activities and test for substance abuse much straints that hinder any behavioral or supervi- more easily than addressing antisocial behavior, sion training that staff receives. personality pattern, cognition or associates. After conducting a departmental audit in Thus, the most significant domains are often the the Bell/Lampasas Counties (TX) Community most neglected. In addition to this problem gen- Supervision and Corrections Department erally the first interaction an officer has with a (CSCD) several years ago, the auditors dis- probationer reporting for an office visit is wheth- cussed case management issues with several er that individual has paid his or her supervision officers. The officers informed the auditors that fee and the last interaction deals with court or- it was very difficult to implement the skills for dered fees. which they had been trained for interacting with Risk assessments have been very valua- probationers with caseloads of 100-120 cases. ble to management in making certain decisions They said that if their regular caseloads were dealing with caseloads. An officer or technician reduced to 80 then they could have a meaning- can see many more probationers with low risk ful impact in the supervision of their probation- score than probationer who score as a high risk. ers. Management took their recommendations However even with smaller high risk caseloads, seriously and managed to reduce the regular one question remains regarding what approach- caseloads per officer to 80. Then funding from es or supervision strategies should be followed. the State began to be reduced and consequent- There are no mandated standards or guidelines ly the caseloads began to increase until they regarding what actions should be undertaken are now back at 100-120 per officer. with a high risk caseload. Each individual pro- Another problem, which is not a problem bation department develops their own polices, if with risk/needs assessments, but it still an im- at all, regarding officer/probationer interactions pediment to their efficacy is that all assess- and these policies are seldom based on empiri- ments do is identify a problem. However, once the problem has been identified there needs to cal evidence. be resources to address the problem. Funding Other problems also contribute to dimin- will always be an issue in community correc- ished usefulness of risk/needs assessments. tions. Yet although the State of Texas has pro- Even assuming that staff is fully trained on the vided funding to develop a Texas Risk Assess- use of motivational interviewing and cognitive ment System (TRAS) it has failed woefully to behavioral therapy, a questionable assumption provide any meaningful resources that would especially with cognitive/behavioral therapy address the issues identified by the risk/needs since, although this is a proven psychological assessment instrument now mandated to be approach to dealing this behavioral issues, pro- completed by all the CSCDs in the state. The second major problem with commu- bation officers are generally not trained as psy- nity corrections is the misunderstanding of evi- chological clinicians or have masters in social dence-based practices. Evidence-based prac- work degrees, there are still serious time con- tices (EBP) have been bantered about for two
decades at almost every conference mental health problems or substance abuse. dealing with corrections. Practitioners in the Moreover, the efficacy of many of the programs field of corrections use this phase frequently but recommended to address the risk and needs of in actuality there is little understand of what offenders is either supported by insufficient or EBP means. One of the appeals of evidence- mixed/promising evidence. Finally, the benefits based practices in the United States, and espe- of evidence-based practices have appeared to cially in Texas is that it reflects certain structural have reached a plateau. Thus, new approaches realities in this country. The first is that in many need to be identified if further progress in the places in the United States there are weak so- diversion of persons from incarceration is going cial services and inadequate health care. This to be made in this country. causes particular problems in dealing with of- Another major problem with com- fenders with mental health problems and sub- munity corrections over the last several dec- stance abuse issues. ades regards how the Legislature and policy- The second reality is that the United makers, at least in Texas, sold the concept to States has a fairly weak family structure and the public. In order to make community correc- therefore family support is often lacking. Finally, tions a viable option for the courts and prosecu- many offenders on probation live in very dys- tors and to make it acceptable to the public, it had to be an alternative form of punishment, functional neighborhoods in which basic as- with the emphasis on punishment. The second pects of civil society are missing. (Goffman, Al- way that community supervision was sold as an ice, On the Run: Fugitive Life in an American alternative to incarceration was with the promise City, 2014). Considering these factors, it is un- than not only was it less expensive than prison derstandable why probation in the United States costs but that it would pay for itself by requiring would tend to focus narrowly on the criminogen- probationers to incur most of the costs for oper- ic risks and needs of the offender and seldom ating the probation system. takes into account factors beyond what is identi- The result was that for over thirty years fied in a risk/needs assessment instrument, the way to improve community corrections was much less regard the probationer in the context to make it increasingly more punitive. The other of his or her community or person as a whole. result was to increasingly add costs to proba- These same societal factors also explain why tioners to not only operate probation depart- the theory of desistance is not widely recog- ments but to also fund other aspects of the courts and criminal justice system. Thus, over nized, much less practiced in the United States. the last several decades the Legislature has Nevertheless, while evidence-based practices, if continued to add to the number of conditions of properly utilized, can demonstrate a statistical community supervision by which a probationer reduction in recidivism, at least for a certain pe- must be in compliance and for which a violation riod of time after treatment, it has its limitations. may result in a revocation proceeding and a It does not promote the access to social capital sentence to prison. that would support a long-term decrease in re- cidivism, especially for offenders suffering from
Moreover, whenever the Texas prisons have probationers who were revoked for technical experienced overcrowding since the late 1980s violations to the Texas Department of Criminal and community supervision was considered as Justice’s Correctional Institutions Division dur- a possible solution, the Legislature has tended ing FY2017 found that almost a quarter of pro- to fund additional bed in intermediate facilities to bationers in the study chose revocation in lieu of be used as a sanction and underfunded treat- having their probation continued. Moreover as ment beds for substance abuse and mental originally conceived in 1993, state jail felony fa- health issues afflicting probationers. Ironically cilities would mostly hold confinees as a sanc- the few incidents where the Legislature tried to tion for a violation of a condition of community improve community supervision by creating in- supervision or upon a revocation proceeding. It centives for probationers to successfully com- was anticipated that very few confinees would plete their terms of community supervision has be sent to a facility as a direct sentence. How- been met with oppositions by the administrators ever, in the most recent Statistical Report by of local CSCDs. Finally the addition of new leg- TDCJ for FY 2018 it states that of the 7,400 islatively authorized court ordered fees has newly received to a state jail felony facility, only been relentless over the years. As a result of the tendency to make re- five were sent there on a revocation and only 28 forms in community corrections hinge on in- were placed there as a condition of probation. creasing the punitive nature of probation, in- In other words, over 99 percent, mostly through creasing the financial burdens on persons a plea bargain agreement, showed a strong placed on community supervision and refusing preference to doing upfront jail time instead of to recognize any scientific advancement in pub- accepting probation. lic policy in the last thirty years, probation has It can be a rational decision for a criminal now been deemed more punitive than prison, defendant to accept a sentence to prison in- especially for low level crimes. Thus, there is a stead of a term of community supervision. No perverse incentive to accept a term of confine- matter how long a probationer has been on ment in prison rather than to accept a term of community supervision, the term can be re- community supervision. A person convicted of voked at any time for a single technical viola- a property crime and sentenced to a state jail tion. Moreover, the probationer receives no felony prison faces an average of six months credit on the sentence no matter how long the confinement with no post-release supervision. probationer had been in compliance and despite Hence by accepting a term of confinement in a committing a single technical infraction. Thus a state jail felony facility the odds of having to pay defense attorney, in recommending whether a restitution or other costs is incredibly low. defendant should accept a term in prison, espe- The incentive to go to jail rather than ac- cially a short term or accept a term of communi- cept probation is borne out by recent research ty supervision must assess the likelihood that and statistical data. A report examining felony the defendant would successfully complete 51
52
53
ADULT PROBATION NEWS FLASH Long-Time Figure in Adult Probation Re- munity Supervision tires: Steve Henderson, Director of Lub- Officer certification (1989 – 1991). In bock-Crosby County CSCD 1990 he began Steve obtained his Bachelor of Arts de- work at the Com- gree from East munity Justice As- Texas State Uni- sistance Division of versity (1971-75) the Texas Depart- and then was ac- ment of Criminal Justice as an auditor. Two cepted into Har- years later, Steve was promoted at TDCJ- vard University CJAD to help implement the Substance Abuse Divinity School in Felony Punishment Facility program and 1981 and ob- served as the first CJAD Administrator of the tained his Master SAFPF program (1992 – 1997). Again, Steve of Divinity (MDiv). was promoted at TDCJ-CJAD to be the first Di- The following rector of Residential Programs, and helped cre- ate the first performance outcome studies for year, he also received a Master of Arts at East community corrections facilities (1997 – 1999). Texas State University, (now known as Texas A&M – Commerce) in 1982. Steve began his career in criminal jus- With a heart for those in the criminal jus- tice as a volunteer GED tutor at the Massachu- tice system, he also served as the spiritual ad- setts Department of Corrections maximum se- visor for a woman on death row at the TDCJ curity prison at Walpole (1979 – 1981) which Mountain View Unit (1997 – 2001). Hired as the shaped his way in working in the field of correc- Director of the Concho Valley Community Su- tions. He then served as a corrections counse- pervision and Corrections Department in 1999 lor at the Massachusetts Department of Correc- and helped start the first Drug Court in Tom tions Park Drive Pre-Release Center in Boston Green County (1999-2003). Then in 2003, he (1984 – 1985). In 1985, he was hired as an was appointed as the Director of Lubbock – Adult Probation Officer at the Dallas County Crosby County CSCD. Adult Probation Department where he also as- For the past several years Steve has sisted in new officer training (1985 – 1987). served as a Co-Editor for the TPA journal from From there, he was hired at the McLen- 2016 until present. Steve has also served on nan County Adult Probation Department as a the TPA Board of Directors from 2011-2017. In specialized officer for Alcohol and Drug Abuse the past, Steve has served Probation Advisory Caseload (1987 – 1990). During this same pe- Committee for Region 9 2009-2012 and 2016- riod, he also worked as a contracted Licensed 2017. Chemical Dependency Counselor for the Co- While at the Lubbock – Crosby County manche County Adult Probation Department CSCD Steve has helped changed the percep- (1989 – 1990). Steve also served as a Re- tion of probation for every officer, district attor- source Training Officer for TDCJ-CJAD’s Com- ney, assistant district attorney, judge,
ney, judge, county officials as well as the offend- Steve has also sent several of his officers ers that we serve. When he started, Lubbock over the years to be Resource Training Officers had one of the highest revocation percentages as he believes in the process of CSOs helping in the state. As of today, Lubbock has one of the train CSOs, which in turn helps the state be- state's lowest revocation percentages. Why? come better at their jobs, while at the same time Because he took the time to educate the courts, help them develop resources for future ques- the county officials, the department staff and the tions or problems. offenders as to the true purpose of community After Steve arrived, Steve noticed that supervision. This has a huge impact upon our being up in the panhandle, not many trainings community and state, as well as the perception were given due to our location. So, he created by the state legislature to truly understand our the West Texas Training Cooperative whereby purpose. Lubbock would offer and host training to help Steve began an offender orienta- the smaller CSCDs surrounding us to be able to tion program whereby he meets with a group meet their training hour needs. Lubbock-Crosby twice a week and takes the time to explain their CSCD also offers certification as many smaller terms and conditions, what the courts and pro- CSCDs can barely afford to send their people bation departments expectations are of them, off for an entire week to be trained. what resources we have available for them and With the implementation of TRAS, Steve what our purpose is to them. This service has saw the need the state had in needing to train had a major impact upon our population. Every- 5000 people in the new tool and sent several of one began to see that we are Agents of Change his staff to help train the tool across the state. and not Agents of Compliance. This concept im- Again, this helped the smaller CSCDs from hav- mediately had a positive impact on those we ing to send their officers away for two days and serve as they saw CSOs in a completely differ- pay hotel and lodging. Later, he also sent one of ent light. They began to see we want them to be his staff to become a Master Trainer in TRAS better spouses, parents, students, employees who has been able to provide services to many and citizens. CSCDs across the state as well as the parole During Steve's administration, we also officers at the parole academy to become now have a probation review committee where- trained so they can train their parole officers. by we staff cases that have violations where the When Steve started at Lubbock county, CSO wants to modify instead of recommend Lubbock had a very high turn-over rate. Steve revocation when there are multiple violations or used his past experience and knowledge and new arrests. Instead of obtaining a warrant, we implemented a flex hour schedule whereby al- staff the case with the DA's office and seek the lowing staff to work their 40 hours in various modification, thus saving jail space, money the ways instead of the traditional 8 to 5. At the offender would have to pay for bond or an attor- time, Lubbock employees would often have to ney's fees and they are still able to keep their come to work even if they were sick as they had job. This impact has had a positive impact with no personal leave hours. But, that changed the offender population as they see what we are when they could come to work one hour early trying to do: help them change their lives, while and stay one hour late thus allowing them to at the same time protect the community. It has take off for two hours, go to their doctor appoint- also saved CSOs a lot of time in not having to ment, and then return to work. prepare a motion to revoke. 55
NEWS FLASH Morale soared upwards. Our turnover tal health counseling as a free resource to rate quickly lowered as people realized the them. Later, he partnered with Texas Tech Uni- blessing of a flex schedule. Plus, we no longer versity and we now have two Psychologist In- did not have to stand outside in the rain waiting terns that can perform full psychological exams for the doors to open at 7:50 am since we did and provide more in-depth counseling to those not have access to the building. who need it. This service has been a great re- Before Steve started in Lubbock, male source for the staff as well as those we serve. CSOs were required to always wear a tie and In doing this, we not only meet the needs of the all women were required to wear panty hose offenders, but their employers, friends, family per policy. Steve gave the department the op- members and other members of the community tion to wear more casual clothing (within rea- because they are getting the help they need. son) and taught us that it is our attitudes, what Directors are busy people. But, he still we say and how we say it that can help impact took the time to be a part of the JAC and PAC the offender instead of just what we are wear- and TPA Board because he believes in the pro- ing. cess. He advocates to his staff to become As far as training his staff, Steve budg- members and explains to them what all TPA ets every year to allow for at least five of his does behind the scenes. This is a great organi- staff to be able to attend each TPA conference. zation. I had been with the department for six This has allowed many to attend over the years before Steve came and I had never years, see good trainings and come back to heard of TPA, not had anyone else. Lubbock and share what they saw and develop Defense attorneys can be an adver- ideas how to implement what they saw at TPA saries for many departments, and when Steve in Lubbock. Some of the ideas: various cogni- started, they were in many ways our adver- tive behavioral programs, SWIFT court, super- saries. However, Steve began to presnt on oc- vising veterans, specialty courts, drug testing casion at their quarterly meetings when some- practices, cultural barriers, resources for super- thing important is happening or if problems ex- vision, and the list goes on an on. Steve also isted so that he can explain to them and find encourages his staff as they hear about training resolutions for any issues. He opened up a line opportunities or to seek out trainings in the ar- of communication that did not exist previously ea or online if they are beneficial to the staff and we now have a great relationship with the and then makes them available to the CSCD. local defense bar. Without Steve allowing us to attend, I cannot imagine where we would be. Years ago, Steve saw the struggle that offenders had in a lack of financial resources to pay for counseling. Over the years, he hired four full time counselors to help provide sub- stance abuse, trauma, anger, and over-all men-
as well as the impact they can have when used Brazos County CSCD for 5 years. On behalf of properly. the Brazos County CSCD, we would like to I can go on an on, but it is obvious that thank all of them for their years of hard work, Steve has done much for the field of probation. endless knowledge and experience, tireless He has made the job of a CSO to have purpose. dedication and unsurpassed compassion in the A purpose for us, a purpose for the offender, a field of criminal justice. purpose for the system as a whole, and a pur- pose for the community. He has taught us to protect the community by changing lives of those we serve on our caseloads. Author: David Rowan, Deputy Director of Lubbock-Crosby Counties CSCD Brazos County CSCD Recognizes 57 Staff for their Service Brazos County CSCD would like to rec- ognize the following staff for their milestone years of service (from L to R:) Debbie Batten, Oscar Davenport and Diana Hernandez. Deb- bie previously worked at both Montgomery County CSCD and at Brazos County CSCD. She came out of retirement five years ago and currently serves as the Deputy Director at Brazos County CSCD. She has worked in the field of probation for a total of 31 years. Oscar worked at Child Protective Services for one year and at Juvenile Probation for 19 years prior to joining Brazos County CSCD. He is currently a Senior Officer and also an instructor for the Drug Offender Education Program. He has been with the department for 15 years. Diana is a Court Liaison Officer and she also serves as our SAFPF Coordinator. She previously worked at Juvenile Probation and has now been with
58
59
Cass County Courthouse, circa 1939 Cass County Courthouse, circa 1965
Search
