Juvenile Probation Overview MAIN OFFICE NUMBER: (406) 258-4735 OFFICERS (Click on Hyperlink to View Bio)
The following pages offer
a basic overview of the structure and inner workings of the Youth Court in
Missoula. They provide cursory information relating to the following: Page One Page Two Missoula Youth Court probation department
personnel are employees of the State of Montana, under the direction
of the State Supreme Court. The Supreme Court also exist as the funding
entity for these services. Youth Court employees are supervised locally by
the Judges of the Fourth Judicial District. Staff at the Youth Court Probation Department includes the four district judges: Judge Ed McLean, Judge Robert L."Dusty" Deschamps, Judge John Larson, and Judge Douglas Harkin. Brenda Desmond serves as a Standing Master. The probation office is supervised by Chief Probation Officer Glen Welch. Deputy Probation Officers are Michael McLean Terry White, Steve Everett, Mike Birnbaum, and Kelly Norton. The Youth Drug Court Probation Officer is C.J. Kuipers. Jim Myers serves as the Mineral County Probation Officer. As to supervisory structure, two JPO's (Mike McLean and Terry White) are designated "intake officers", handling the lion's share of court appearances and intakes while JPO's Everett, Birnbaum, and Norton are designated field or "supervision officers" working with clients in their home, school, and worksite. Youth Court's Community Supervision Program (which includes the Home Arrest Program, Electronic Monitoring, the Intensive Supervision Program, and the Pretrial Supervision Program) are supervised by Murray Pierce. Program Community Supervision Officers are Tim Baumgartner, Rebecca Alexander, and Jaiger Allen. Support services staff include Office Manager-Patta Kahler, Secretary/Restitution Clerk-Cindy Morin, and Secretary-Pam Kurtz. (top of page) The mission of the Missoula Youth Court is to provide fair and equitable opportunity for young people in legal trouble while assisting them in navigating the juvenile court system. Youth Court, through the pursuit of excellence, provides quality supervision of juvenile offenders while offering individual case plans consistent with the philosophy of restorative justice. Utilizing the "Balanced Approach" each case plan addresses the community's protection, victim empathy, and competency development of juvenile probationers. Missoula Youth Court accesses all interventions by means of the least restrictive environment whenever possible. By accessing the vast array of service opportunities, (counseling, community service, psychiatric and psychological professionals as well as vocational opportunities), those youth served by the Missoula Youth Court have opportunity to recognize their ability to change by addressing their individually unique strengths and weaknesses. (From counseling on one end to opportunities on the other end). (top of page) Missoula Youth court receives referrals from a number of different sources. Approximately 95% of referrals are from Law Enforcement agencies. Other sources include parents, schools and some self-referrals. The referrals initiated by Law Enforcement occur when a young person is either caught breaking the law or through investigation, it has been determined that they are involved in some type of criminal activity. Youth Court receives referrals on technical charges ranging from runaway, truancy, and ungovernable to rape, robbery, homicide, and everything in between. There are two types of charges in the juvenile system. One type is a "Status Offense" i.e., any offense that if committed by an adult, would not constitute a criminal offense; e.g. runaway, ungovernable, and truancy. The other type of referral is a "Delinquent Offense". i.e., any offense that, if committed by an adult, would constitute a criminal offense e.g., shoplifting, theft, felony theft, burglary, etc. If a young person is discovered to have committed an offense and has received a ticket, that ticket is referred to the Youth Court Probation Department either by the Sheriff's Department, the City Police Department, the University Police, or any other law enforcement agency. The Chief Probation Officer then reviews all tickets and reports for legal sufficiency. He next assigns the case to one of the probation officers. Next, the office manager takes the referrals and sends a "notice to appear" letter directing the youth and parent or guardian to appear before a Youth Court probation officer (It is mandated that at the intake hearing, the youth must appears with a parent or guardian before a probation officer). This procedure is called an "intake hearing". This is an "informal" process that takes place at the Youth Court Probation department and is a judicial function. The district Judges have given the Probation Officers the authority to conduct informal hearings as necessary. (top of page) continued...
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