barbara, provides residential services for designated male wards of the Juvenile Court (602 Welfare and Institutions Code (W&IC)) between 13-18 years of age. Available program services include regular and special education curricula in an on-campus high school, contract work projects, and individual, group, family, and substance counseling. Attending to this closely supervised and supportive placemen are Probation Department institutional staff, Public Health staff, Department of Alcohol, Drug, & Mental Health clinicians, and a County Schools personnel. There is also a network of private counseling agencies and volunteers who aid Los Prietos Boys' Camp staff in the rehabilitation of our wards.
Minors being considered for placement at Los Prietos Boys' Camp must meet specific intake criteria. These criteria include an initial phone screening between placement and program personnel, the submission and review of a screening checklist and attachments, a physical examination, possessing 6 months or more of custody time, and possessing the necessary self-control to benefit from a varied and challenging program in a minimum security residential setting. The objectives of the Los Prietos Boys' Camp Program are to provide a consistent, structured, supportive and predictable environment in which a youth can be encouraged and enabled to make the necessary behavioral changes that will allow him to function legally and productively in the community. Residing in a rural camp setting with a maximum of 56 youths requires a degree of social give-and-take and provides for opportunities to develop conflict resolution skills and foster positive social relationships. A youth must learn to exist cooperatively with others, accept the responsibilities and consequences for their behavior, and to work through problem areas. The development of understanding regarding behavior, of gaining internal and external behavior controls, and improving self-esteem are primary goals of the Camp program.
The in-camp program is 24 weeks in length with an additional aftercare follow-up period. Minors electing to conform to program guidelines and expectations can complete the program within this period. As incentives, youths who display consistently positive behavior can shorten their stay in Camp. Should a youth exhibit negative, uncooperative, and unmotivated behavior and thus fail to "earn his weeks," he can spend a much longer period in Camp.
Each youth progresses through the program on the basis of a casework plan formulated from input provided by his family, probation officer, mental health counselor, teachers, and probation staff. All full-time probation and school staff register their behavioral voting evaluations on a weekly basis.
[edit] Los Prietos Boys Academy
The Tri-Counties Boot Camp was established in 1997 as an early intervention program to serve a maximum of 40 male Juvenile Court wards from Santa Barbara, Ventura, and San Luis Obispo counties. The organization of the TCBC provides a structured, consistent, and challenging environment in which wards can re-evaluate and alter pre-existing negative behaviors and attitudes. Wards are challenged to develop leadership skills, self-confidence, personal accountability and community and family responsibility. Juvenile Institutions Officers are assigned as squad leaders and are responsible for ensuring program compliance through monitoring appropriate conduct, maintaining structure and discipline, teaching physical training, supervising work crews, and providing daily guidance and support. In addition, wards receive instruction in personal hygiene, grooming, manners, problem-solving, proper communication, and dormitory living.
All wards are assigned to a squad within one of four platoons. Wards from all counties are commingled. Daily activities include classroom work, work crews, team sports, counseling groups and physical training, and emphasize teamwork and cooperation. All wards participate in programs designed to help them become aware of what causes them frustration and stress, and eventual criminal or gang activity. Wards attend cognitive behavior therapy, peer group sessions, alcohol and drug education classes, and are appropriately referred to conflict resolution, 12-step and a variety of more intensive therapeutic interventions. Wards learn skills for successful participation and reintegration at home, at school, and in the community.
All wards will attend school five days per week and complete assigned homework. Teaching staff from Santa Barbara County Schools will provide an individualized and remedial instruction education program. Resource, Special Education and ESL classes will also be provided. All wards will comply with clearly defined behavioral expectations.
[edit] Mission statement
The Santa Barbara County Probation Department’s Mission is to serve and protect the community by:
- Providing information and recommendation to the courts;
- Providing safe, secure, and effective juvenile detention and treatment programs;
- Requiring responsible behavior of offenders by enforcing court orders; and
- Facilitating services to victims.
[edit] Vision Statement
The Santa Barbara County Probation Department’ Vision for providing service and protection to the community will be accomplished by:
- Utilizing a community corrections approach that is neighborhood, family focused, and strength-based;
- Maintaining collaborative partnerships with courts, law enforcement, schools and community service agencies;
- Supporting victims by collecting restitution and providing balanced and restorative justice for the community; and
- Encouraging active citizen and community response to crime.
[edit] Values
Our employees are our greatest assets. The effectiveness of our department is directly related to the extent to which all our employees adhere to the following values: honesty, integrity, dedication, ethical work performance and loyalty to the mission and vision of the department. These values are the foundation upon which we perform our daily tasks and interact with one another, the courts, probationers, and the general public. In addition, the following Organizational Values and Code of Ethics guide our efforts to serve and protect the citizens of Santa Barbara County:
Positive Work Environment: We value and promote a positive work environment that:
Competency: We value and promote the competency of all our staff by:
- Is free of racial, ethnic, religious, and sexual harassment;
- Stimulates initiative, productivity, creativity, and professional growth;
- Protects the safety and welfare of employees, probationers, and the general public.
Leadership: We value and promote the development and demonstration of leadership by:
- Providing training to enable employees to carry out their complex duties and individual responsibilities;
- Encouraging a variety of work experiences to enhance employee motivation, advancement, and opportunities for future professional growth;
- Providing employees with timely, balanced and objective assessments of their work performance;
- Recognizing and rewarding excellent work performance.
Innovation and Flexibility: We value and promote innovation and flexibility within the organization by:
- Recognizing that leaders exist at all levels of the organization and encouraging the development and exercise of leadership skills;
- Acknowledging that leadership is displayed through initiative, decisiveness, and accountability extending beyond the immediate sphere of responsibility;
- Recognizing that leaders look for the bigger picture, influence beyond their boundaries, and think in terms of positive change;
- Acknowledging that good leadership is objective, compassionate, understanding, and respectful of the dignity of others.
Public Resources: We value and promote the effective use of all public resources by:
- Seeking more effective and innovative ways to deliver probation services within an ever-changing environment;
- Soliciting and considering feedback from staff and identifying and evaluating alternatives prior to making formal organizational changes;
- Timing the implementation of organizational change in order to optimize results and cost effectiveness.
- Providing all services in a cost-effective manner within budgetary constraints;
- Utilizing appropriate technology in order to provide the most effective service delivery;
- Encouraging volunteerism and community involvement by employees.
