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About Spilyay tymoo. (Warm Springs, Or.) 1976-current | View Entire Issue (April 9, 1982)
Pag« 8 April 9,1982 Community Service Project------------ A program alive and well in Warm Springs The Community Service Project is alive and doing well in th e W arm S p r in g s community. The project was born after the people in Warm Springs expressed the idea they felt there should be another way to handle justice for people w ho were co n v icted of. misdemeanors. Helen Robinson—Community Service Project director oversee the project. Her office is located, in the Alcohol and Drug building within the Probation and Parole office. Her job is to find community se r v ic e w ork fo r th o se individuals sentenced to the program and to keep track of the hours they put in on community work. Robinson stated one of the difficult parts T hey su g g ested having of her job is finding enough people serve time in the work in the community which community doing things that is of service, especially during needed to be done helping the winter months. others instead of the courts The program is set up to help giving jail time. It has been over a year since the project those people who are usually was put into effect and it first offenders and have committed a misdemeanor. It is appears to be working. Helen Robinson was hired a program for their first nearly eight months ago to offense. Work is done around the community in the form of cleaning up areas and doing jobs which would normally be done by utilities crews. People put out muscle and sweat in place of money for fines. If there are jobs identified in the community this program could take care of, please call the Probation and Parole Department and ask to speak to M s. R o b in s o n . T he department is ever on the lookout for new jobs of service to do for the community. Robinson has been at her job since August of 1981. She lives in Madras with her two sons, Ephriam age 3 and Seth age 5. She moved into the Central Oregon area from Seattle after she became employed in the program. Juvenile probation officer has no day in court When it is necessary for a young person to go through the court system “it’s a long process,” juvenile probation officer H am ilton Greeley admitted. S o m e c a s e s , G r e e le y explained, are pretty serious but in most cases the juvenile is referred back to tribal court because of age. When a young person is picked up for deviant behavior he is taken to the police station T h e r e h is p a r e n ts are immediately notified. Upon their arrival to pick the juvenile up, they are required to sign a documentagreeing to bring the child to court. Court for the youth is generally held within a 24-hour period. A juvenile is jiot held more than 24 hours at the police station without a hearing. Af a hearing the judge reads the juveniles’s rights to him. The juvenile has all the rights of an adult, according to Greeley, except the right to a jury trial. Until deletion of the juvenile legal aide position a juvenile pleading not-guilty would see a legal advocate. The advocate would then investigate the case on the juvenile’s behalf. With elimination of this position Greeley feels the j u v e n i l e c o u ld s u f f e r . “ Everytim e there’s a cut juveniles are the first to be cut,” Greeley observed. With nearly 400 juvenile cases in a year, the advocate was kept busy. Now the legal system “doesn’t give children any representation,” Greeley said. A juvenile can speak for himself at the trial or he may have a spokesman who is recognized by the court. But if the juvenile wants a legal representative he must get his ; ow n now , and pay for representation himself. Any investigation must be done on his own. If a juvenile pleads guilty the ju v en ile ju d g e m ak es a decision. If, however, the judge feels a decision can’t be made, a pre-sentence investigation is made. Greeley is responsible for this. D u rin g a p re-sen ten ce investigation interviews are held with the client and his parents “to find out what is happening in their lives, Greeley explained. He hopes to find the reason behind the j u v e n i l e ’s b e h a v io r in committing an offense. Greeley goes back to the beginning of the child’s life in his investigation. He looks at the strength of the family relationship and whether or hot it is a beneficial situation for the child. After the investigation is complete Greeley reports his findings to the court. His complaint about the process is the time it takes to make a decision after his report is submitted. He says, “In six months, I’ve never had to are to follow exactly the appear in court.” directions of your parents or With a completed investiga guardians; atten d sch o o l tion the judge can make a regularly unless excused; obey decision in the case of a all school rules; do no associate juvenile. A formal judgement with minors or adults who are in possession o f alcoholic decree can then be issued. beverages and non-prescribed If the juvenile is put on drugs; keep your probation' probation there are rules and officer notified of change of regulations he must adhere to. address; obey all the laws of the Some of those rules are: You land: and report to the Juvenile Coordinator------------------------ -- A friend to kids “Each department has its own ideas of what will work for juveniles. I’m supposed to bring all of that together.” Juvenile coordinator Harry Hintsala is a “friend" to the juvenile not an advocate, he states, juvenile coordinator, Hintsala takes a holistic approach to helping each juvenile that comes to him. He addresses the problem, he says, by treating the mind, body and spirit. in The goal of the juvenile coordinator, as defined by Tribal Council, is to keep juveniles out of the court system and divert them into an informal process. Hintsala’s diversion program is aimed at doing just that. The diversion program d e s ig n e d b y H i n t s a l a centered on the individual. The in a positive manner. The process begins after consulting with juvenile judge Anita Jackson prior to a juvenile’s court hearing. It is determined whether or not the youth needs to go through the court. It might be more beneficial for the juvenile to enter a diversion program centerd on the individual. The youth could pay for his deviant behavior in a way profitable to both the community and the h im s e lf by p e r fo r m in g scheduled activities including educational recreational and cultural enrichment. C e r t a in c r i t e r i a a re considered when determining whether or not to refer a probation officer on certain days. Greeley stresses that the job of the probation officer is not counseling. He does encourage education in som e way, though. When the probation period is completed Greeley informs the court. The case is closed, “hopefully, forever,” he says. trouble ju v en ile to the ju v en ile coordinator. Some of those criteria include: previous number of court contacts; seriousness of the offense; age of the youth; attitude of the youth and parents; school attendance and resources in the tribal community for the care and treatment of the child. The juvenile coordinator, after reviewing the juvenile’s , case, will make a recommenda tion to the juvenile judge. The youth will either go through the formal court process or go to an informal conference and the diversion procedure. Looking at the juvenile not ju st as so m eo n e h avin g committed a crime but as someone who needs guidance, Hintsala works out a program just for him. To occupy spare time the youth may be required to spend som e tim e in recreational pursuits. Meetings with the juvenile’s family are held with the purpose of helping the juvenile organize his time in a constructive manner. Counselors at the school are contacted to learn more about the juvenile and to provide in-school guidance. “Getting him involved in the com m unity in a positive manner” is Hintsala’s goal with each juvenile he sees. For a youth who claims he’s bored, Hintsala tries to fill idle time and ill-used leisure time with activities that w ould be fulfilling to the juvenile. The juvenile gets guidance and s u p e r v is io n d u r in g th e designated time he is in the d iv ersio n p rogram , w ith improving his outloook in mind. Hintsala feels that juvenile delinquency is now “snow balling.” He feels, too, that the diversion program “will have a p o s itiv e im p a c t.” W ith guidance and com m unity involvement the juvenile then has a chance to become a productive member of the community.
