1 May 2018 Volume 2: No.2 The Justice Journal The Voice of Pinal County Juvenile Court Services New Beginnings for Dependency Denise Smith, Director Dependency has been a part of the Juvenile Court family in Pinal County for a number of years. The unit experienced growth over a period of time. From inception to the present, the dependency unit has expanded from a unit of 1 employee to 5. The knowledge and expertise that comes from this unit around child welfare matters played a critical role as the organization identi- fied the need to improve the dependency process and close the gap between the child welfare system and juvenile court services. While there is still room for improvement, the department has made significant progress. Lillian Downing, whose background was in the child welfare system, was instrumental in making the positive changes for both systems. We now have better working relationships with the Department of Child Safety, in additional to the many Child Advocacy stakeholders who have been key to the success of the Dependency Unit. As of June 1, 2018, dependency will join forces with Conciliation Court Services. There is a clear relationship and crossover between the two (Dependency and Family Court). This change is intended to strengthen the work in dependency and continue to improve services for the abused and neglected children in Pinal County. Special thanks to the dependency team: Lillian Downing (supervisor), Joann Smith and Josh Larsen (Case Managers), Stephanie Lewis-Smale (Mediator), June Wilson and Andrea Gutierrez (Administrative Assistants). Your advocacy for children is immeas- urable. Keep moving dependency forward! YOU Do Make A Difference! Shared by Denise Smith, Director For those of you who might wonder whether or not you will make a difference in a child ’s life, YOU DO! You may not experience your impact immediately but how about 20 YEARS LATER! I received an email from a former employee, who is now a Chief Probation Officer in Alaska. He writes: “This young man reached out to me this morning. This would have occurred during the first year at STOMP in 1997 when we were running ten day camps. Little notes, such as this are what keeps you going”. Below is what the former probationer wrote to Kendall Rhyne: “Small world boss! Florence, AZ 1997. I spent my 16th birthday with you, doing "mad drills" in the park and running up F Mountain. I was in the class that didn't graduate because some of the cadets were stealing snacks from the supply shed. I remember the motto "Through strength and teamwork, one will become mentally prepared for life's challenges." You guys toughened me up, got me back on track and I wanted to thank you for that. Never think for a minute that you never impacted any of us because I'm proof that you did. I went on to become a correctional officer and worked my way up to Supervisor at the very same facility (CADC) we got our chow from every morning. Now, almost 20 years later to the day, I'm a C/O at LCCC and I hear about this Kendall Rhyne from Arizona. Just thought you might get a kick out of the coincidence and again...thank you”.
Transcript
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May 2018 Volume 2: No.2
The Justice Journal The Voice of Pinal County Juvenile Court Services
New Beginnings for Dependency Denise Smith, Director
Dependency has been a part of the Juvenile Court family in Pinal County for a number of years. The unit experienced growth
over a period of time. From inception to the present, the dependency unit has expanded from a unit of 1 employee to 5. The
knowledge and expertise that comes from this unit around child welfare matters played a critical role as the organization identi-
fied the need to improve the dependency process and close the gap between the child welfare system and juvenile court services.
While there is still room for improvement, the department has made significant progress. Lillian Downing, whose background
was in the child welfare system, was instrumental in making the positive changes for both systems. We now have better working
relationships with the Department of Child Safety, in additional to the many Child Advocacy stakeholders who have been key to
the success of the Dependency Unit.
As of June 1, 2018, dependency will join forces with Conciliation Court Services. There is a clear relationship and crossover
between the two (Dependency and Family Court). This change is intended to strengthen the work in dependency and continue to
improve services for the abused and neglected children in Pinal County.
Special thanks to the dependency team: Lillian Downing (supervisor), Joann Smith and Josh Larsen (Case Managers), Stephanie
Lewis-Smale (Mediator), June Wilson and Andrea Gutierrez (Administrative Assistants). Your advocacy for children is immeas-
urable. Keep moving dependency forward!
YOU Do Make A Difference! Shared by Denise Smith, Director
For those of you who might wonder whether or not you will make a difference in a child’s life, YOU DO! You may not
experience your impact immediately but how about 20 YEARS LATER! I received an email from a former employee, who
is now a Chief Probation Officer in Alaska. He writes: “This young man reached out to me this morning. This would have
occurred during the first year at STOMP in 1997 when we were running ten day camps. Little notes, such as this are what
keeps you going”.
Below is what the former probationer wrote to Kendall Rhyne: “Small world boss! Florence, AZ 1997. I spent my 16th
birthday with you, doing "mad drills" in the park and running up F Mountain. I was in the class that didn't graduate because
some of the cadets were stealing snacks from the supply shed. I remember the motto "Through strength and teamwork, one
will become mentally prepared for life's challenges." You guys toughened me up, got me back on track and I wanted to thank
you for that. Never think for a minute that you never impacted any of us because I'm proof that you did. I went on to become
a correctional officer and worked my way up to Supervisor at the very same facility (CADC) we got our chow from every
morning. Now, almost 20 years later to the day, I'm a C/O at LCCC and I hear about this Kendall Rhyne from Arizona. Just
thought you might get a kick out of the coincidence and again...thank you”.
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Internship Overview
Keri Cress
As a human services student at the University of Phoenix, I had the pleasure of interning with the
Juvenile Justice Administration office for four months.
From the first day I met with Donna McBride I knew this experience was going to be a
good one. The staff was friendly and very knowledgeable and was happy to answer any
questions I had throughout the internship. This experience has given me a good preview of
my career and future.
I learned some important skills and things about myself that I will need to improve on to
be a successful probation officer. Before I started my internship I, like most people, had a
different view of what the juvenile justice system was about. I just thought it was kids get-
ting in trouble with the law, they go to court, and end up going to the juvenile center. My
view changed my first day when I learned there are many programs to assist in rehabilitating the
juveniles who have committed offenses and are now in the system. I learned the focus is on rehabil-
itation rather than just locking kids up.
There are so many different departments working together to give these kids a chance to shine and become well-rounded, law-
abiding members of their community. I went on a few ride-alongs with different staff members that gave me a chance to see how
each of them interacted with the kids. They each treated all the kids with respect and showed they genuinely cared about them and
were there to help them successfully complete probation.
The programs I had the most exposure to are Diversion, Teen Court, Evening Reporting Center, and the Restorative Justice Pan-
els. Attending the different court sessions allowed me to see how the justice system works and how it is decided which program
the juvenile may be placed in. I like how the RJ panels include members of the community and gives the juvenile the chance to
complete consequences and have the offense basically never exist, unless they commit another offense.
This experience was very informative and gave the chance to see other potential career options within the administration office. I
enjoyed working with everyone and felt like a part of the team and will miss it. Thank you for the wonderful opportunity.
WAY TO GO!
The Casa Grande office also participated in
Victim Rights Week by wearing blue!
Held in April, Victims’ Rights Week 2018 theme was “Expand the Circle:
Reach all Victims”. While emphasizing the importance of inclusion, victim
rights awareness helps the victims of juvenile offenders and helps the youth
that have been victims themselves.
Three trainings of “In Their Shoes: Teen Dating Violence” was provided by
trained staff to court-involved youth and other youth in the communities. A
total of eight youth participated.
In addition to the training, youth at the Youth Justice Center decorated 9
boxes that were used to collect hygiene items, food, and clothing to be dis-
tributed to various local shelters. The boxes were placed at the Youth Justice
Center, Casa Grande Probation and Florence Probation offices. In total 187
hygiene items, 19 nonperishable food items and 54 pieces of clothing were
donated to local shelters to help women and children during their healing
journey.
Finally, the Victims Services Unit went into the Youth Justice Center to
speak with the youth about Victims’ Rights and encourage them to volunteer
at local shelters, food banks and any organization that assists victims. They
were given information about victims’ rights along with a bag of goodies.
Victim Rights Week Elaine Bridschge
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Dogs are known as man’s best friend and a black/white boxer mix named Bodhi is
proving that old saying true once again. Bodhi is the first pet therapy dog making
its rounds at the Youth Justice Center to help at risk youth in detention.
Casa Grande resident Owner Jacqui Fogelberg adopted Bodhi, from the Pinal Coun-
ty Animal Care and Control when he was 6 months in 2014. Bodhi is registered
with The Alliance of Therapy Dogs, Cheyenne, WY. He completed his 9 hours of testing and ob-
serving at the age of 1.
Currently, Bodhi visits weekly with the woman and children at the domestic violence shelter, and
with patients receiving chemotherapy at 21st Century Cancer Center in Casa Grande. He also partici-
pates in Canines with Class in the greater Casa Grande area. In addition, Bodhi is “on call” with a
program ran through the Pinal County Office of Victim Assistance that provides emotional support
to children who must testify in court having been victims of abuse.
Our goal with having Bodhi around at YJC is to help youth cope with the emotions they experience
while in detention and away from their families. Help improve their social skills, lower stress levels,
decrease anxiety and increase self-esteem among other benefits.
One youth said playing with Bodhi “he made me feel unstressed and helped me forget about all the
crazy things I had on my mind.”
Therapy dog to offer comfort to youth at the Youth Justice Center
Blanca Molina
MRT?
Denise Hillman
So what the heck is MRT? Why are we so excited about it? A few weeks ago eight staff traveled to San Diego to get the
low down on MRT. Moral Recognition Therapy (MRT) is an effective systematic, cognitive-behavioral approach that treats
a wide range of issues such as substance abuse, trauma, anger management, job skills, and criminal thinking. The programs
are implemented in groups utilizing workbooks directly targeting specific issues. There’s even a workbook for shoplifters!
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For those who have not heard about or noticed the new equipment (televisions, microphones, cameras)
in the departments various offices, we now have video conferencing capabilities. We are utilizing the
same video conferencing system that the court uses, Polycom. We are currently using it to communi-
cate with both the Department of Juvenile Corrections and Navajo County.
At its inception, the hope was to alleviate some of the obstacles other counties who house their youth with us face such as appear-
ing/transportation for hearings, attorney visits and family contact. Currently, Navajo County has installed the Polycom equipment
and is utilizing it for private attorney client visits. It’s hoped other counties take advantage of our video conferencing capabilities as
well as expand its use to serve the needs of their youth and families.
The court recently started allowing youth committed the DOJC to appear for their hearings via video conferencing. Juvenile Court
Services participated in a workgroup comprised of the County Attorney’s office, Public Defenders office, Court Admin and Depart-
ment of Juvenile Corrections. There were numerous trial runs with some expected learning issues however, we have successfully
held several hearings already. One of the advantages of these capabilities is that DOJC youth are not subjected to having their day
disrupted by four hours of commuting to attend a hearing that typically last a matter of minutes. In addition, Juvenile Court Service
staff are not tied to an entire day of transporting and freed to complete additional local transports and attend to other facility needs.
Polycom has been set up in the Youth Justice Center, Apache Junction office and Casa Grande office. Please take time to familiar-
ize yourself with the equipment in your office. As with the benefits it provides other counties, it may provide those same benefits
for our staff, families, attorneys, or community partners. A possible additional use for staff is the ability to at-
tend department meetings via video conferencing versus having to drive to Florence or one of the satellite of-
fices, of course as deemed appropriate by the meeting organizer:) If you have questions regarding the Polycom
system in your office, feel free to reach out to Mike Faust or Liz Ontiveros for assistance.
Welcome Back to the Youth Justice Center! Cindie Amarillas
The Youth Justice Center has a “new” face. After taking a couple of years off to work at his local school,
JDO Louis Madrid returned home to Juvenile Court Services. Louie worked for the department for over ten
years before leaving, he is one of the few staff here that worked in the “old” building and then helped with
the transition to the new. Many of you know him well, but for those of you that don’t, you soon will.
Louie lives in San Manuel with his wife and four children. His time is spent with his family, coaching bas-
ketball and baseball for community youth, spending time at the family ranch in New Mexico and anything to
do with the outdoors. If you hear laughter in the hallways or the units, you know Louie is in the mix. His
good natured, off-beat sense of humor and his infectious laugh help him relate to the youth. When asked if
there was anyone he’d like to trade places with for a day, he said “My wife. I’d like to be able to yell at me
too sometimes.” Welcome back Louie!
Video Conferencing Mike Faust
We Make a Difference! John Fuery
At a recent Effective Practices in Correctional Setting (EPICS) training, Malinda LeGrand
shared a story of how she utilized the behavioral analysis with one of her clients. The be-
havioral analysis helps the officer and client explore patterns and trends of when the youth
gets into trouble, so they can then explore alternative pro-social options in the future. At the
end of her contact, the youth asked Malinda why she was willing to spend so much time
with him to figure these things out and why she cared so much. While we may not always
see immediate results, this story really highlights the opportunities that we have with our
population. The core correctional practices taught to officers in EPICS target four different
areas; building rapport, trust and engagement; refining the assessment of criminogenic risk
factors; influencing behavioral and thinking towards being prosocial; and teaching skills to
foster long-term behavioral change. Great Job Malinda!
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In honor of April’s Volunteer Appreciation Month, a reception was held at the Historical Courthouse to recognize our
Court Appointed Special Advocates. Each advocate received a small token of appreciation and a certificate. Judge Dela-
na Fuller shared words of encouragement, her appreciation and some pretty amazing statistics about our program.
• Currently, there are 80 CASA Advocates in Pinal County with about 10 or so incoming recruits.
• This past year, CASA Advocates:
Drove over 74,594 miles
Donated 7,518 hours
Served a total of 231 children
• 100% of our CASA advocates completed ALL 12 hours of their training hours in addition to court, writing reports,
visiting their children, and coordinating with other providers!
• Between all of the advocates in Pinal County, we are looking at over 239 combined years of experience!
Character Counts Essay Contest A Success! Donna McBride
The Pinal County Juvenile Court Community Advisory Board (CAB) hosted the 13th Annual Character Counts Essay Contest Awards Ceremony in early May at the Pinal County Superior Courthouse.
Nearly 80 students, family members, school personnel and court staff were in attendance during the ceremony with the Honorable Daniel Washburn, as guest speaker. Over 3,300 students participated in the countywide contest. Since the essay contest started, over 31,00 submissions have been accepted from students in Pinal County (grades K-12).
A total of 16 students in 4 different categories took home 1st, 2nd, 3rd and Honorable Mention awards and were chosen based on their essays about one of the six pillars of character: responsibility, citizenship, respect, fairness, caring and trust-worthiness.
Volunteer Appreciation Month —CASA of Pinal County Donna McBride
Ambassador of the Year with 10 years of service—Bobbi Seabolt CASA Advocates Swearing In
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Training Updates—2018
The Justice Journal
A quarterly publication of Pinal County Juvenile Court Services.
adjudicated offense within 12months of his or her diversion startdate. When we disaggregated by
offense type (felony, misdemeanor,or status offense), we found that
youth assigned to diversion fors tatus offenses had higherrecidivism rates than youth withmisdemeanors or felonies even
though all youth with statusoffenses were determined to be
low or moderate risk based on thediversion screener assessment.
23%
12%
16%
Status (n=39)
Misd (n=371)
Felony (n=126)
Diversion Recidivism Rates by Offense Type (FY2016)
Upon further analysis of the youth charged with
status offenses, we found that not only were 43% ofthem were charged with 'Runaway', but 35% of theyouth charged with 'Runaway' had a newadjudicated offense within 12 months of his or her
diversion start date. Furthermore, 83% of theyouth charged with 'Runaway' who also recidivated
within 12 months were identified as crossoveryouth meaning they had past or presentinvolvement with the child welfare system.We also looked at successful completion rates in
relation to recidivism and offense type. We foundthat of the 35% of youth charged with 'Runaway'
who recidivated, 100% of them were terminatedfrom diversion unsuccessfully.
33%
20%
35%
Curfew Incorrigible Runaway
Status Offense Recidivism Rates
We've heard it at every Evidence-Based Practice training: "If they're low,let them go". We have made a lot of signficant changes to practices and
policies over the years based on the principles of risk, need, andresponsivity which has led to an increase in diverted youth and a
decrease in detained youth. So how do we address a population of youthwho score low on our risk assessments, are charged with status offenses ,and yet are more likely to recidivate than youth charged with felonies?
We usually see higher recidivism rates and lower
diversion completion rates for crossover youth;
these data identify another subgroup that is at ahigher risk of failing diversion programs and
reoffending. This group differs from other groupswho recidivate at higher rates because they oftendon't present as high risk and therefore may notbe treated as such. These youth score low or
moderate on risk assessents and are charged withstatus offenses so we typically try to divert them
out of the system as quickly as possible. Theseini tial analyses suggest that in order to improvediversion success rates and decrease recidivismrates for youth with status offenses, we may needa different approach. Our next steps are to collect
qualitative data on these cases to identify barriers
