The Community Programs Unit consists of one Supervisor, one Work Services Supervisor, two Work Services officers, four probation officers, one full time and four part time assistant Peer Court coordinators, one part time assistant Work Services officer working with the tier I work crew program, one Intervention Specialists, and a part time assistant probation officer working as a mentor. The programs are the Intake Unit, Peer Court Unit, The Work Services, Juvenile Crime Prevention Basic Services Intervention Program, and a part time Mentoring program. The Community Program Unit also oversees the placement of practicum students within the department.
The juvenile department received basic services funds as part of the State Juvenile Crime Prevention Program. The target population of the Intervention Specialist Program is middle school age and under youth that have been referred by a police agency for an act that would be considered a violation of the law or a crime if the youth were an adult. The Intervention Specialist will conduct a risk assessment for the youth and link the juvenile offenders to services that will help reduce their risk of getting another criminal referral. The Intervention Specialist will focus on the following outcomes. Improving family functioning by improving parent-youth interaction quality. Increase school success by monitoring school attendance and reported disciplinary problems, and increased positive peer association by involving youth in positive school, community, and neighborhood activities.
The Intervention Specialist works in the middle schools in the county. They establish a presence and provide linkage to services to the targeted population. The Intervention Specialist supports the work being done by the regular probation officers. The Juvenile Department has some funds available that are used to promote positive activities for the youth.
The mission of the Work Crew Program is to provide a safe and secure environment for youth to learn accountability, social competency, respect, employment skills, all in turn for the benefit and safety of the community.
The Linn County Juvenile Department’s Work Crew Program consists of the Tier I, Tier II, and Experiential Work Service Programs. Youth are referred to these programs by their Probation Officer, based on their level of involvement with the juvenile department and the information provided in the Juvenile Crime Prevention’s Risk Assessment.
Prior to youth being scheduled for one of these program’s work projects, the youth is required to attend an orientation session with their parents or legal guardian. A member of the Work Crew Program conducts these orientations weekly. During the orientation process, program staff inform the youth and their parent’s of the program’s rules and procedures. At the conclusion of the orientation the youth are scheduled to work on a specific day. Each subsequent work assignment is relayed to the youth via an automated voice messaging system. It is the youth’s responsibility to call and check in on this automated voice messaging system every Monday in order to get their pick up time and location for their next workday.
Youth are graded daily based on the program’s performance based incentive scoring system. The program uses a four point scale in the following evaluation areas: 1) Attitude; 2) Staff Relations; 3) Peer Relations; 4) Work Performance; 5) Safety; 6) Following Rules and Directions; 7) Checking in; and 8) Punctuality. This scoring system gives youth an opportunity to earn extra credit for positive behavior, however if a youth does not meet the program’s expectations they may not get full credit or any credit for the workday.
The program utilizes vans, a suburban, and a pick up to transport youth to the designated work sites. Youth are picked up at central locations in each of their communities and then transported to the work sites.
The community service part of the program consists of work sites throughout the county. Youth are assigned to the work site and an employee of the work site supervises them. Work is completed and a time sheet is returned to the juvenile department.
The Work Crew Program consists of one Work Program Supervisor, two full-time Work Program Officers, one part-time Work Crew Assistant Probation Officer, one part-time Therapist who is a Licensed Clinical Social Worker, and on-call relief.
TIER I WORK SERVICE PROGRAM: The Juvenile Department developed the Tier I Work Service Program in April of 2000 to serve non-adjudicated youth. The program serves low-risk youth who are on a Peer Court Agreement, Formal Accountability Agreement, or Continued Petition. These youth are 18 years of age or younger and have failed or have been deemed inappropriate for placement at an individual community service site. These youth perform work in a supervised crew setting that is staffed by a Work Crew Assistant Probation Officer. The crew size is typically 7 youth, however, this number can change depending on the individual needs of the project. This program allows low-risk non-adjudicated youth to be diverted to another level of work crew designed especially to meet their needs and separate from adjudicated youth.
TIER II WORK SERVICE PROGRAM: The Linn County Juvenile Department took over the work crew program for adjudicated youth on January 1, 1998. The program serves low, medium, and high-risk youth that are 18 years of age and younger that have failed or have been deemed inappropriate for placement at an individual community service site. These youth perform work in a supervised crew setting that is staffed by one of the program’s Work Program Officers. The crew sizes range from 7 to 15 youth depending on the individual needs of the project. The work is done under close supervision. If the youth does not attend their scheduled orientation or workday, a probation violation is filed and a consequence is imposed.
EXPERIENTIAL WORK SERVICE PROGRAM: The Juvenile Department developed the Experiential Work Service Program in July of 2003 to serve adjudicated youth who were at an elevated risk of continued involvement in the criminal justice system. These crews are staffed by one of the Work Program Officers and by the part-time Therapist. The program provides a crew setting that focuses on cognitive development and behavior management for youth. The focus is on minimizing behavior management by improving decision making skills, teaching self awareness, setting positive goals, making healthy choices, and learning life management skills. Due to the structure and intensity of this program, the maximum number of youth is 9 at any one time and the minimum number of days a youth can be referred is 8.
