2. MISSION STATEMENT & AIMS
“As a member of the criminal justice system, the
Fresno County Probation Department’s mission is to
provide protection for the community, support victim
advocacy, and deliver essential services to the courts.
This mission is accomplished through collaboration and
partnerships which encompass a continuum of
sanctions including prevention/intervention
programming, investigation, supervision, and
incarceration.”
-Received from the Fresno County Probation website
3. POPULATIONS AT-RISK
Although there is also an Adult Division of
Probation, the Juvenile Justice Campus (JJC) deals
specifically with adolescents.
Though I have witnessed adolescents as young as
12, there are those who are 18. However, if the
adolescent is 18 (a legal adult) and on Probation, it
is only due to them committing the crime while they
were a minor.
4. COMMUNITY CONTEXT
The JJC serves juvenile adolescents from broad
areas of Fresno County, from Clovis all the way to
Orange Cove.
The adolescents attend a plethora of schools as
well, whether a public high school, continuation,
Independent Study, or not attending at all.
All minors are provided equal service and
Probation tries to work with the clients when issues
of transportation, contact, or any other excuse or
lack of resources arises.
5. ORGANIZATIONAL STRUCTURE
Fresno County Probation has a Chief Executive Officer
named Linda Penner who oversees all the hiring and
functioning of the JJC.
Although, Linda Penner is not stationed at JJC. Mike
Elliot, the Director, is there observing and reporting
back to the Chief.
Following Mike Elliot are a number of Supervisors who
head each division, mine being Gordon Dahlberg.
All parties work in collaboration to keep the JJC afloat.
6. MAJOR PROGRAMS AND SERVICES
There are several different programs and services
provided that work in collaboration with Probation to
prevent juvenile delinquency.
A few examples are the Alice Worsley School and
Focus Forward. The school provides the adolescents in
Juvenile Hall with an education while being in custody
and Focus Forward provides voluntary mentoring to
those same individuals.
7. CJC: COMMUNITY JUSTICE CONFERENCE
While there are several different programs and
services available to the juvenile adolescents, my
division of Informal Probation deals with cases from
CJC: Community Justice Conference, part of Victim
Offender Reconciliation Program. (VORP)
20 years in existence, VORP in unison with CJC,
serves an average of 500 cases annually with the
help of dedicated staff and volunteers.
-Received from a CJC brochure
8. CJC CONT’D
CJC is a Faith and Community Based Program. CJC
facilitates a mediation process which considers the needs
of the victim, offender, and the community.
CJC gives the parties involved an opportunity to
determine how to best address the offense and how to
prevent reoccurrence.
Once a settlement is agreed upon, the case is presented
before the Court and then CJC continues to assess the
case to assure the agreement remains intact.
-Received from a CJC brochure
9. INFORMAL PROBATION
As I discussed previously, there are several divisions
of the Probation Department. However, I assist with
the Informal Probation caseload (which often
receives cases from CJC).
For those minors placed on Informal, they have far
less restrictive conditions than those on Formal. They
also have the opportunity of their charges being
dismissed if they successfully complete all the
instructions.
-Received from an email by my Supervisor
10. INFORMAL PROBATION CONT’D
Some of the conditions the minors may face on
Informal consist of community service, victim
restitution, supervision of a Probation Officer (either
regularly or spontaneously), strict curfew,
participation in counseling and education programs,
and necessary treatment for the minor and/or their
parent(s) for the misuse or addiction to controlled
substances. They also must pay for any services
utilized during the Probation period.
-Received from an email by my Supervisor
11. CONSEQUENCES
Even though Informal is not as restrictive as Formal,
there are still consequences for failing to complete the
conditions assigned.
Informal may be extended an additional 90 days to
allow time for completion, or the minor may be placed
on Formal (where charges cannot be dismissed) for
several years and/or be placed in confinement,
depending on the offense and other factors. If a
petition is filed with the Court at any time during a 9
month period, the minor’s case is reopened for
prosecution.
-Received from an email by my Supervisor
12. SOCIAL JUSTICE
To conclude what I explained above, the Fresno
County Probation Department works toward
prevention. By intervening early on in their
adolescent lives, that will hopefully cease the minors
from re-offending.
As much as the minors may feel as though it is
Probation’s responsibility to “solve the problem,”
Probation always emphasizes that it is all about the
minor, even though collaboration/mediation is a
central aspect of the agency.
13. SOCIAL WORK VALUES & HUMAN RIGHTS
Probation also focuses on empowerment. Probation
provides the tools necessary to assist the minors in
having a more fulfilling life; to have the minors
realize that they can choose their own fate. Just
because they come from a difficult background
does not mean they cannot control their future.
That is also where human rights come into play.
Probation does not discriminate towards any
individual. They all are provided the same
opportunities: education, employment, and freedom.
