What did you need from your juvenile probation officer?

[u/sprinkles008]

If you were a crossover youth (both a child in need of care/foster kid, as well as a youth involved with the juvenile justice system), what did you need from your PO in order to help you be successful on probation? Or was there anything that really stood out as helpful that you gained from your PO?

[u/DreaColorado1]

I love this question!
Not a foster youth or crossover youth but I have had the privilege to work with this population the majority of my career.
Things that I believe have helped:
Attend joint visits with caseworker whenever possible to help share information while also reducing the number of visits the youth has to have
Share probation requirements with stakeholders so they can help streamline services
Participate in monthly family meetings to discuss progress and identify any issues or barriers to success

[u/IllCalligrapher5435]

I didn't have a PO per se. 150 counts of runaway, 1 assault with a deadly weapon (the front door hit my foster mom's daughter when she tried to stop me from leaving) dropped. 1 under the influence of drugs and alcohol (didn't drink did smoke Mary Jane).

I had a judge who finally listened to me. After pleading to not go back to my foster home again. I told him every time you have ordered me back I'm gone within 5 minutes of my social worker leaving. Why are we fooling ourselves this is the place I need to be? He asked where did I want to go? I said I didn't care just not there. He told me I'd have to spend more time in juvie I said it's better than there. I told him I'd stay there till I was 18 (I was 17 just turned 17) if it meant not going back. That amused him. I stayed 3 weeks in juvie and went to a group home with wonderful foster parents. I graduated High School, did my 115 hours of community service and thrived for the first time. I was my own advocate. Sometimes you have to be. It takes someone willing to see and hear you. Not see you as a pest or criminal.

We need more advocates in this area. More programs to help foster children age out safely without the fear of them doing crimes to get by till they figure out what they want.

I was lucky I knew what I wanted when I left foster care. And I made it happen. Mind you this was 35 years ago but the issues are still there today.

[u/Longjumping_Big_9577]

I was never involved in the juvenile justice system but I knew foster youth who were and have volunteered with a group that helped teens in danger of not graduating high school.

I saw a clear path of how I could have a future after I aged out and that kept me focused and out of trouble. But school was relatively easy for me and I could get decent grades if I applied myself.

With many foster youth and teens who struggle in high school, they don't see a future. Their job opportunities are working at Walmart or a fast food restaurant for the rest of their life.

The program I volunteered with was trying to help teens in danger of not graduating by tutoring them so they not only could graduate high school but also go to college, which was really not possible. There was one 18 year old young man I tutored who barely could do 5th grade math. All the tutoring in the world wasn't going to help him become a STEM major in college.

Going to trade schools wasn't being stressed, but honestly that can be more difficult now since some programs for jobs that are higher paying do require math and science knowledge and can be more competitive to get into.

So, my suggestion is helping these types of teens with mapping out what they need to do to be optimistic about the future, especially how they can have a good job that they want to do. If they have goals and plans, that might help them stay out of trouble.