2008 Fall Conference Agenda

Submitted by Susan Rice
Title: Training Coordinator
August 29, 2008

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3RD, 2008

11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. REGISTRATION

1:00 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. OPENING SESSION

WELCOME

FOUNDERS AWARD PRESENTATION

KEYNOTE PRESENTATION
Jana Stanfield

3:15 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. BREAK and VENDOR DISPLAYS

3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. BREAKOUT SESSION I

“THE FIGHT” – A NEW WAY TO ENGAGE SEX OFFENDERS -PART I

IMPLEMENTING A JUVENILE TRANSITION PROGRAM

GRADUATED SANCTIONS

CASE MANAGEMENT

5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. PRE-DINNER RECEPTION
Sponsored by Correctional Management Company

7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. DINNER

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 4TH, 2008

8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. LATE REGISTRATION

CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST

VISIT VENDOR DISPLAYS

9:00 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. BREAKOUT SESSION II

“THE FIGHT” – A NEW WAY TO ENGAGE SEX OFFENDERS

“MY JOURNEY”

JUVENILE EVENING REPORTING CENTERS

WORKING WITH CLIENTS WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES

10:15 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. BREAK

10:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. BREAKOUT SESSION III

BEYOND THE PALE: WORKING WITH PSYCHOPATHS AND VIOLENT OFFENDERS - Part I

INTERSTATE COMPACT OFFENDER TRACKING SYSTEM – UTILIZATION, UPDATES AND Q & A

EQUINE ASSISTED PSYCHOTHERAPY

DE-ESCALATION TECHNIQUES

12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. LUNCH AND POPAI ANNUAL MEETING

12:45 p.m. to 1:15 p.m. HB 1001 COMMITTEE MEMBERS MEETING
(All interested parties welcome to attend)

1: 15 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. BREAKOUT SESSION IV

BEYOND THE PALE: WORKING WITH PSYCHOPATHS AND VIOLENT OFFENDERS – PART II

HB 1O01 UPDATES & ROUND TABLE

PROBLEM SOLVING COURTS

BATTERERS INTERVENTION PROGRAMS

3:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. RECEPTION AND TOURS AT LUCAS OIL STADIUM Sponsored by Southwest Indiana Regional Youth Village

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 5TH, 2008

8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. PRAYER BREAKFAST – Pre-registration required

8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. BREAKFAST ON YOUR OWN

9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. CLOSING SESSION
“NOTHING TO FEAR” – USING INTUITION IN YOUR WORK

11:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. P.O.P.A.I. BOARD MEETING

11:30 a.m. CHECKOUT

DCS Announces Service Consultant Positions for Probation

Submitted by Don Travis
Title: President
August 20, 2008

On August 20, 2008, the DCS announced the Solicitation for Service Consultant Positions for Delinquency Cases. These positions will serve as consultants for the DCS, reviewing recommendations regarding services being requested.

POPAI Seeks Input of Probation Officers

Submitted by Don Travis
Title: President
August 18, 2008

Probation Officers for the State of Indiana,

As a result of the past two POPAI Board meetings in conjunction with the Probation Officer Advisory Board Future of Probation Task Force and responses received regarding this subject, the beliefs or themes have been updated.

As most of you are aware, over the past several years it has been suggested that probation officers in the State of Indiana in some way become State funded.

The Indiana Commission on Local Government Reform published the Commission’s report, Streamlining Local Government: We’ve got to stop governing like this. The report includes recommendations for government reform, including the recommendation that responsibility for all funding of the state’s trial court system should be transferred to the state, including probation.

In recent months, in light of property tax relief and other key issues that affect state and local funding, the issue of how to fund probation officers once again appears on the horizon. P.O.P.A.I. Board Members, in addition to members of the Probation Officers Advisory Board, met at our last P.O.P.A.I. Board Meeting to share concerns and ideas relating to this topic. As a result, some common beliefs or themes arose that we would like to share with you and further invite comments relating to this topic.

The beliefs or themes were as follows:

• Probation Officers should remain under the Judicial Branch of Government.

• Probation Officers must remain under the direction of the local judiciary to promote responsivity and efficiency, particularly to those issues that affect the local communities.

• Working with the Judicial Branch of government, a formula must be created to allow probation departments to receive funding or subsidies from the State of Indiana to reduce the burden on county government and to reduce the inherent tensions between county governments and the judiciary. Included in this formula should be incentives for expansion of services, the use and or collection of user fee’s, and workload measures.

• P.O.P.A.I and the Probation Advisory Board, as representatives of probation officers for the State of Indiana, should be proactive (as opposed to reactive) in planning for the future of our profession.

It is noted that at the present time, there has been no suggestion of any impending legislation related to this topic. The P.O.P.A.I. Board Members and members of the Probation Advisory Board are soliciting comments regarding the beliefs stated above.

At the present time, we are seeking continued input to support the aforementioned beliefs or themes. Please send an e-mail regarding your concerns to:

survey@gopopai.org

POPAI requires identification so that we may contact you to verify your submission. Please include the required information below for your submission to be formally considered by this committee. Your name will not be used in any follow-up memos or publication upon your specific request. State of Indiana, may have regarding a change in the funding mechanism for probation in this state.

Name (required)
Work or daytime phone number (required)
E-mail (required)
County in which you work (optional)


Don Travis, President, POPAI
Steve Eyrick, Chairperson, Probation Officer Advisory Board

POPAI Conference Registration Available

Submitted by Jeremy Stevens
Title: Webmaster
July 10, 2008

The 2008 POPAI Fall Conference will be held September 3rd, 4th, and 5th at the Sheraton Indianapolis City Centre Hotel in downtown Indianapolis. This conference is for anyone in the field of probation and probation services. Attendees will be given the opportunity to gain probation specific knowledge on techniques, services and technology of the future being utilized in Indiana today. Opportunities will also be available for attendees to retreat, share ideas, participate in some free time activities and to enjoy an excellent training and networking environment.

More information regarding the conference, as well as registration forms are available by clicking on the "Read on..." link below.

Fall Conference Agenda

Submitted by Susan Rice
Title: Training Coordinator
August 29, 2008

WEDNESDAY, SEPTEMBER 3RD, 2008

11:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m. REGISTRATION

1:00 p.m. to 3:15 p.m. OPENING SESSION

WELCOME

FOUNDERS AWARD PRESENTATION

KEYNOTE PRESENTATION
Jana Stanfield

3:15 p.m. to 3:30 p.m. BREAK and VENDOR DISPLAYS

3:30 p.m. to 5:00 p.m. SESSION I

“THE FIGHT” – A NEW WAY TO ENGAGE SEX OFFENDERS

IMPLEMENTING A JUVENILE TRANSITION PROGRAM

GRADUATED SANCTIONS

CASE MANAGEMENT

5:00 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. PRE-DINNER RECEPTION
Sponsored by Correctional Management Company

7:00 p.m. to 8:00 p.m. DINNER (Tour of Italy Buffet)

THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 4TH, 2008

8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. LATE REGISTRATION
CONTINENTAL BREAKFAST

VISIT VENDOR DISPLAYS

9:00 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. SESSION II

“THE FIGHT” – A NEW WAY TO ENGAGE SEX OFFENDERS

“MY JOURNEY”

JUVENILE EVENING REPORTING CENTERS

WORKING WITH CLIENTS WITH DEVELOPMENTAL DISABILITIES

10:15 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. BREAK

10:30 a.m. to 11:45 a.m. SESSION III

BEYOND THE PALE: WORKING WITH PSYCHOPATHS AND VIOLENT OFFENDERS

INTERSTATE COMPACT OFFENDER TRACKING SYSTEM – UTILIZATION, UPDATES AND Q & A

EQUINE ASSISTED PSYCHOTHERAPY

DE-ESCALATION TECHNIQUES

12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. LUNCH AND POPAI ANNUAL MEETING

12:45 p.m. to 1:15 p.m. HB 1001 COMMITTEE MEMBERS MEETING

1: 15 p.m. to 2:30 p.m. SESSION IV

BEYOND THE PALE: WORKING WITH PSYCHOPATHS AND VIOLENT OFFENDERS – PART II

HB 1O01 UPDATES & ROUND TABLE

PROBLEM SOLVING COURTS

BATTERERS INTERVENTION PROGRAMS


3:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. RECEPTION AND TOURS AT LUCAS OIL STADIUM Sponsored by Southwest Indiana Regional Youth Village

FRIDAY, SEPTEMBER 5TH, 2008

8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. PRAYER BREAKFAST
8:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m. BREAKFAST ON YOUR OWN

9:00 a.m. to 11:00 a.m. CLOSING SESSION
“NOTHING TO FEAR” – USING INTUITION IN YOUR WORK

11:00 a.m. to 11:30 a.m. P.O.P.A.I. BOARD MEETING

11:30 a.m. CHECKOUT

Audits find probation troubles

Submitted by Linda Brady
Title: Vice-President
August 26, 2008

Newsobserver.com

Published: Aug 26, 2008 12:30 AM

Anne Blythe and Joseph Neff, Staff Writers

RALEIGH - Problems in the Wake and Durham county probation offices run deep and will take time to fix, two audits show.
Robert Guy, head of the state's probation system, said Monday the disarray was worse than he thought -- with missing files, cases being ignored, probation officers making no attempt to locate offenders who missed appointments, and supervisors failing to quickly file arrest warrants for absconders.
"I was very shocked to find out the problems were as bad as they were," Guy said. "They were actually worse."
Guy's assessment came after he named new managers for the Wake and Durham probation offices and appointed a new assistant judicial chief at the regional level.
The new people will head offices that have been under scrutiny since the exposure of the lax oversight of suspects charged with killing Eve Carson, the UNC-Chapel Hill student body president, and Abhijit Mahato, a Duke University graduate student.
An internal audit of the two offices was ordered in March, several weeks after Carson was found slain in Chapel Hill. The National Institute of Corrections, a federal agency, was called in to provide an independent evaluation.
Guy and Theodis Beck, secretary of the state Department of Correction, met with the federal auditors last week. A draft issued before the meeting found probation offices grappling with heavy caseloads, high turnover and archaic computer systems that make it difficult to share information.
The results of the internal audit were released Monday.
The problems were especially severe in Durham. Glenn Mills, a senior administrator with the division of community corrections, was asked to temporarily take the reins of that office in late March.
He found an office in disarray. Case files were missing, others were not in order. New hires were "just sitting around reading manuals" and the assistant judicial district manager was constantly on the phone and rarely available to the staff, Mills reported to Guy.
The office closed for lunch when court recessed, leaving no one available for offenders who might need to check in.
Inexperienced officers were sent to court to handle violations, and some officers were "constantly having to be away for child-care issues," Mills reported.
Deficiencies were noted in nearly 80 percent of the Durham cases, federal auditors said.
Mills noted that offender photos were not taken, curfew checks were not done according to policy, no attempts were made to find absconders, officers were not spending enough time in the field, and cases were closed when offenders still owed money or had not satisfied community service requirements.
Many of the same challenges lie ahead for Wake County.
An interim management team said in an Aug. 1 report to Guy that it had overhauled office operations, set policies and procedures, and provided extensive training to staff and officers.
The team discovered 67 pieces of equipment missing -- conference tables, desks, copiers and other items valued at $110,823.
In a review of 944 case files, or 13 percent of the 7,424 offender cases under Wake County's watch, 43 percent of the cases had moderate to serious problems. Many cases were terminated without probation requirements fulfilled, and there were problems with the treatment of absconders.
The interim team told Guy that while there were dedicated officers in the Wake office, "they were never positioned by management to positively influence operations across the district."
Guy said many problems existed because the probation system had not been getting enough money. The legislature provided an additional $2.5 million this summer but did not specify how the money would be spent.
"The external problems that have been identified is something that the legislature and the next administration needs to fix, when it comes to where the money is spent," Guy said.
anne.blythe@newsobserver.com or (919) 932-8741
© Copyright 2008, The News & Observer Publishing Company
A subsidiary of The McClatchy Company

Teen's fate in Judge's Hands

Submitted by
Title:
August 20, 2008

Teen's fate in judge's hands


August 20, 2008Recommend (4)

BY RUTH ANN KRAUSE Post-Tribune correspondent

A Hobart police officer said Tuesday surveillance photos show Brittney McCammon beating Jamie Rodriguez's "lifeless body."
Meanwhile, a psychologist and juvenile probation officer told a judge McCammon would have better treatment options if she remained in the juvenile system.

Her fate is up to a juvenile court magistrate. Lake Superior Magistrate Glenn Commons said Tuesday he needs time to read 11 witness statements and view surveillance footage from a restaurant where McCammon, 15, is accused of beating Rodriguez, 16, of Hobart.

McCammon is charged with attempted murder. Commons will decide if she remains in the juvenile system or faces charges in adult court.

Hobart police officer Patrolman Paul Peters said witnesses told him on June 4 that Rodriguez stepped outside Lake George Shrimp, 435 E. Third St., and was met by McCammon. A fight started. "She didn't have a chance to throw any punches or defend herself," Peters said.

McCammon was arrested a short distance away and told officers at the station Rodriguez started the fight with a remark.

Hobart police Detective Garrett Ciszewski said he viewed the footage, including a scene where McCammon is inflicting injuries "to a lifeless body on the ground."

Monica Nagy, a juvenile probation officer, said McCammon has no prior criminal convictions but has had trouble in school with poor grades.

She has been suspended and was expelled in eighth grade for throwing a chair.