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.