This Probation office has lied, and committed unethical and possibly illegal acts against my daughters constitutional rights.
My daughter was placed on probation for a burglary, she was sentenced to probation - She ultimately failed drug tests and had asked her PO to send her to a drug rehab that she was an addict. The PO sent her to out patient counseling her in our county; which my daughter had already been through and was not successful. This drug counseling has little to no success rate among the population here that has used them. The events following up to her probation being revoked and her sentence to 90 days in Vision Quest are briefly listed below.
1/5-Po called my worked informed me they were picking my daughter up, placing her into youth detention for failed drug tests. PO couldn't find her, we asked her if she wanted contacted that evening when my daughter came home so that she could come out and pick her up. She said no, apparently she didn't want to have to come out after hours to pick her up
1/6-talked to PO told her I thought that my daughter may run, PO called later in the night still did not want to come out and pick her up after hours
1/7-talked to PO in the morning, PO said if they still couldn't find her they may come out to the house in the evening and get her. The PO did not call this evening to check if my daughter was home
1/8-called PO told her my daughter didn't come home, should I report her missing she said this was up to me. A friend of my daughter's brought a note saying she was in contact with a rehab and was trying to get in because she felt she would get no help if she was just locked up. I called the police and worked closely with a local officer to try and find her.
1/9-called PO told them all information that I knew through working with this officer
1/10-found out my daughter was in the area, I called the police but my daughter came home on her own I had police pick her up. It took almost two hours for a PO to come pick her up at the station and transport her to youth detention. My daughter was in contact with a rehab and had a bed but needed parental permission the rehab had called me.
1//12-my daughter was in court sentenced to remain in youth detention till 1/20 pending another hearing.inbetween these dates my daughter was interviewed by a boot camp for admittance and was denied-reason: The child is not a behavior problem and need drug rehab not a boot camp.
Interviewed by Vision Quest finally accepted into this program. Was sentenced 90 days in Vision quest there would be another review hearing closer to her release date.
I received several progress reports while my daughter was in boot camp stating she was a role model for her peers, showed respect for authority, took responsibility for her actions, etc, etc, etc.
The PO wanted my daughter to go to a rehab after boot camp but could get no backing through the program and decided she would ask for house arrest to which i agreed. Expected release date April 27th.
There was no contact with me the parent for over a month and the prior contact was intiated by me for her to take a project from my daughters home school so that she would be able to do it. There was no contact after the PO's visit. The next contact I had was because my daughter had wrote letters to a boy within the program
(this PO only calls to tell me something negative about my daughter) told my daughter at the visit that she was surprised that she was doing so well!
Friday April 16th, 5:45 P.M.-PO calls me tells me that Vision Quest is going to extend my daughter 30 more days than send her to drug rehab for 30 more days because they found out that she had kissed this boy. I than proceeded to tell this PO that this is extreme punishment and that I am going to fight her on it, than I proceeded to tell her what a lousy PO she is and that I think she is out to get my daughter because she only ever has negative things to say about her and never praises her for all the good that she has done. I tell her that she waits till this late in the day 1 day before my daughters hearing knowing full well I can not retain a lawyer and that my daughters public defender is a piece of s*it! In which her reply is that she no longer has this attorney, I was never notified of this and find out later that this happened in mid march.
Monday April 19th-The hearing-My daughter comes to her hearing with 2 staff from Vision Quest, I have my parents and my daughters dad there, I speak with the lawyer who says he will argue the case because he believes that this is extreme also. The vision Quest Staff is approached by the PO and asks if the vision quest court liason will be there to testify or will he, his reply I would be more than happy to testify, I wouldn't lie, I can testify to the 2 months that I've worked with her. She is a good kid, you can tell the good from the bad and she is one of the good kids, she just made a dumb mistake and we are all very proud of her. After the hearing was over I found out that this Staff member was a approached by the Cheif PO and told "you better not screw up my case" the staff was very angry.
The hearing-the vision quest court liason who had only spoken with my daughter once and that was to interview her for admission. She said that my daughter did well in the program until 2 weeks prior where there were letter writing between her and a boy and inappropiate sexual contact (the kiss) when questioned by my attorney on some issues this woman did not have the answers. During the questioning the judge didn't appear to be paying attention instead he was flipping through papers. (I think he knew his decision long before the hearing) The chief PO kept staring in our direction and the direction of the staff that he had approached prior like he knew what was coming and wanted to see our reaction (maybe he gets off on seeing people suffer, Sick man)
Well the judge ruled in favor of the probation department, My daughter was in tears and came around to me crying and went to walk out into the lobby, the vision quest staff took her by the arm and led her out and told her not to say anything here this wasn't the place! (too many ears, since all you had to do was look they were standing around staring and listening)
once in the lobby i approached the PO told her I wanted a new PO I felt there was a conflict of interest considering that she had been my sons counselor while in placement, she tells me that she and the chief PO discussed that issue prior to her taking my daughter's case but that they felt that there wasn't a conflict, I said NO ONE discussed it with me, she said she would talk to the chief PO about it-but what good would it do to have another PO within that office.
An hour after the hearing the PO calls me and tells me that she is looking into the discrepencies in this case-I said what discrepencies (I believe she called becsue she thought I knew) I guess that other kids were not punished as harshly, and not everyone had agreed to the extention when in court they said that all at vision quest were in agreement. This PO blames everything on Vision Quest and says that it was Vision Quests recommendation that my daughter be extended. What a liar..
An hour after this A Vision quest Rep calls and tells me she is sorry about all of the confusion and she thought that everyone was in the same loop where this case was concerned and now she was finding out that this was not the case. The Vision Quest Rep tells me that this is not all them but that the PO office was the one. (the blame game) The rep than tells me that the staff at vision quest will not look kindly on the way my daughter acted in court. I ask what do you mean? She says her throwing a big fit in court I told her this was untrue and who said this, she wouldn't tell me! She asks didn't she try to leave with you after the hearing I said NO and told her what happened and that I know who told her this The PO was on the phone making crap up! I told the vision Quest Rep to talk to other people and not just take this PO's word on everything. I had a lot of people in the court with me and ask them. I'm tired of the blaming and the I don't know and the stuttering around to answer questions. These people are covering something up and trying to cover their own butts..
The following day I called my daughter's case worker at vision quest to check on her, I asked if anything had been resolved in this case and where the breakdown was. He told me NO that everyone has a different story and not all were in agreement to this extention. The vision quest hand book states: Extension: This consequence is considered when a trooper has shown little to no progress and all other options have been exhausted. Which i do not beleive is the case considering all of the positive progress reports that I received from this place. One of the missions of Vision Quest: INTEGRITY HONESTY, TRUSTWORTHINESS, LYING, CHEATING all of which the adults and persons of authority have done in this case.
Is this county helping children or hurting them? (I've heard other cases in this county where unethical things have been done, like money brought in from the parents to be given to the kids comes up missing and other items that have gone missing)
This same PO tells me that this county has said kids to bootcamps, rehabs and other places some kids have been sent to numerous places and they do not have one success case! The only successes that they have are of kids that have been moved out of this county! What does that say about what may be going on in this county? I beleve that before these cases go to hearing that the judge and PO office have discussed the case, which is illegal I can not prove this but I know in my gutt that this is what is happening.
Equal justice for all? Not in this Good ole boys judicial network, ever hear the "color of Law" This is what our county system is violating all the time. I've seen it happen and so have others. Even others that are involved in the judicial system here have seen unethical events taking place. I would love to see this county under investigation and exposed!
If you have juvenile's in this county beware! The local police have what is called "the 18 list" they wait for juveniles that have been in trouble to turn 18 than they watch for anything to get them on so they can put them in jail!!
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