Our Mission Statement

The mission of the Madera County Probation Department is to encourage positive change in the lives of offenders through Collaborative Partnerships, Evidence Based Practices, and Corrective Services.

Vision

The vision of the Madera County Probation Department is to strive for excellence by providing innovative programming through evidence-based practices. Our team is devoted to become the model Department in community corrections by inspiring all staff to achieve their maximum professional potential with integrity, accountability, and commitment to public safety.

Core Values

• Law: Obey and enforce all laws within our community.
• Ever Evolving: Continually embracing progress.
• Accountability: Willingness to accept responsibility.
• Diversity: Our diverse staff contributes to our mission.
• Empathy: Understanding of another's experience.
• Respect: Show regard or consideration of others.
• Supportive: Mentoring with encouragement and understanding.
• Humor: Maintaining a fun easygoing work environment.
• Integrity: Adherence to moral and ethical principles.
• Professionalism: Always making the right decision even though it might not be the popular choice.

Probation is one component of a complex system of justice. The citizens have given the system as a whole the responsibility of protecting them from harm by criminal offender This decree has been enforced by the legislature which has statutorily identified the system's primary responsibility to keep our citizens safe from criminal harm.

Our mission as Probation Officers is to serve the citizenry of Madera County by discharging the duties assigned us by California statutes. Since these duties are many and varied, our mission is multiple.

As fact gatherers, we have responsibility for recommending those actions which offer greatest potential for positive change by the offender when potential for such change is seen to exist, provided this can be done without placing the citizenry in harm's way. Where risk of harm is present, our responsibility is to recommend that action which offers greatest protection from that harm.

As enforcers and monitors, we must first see to the proper execution and enforcement of the court's orders, doing so in a firm yet humane manner. This role runs a continuum from absolute enforcer to full supporter thus continuously adjusting our position along that continuum as defendants' behavior decrees.

To effectively discharge our duties, we must have the ongoing support of the citizens and must maintain positive inter-agency relations at all levels of service. This means each and every staff member, in any contact with either citizens of the community representatives of any agency, is representing our entire agency and the image of our agency as a whole is the composite of each and all of those contacts.

Included in our prime responsibility of protecting our citizens from harm is the responsibility to protect our clients from harming themselves, and therein is the blending of the role of enforcer and helper.

With a continued focus on supporting young people, their families and all persons under supervision, the department has two divisions, Juvenile Services (JSD) and the Adult Services (ASD). Juvenile Services Division supports youth and their families with evidence-based practices that focus on rehabilitation, trauma-informed care, and positive youth development.

JSD provides community outreach, prevention, and intervention programs to strengthen families, increase youth resiliency, and avoid justice system involvement for youth at risk of entering the justice system. These programs were developed in collaboration with County partners, the Superior Court, law enforcement, education partners and community leaders. Adults Services Division supports a fair and equitable model for all adult probation clients that values the client’s individual needs and ensures access to meaningful and relevant opportunities for success. ASD provides supervision and reentry services to justice system involved adults, focusing on case management and assessment to link them to the services that will assist in rehabilitation.

Programs

Youth Correctional Center

The Probation Department is also responsible for operation and administration of the Youth Correctional Center.  The Youth Correctional Center is a place of detention for juvenile offenders taken into custody within the provisions of Section 602 of the Juvenile Court Law. These young people are detained for their protection or the protection of the community, pending or serving final disposition of their cases. Programs include temporary detention pending court disposition, holding for other agencies, and varying lengths of residential care. Treatment programs include full-time school within the Youth Correctional Center for continuation of education.

Correctional Academy Program

To be eligible for the Correctional Academy, the Juvenile Court Judge must order a ward committed to the program under Section 602 of the Welfare & Institutions Code. The program is a collaborative effort between the Madera County Probation Department, Madera County Superintendent of Schools, Madera County Behavioral Health Services and volunteers. The program ranges from a twelve-month, eighteen month or twenty-four-month commitment that includes advancement phases based on leadership and behavior. The program was developed from a correctional model for troubled youth based partly on military standards.

The academy utilizes a combination of structure, discipline, physical conditioning and accountability in a nurturing approach in order to emphasize self-control and improve self-esteem. Once a youth has been committed to the academy they are referred to as cadets. There are three stages to the custody phase in which the cadets wear colored shirts according to their rank, from lowest to highest, green, brown and black. As the cadets advance in their rank they become eligible to receive additional privileges such as sibling visitation, community service details and reward field trips.

After successful completion of the in custody phase cadets graduate to the aftercare component and are placed back into their parent’s home whenever possible or an alternate living arrangement is made. The cadets are closely monitored as they may be placed on house arrest with electronic monitoring and probation staff provides intensive supervision. The cadet and their family will receive counseling services as determined by a mental health screening process and as resources allow.

Court Day School

Any minor expelled from a school district must receive their education from a Community School under the auspices of the Superintendent of Schools. The School is separate from the traditional school setting and addresses special educational needs. The typical student in a Community School is dysfunctional in the classroom and not normally willing to accept authority. The School is located on the County property next to the Youth Correctional Center. The Probation Department assigns Deputy Probation Officers to be on-site as authority figures, as well as to interact with the students, parents and staff. The Probation Department uses a portion of the facilities for a Court Day School. Minors who would otherwise be sentenced to the Youth Correctional Center for truancies and non-violent offenses are committed to the Court Day School Program and placed on electronic monitoring/house arrest for a portion of the program.