NCJ Number
219369
Date Published
2007
Length
24 pages
Annotation
This 2006 Annual Report of the Harris County Juvenile Probation Department (Houston, TX) presents information and data on the department's operations for 2006.
Abstract
The department's goal is to provide treatment, training, and rehabilitation to youth and to offer opportunities for those youth who show the greatest potential for positive change. Progress toward this goal has been advanced by the opening of the new $60-million Juvenile Justice Center in downtown Houston in the spring of 2006. The Center is part of an overall Harris County Downtown Courthouse Master Plan. The Juvenile Probation Department is one of the departments now headquartered in the Center. The primary advantage of the new building for the Juvenile Probation Department is the offering of services to clients and their families in a secure, professional setting whose location minimizes travel time for clients in many cases. The opening of the Juvenile Justice Center followed the dedication of the new Youth Services Center (YSC) in February. The offices of the Preadjudication Team and the Crossroad staff are in the YSC. Another significant event for the Juvenile Probation Department in 2006 was the incorporation of deferred prosecution into Community Unit Probation Services offices, which are located throughout the county. This enables juvenile probation officers to handle both adjudicated and deferred caseloads in the communities where their clients live. The Commissioners Court funded 155 new probation officer positions in order to reduce caseloads. This report presents the department's organizational and case-flow charts, along with a listing of the members of the Harris County Commissioners Court and the department's administrative staff. The programs and operations of the department's various divisions are described.