Juvenile cases need special handling
The rules for offenders under 18 are significantly different from those that govern adults. The difference is so great that it takes a specialist to understand them and to deal with young lawbreakers. In Arkansas County, that specialist is juvenile intake probation officer Fonda Scherm.
Scherm fills a role that is part law enforcement officer, part social worker, part advocate, part attorney and part mother. That latter part includes both the Ill see if I can make it better role and the Boy, are you going to get it now aspect. I can be [a juvenile offenders] best friend or I can be [his or her] worst enemy, Scherm says. A lot depends on [the offender].
Scherms involvement in a case can come in several ways. Sometimes she gets called by school officials who have broken up a fight or found drugs in a locker. Sometimes, she gets called by a police officer who has apprehended some under-age drinkers or pranksters whose games get out of hand. Occasionally, the call comes from parents who are at the end of their rope.
The first step is to make an assessment. On my signature, [a juvenile] can be held up to 72 hours, she says. That allows Scherm time to evaluate the situation. Unlike her counterparts who deal strictly with adults, Scherm often takes the juvenile offenders home life into consideration. Sometimes, the best thing for the child is to get them out of the home, she says. She cited one recent case where a juveniles mother showed up in court intoxicated. Scherm conferred with Circuit Court Judge David Henry, and they called another relative to take custody of the youth.
Once Scherm has made her assessment, she confers with Henry and Prosecuting Attorney Robert Dittrich, and a hearing is set. At that point there are six options:
Incarceration. Juvenile offenders can be sentenced to up to 90 days in the Arkansas County Juvenile Detention Center. More serious offenses can be punished by incarceration in a Department of Youth Services facility until the offender is 21.
Boot camp. This is a 10-week, military-style program often used when Scherm thinks a crash course can make a juvenile offender see the error of his or her ways.
Anger management courses.
Monitored probation. The offender wears a monitoring device and is allowed to go only to school, work and home.
Community Service. This is used for the most minor offenses.
Drug treatment and/or regular drug testing. We see so many drug cases, Scherm says ruefully. And there are only 24 beds in the state system. Thats not enough. Sometimes parents who can afford it will spring for treatment at a private drug rehabilitation clinic, which can cost up to $30,000, Scherm says.
One of Scherms biggest problems and one with which her colleagues who deal with adult defenders dont face is with the parents of a juvenile offender. I cant tell you how many times Ive heard my child certainly wouldnt do this,? she says. Dealing with the parents can be worse than [dealing with] the kids.
Scherm sees many juvenile offenders over and over in some cases her relationship with them ends only when they turn 18 and enter the adult justice system. But there are success stories, too. Its a success story when they [stop offending] and get their education, she says. Sometimes those successes come only after a failure or two. Ive had a lot of kids dressed in orange [as inmates of the juvenile detention center] come up to me and say, I wish I had listened to you,? Scherm says.
Like most long-time law enforcement officers, Scherm says her job has changed a lot in the last 15 years and not for the better. I see a lot more drugs now than when I started and a lot more violence [of teens] against each other, she says. And now the girls are often worse than the boys. That surprises me. Im also amazed at the number of kids who want to harm themselves, who talk about suicide.
Scherm has been Arkansas Countys juvenile officer since 1994. That longevity goes against the odds. Theres a lot of burnout among juvenile officers, she says. Every time I go to a continuing education conference, I see different faces and a lot of the ones who had been there for years arent anymore. Scherm has avoided burnout by getting away from her job from time to time. If the job starts to bother me and I need time off, I take time off, she says.
Some cases are worse than others. The hardest thing is dealing with a child who is friends with one of my children, Scherm says. My job has been very hard on my kids. Still, she doesnt play favorites. I put one of my own [children] into a drug treatment program.
But the main reason she has stayed with the job for 15 years is that I like kids, even the ones I see in this job, she says. They can frustrate me, but I still like them and I care about their well-being. The first time I get scared [of a juvenile offender], Ill go home and stay home, she says. But I dont think that will happen because I think theres hope for every one.
Frank Scott
23 September 2009
http://www.dewitt-ee.com/articles/2009/09/23/news/doc4aba5d72127ef371781507.txt
