County juvenile probation caseloads fall, remain above national standards

Caseloads for Clark County juvenile probation officers have decreased dramatically in recent years, but officials say they remain above national standards.

At one point, probation officers in the Clark County Department of Juvenile Justice Services were each handling up to 62 cases. Today, the department averages one probation officer per 43 youths requiring standard supervision and one probation officer per 24 youths in need of intensive supervision, said John “Jack” Martin, director for the county’s department of juvenile justice services.

“Imagine being a teacher and having a classroom of 43,” Martin said Tuesday.

Clark County’s caseloads for standard supervision constantly change, and they can go up or down. The high caseloads are not creating any public safety issues because they involve youth deemed to be safe out in the community, but they are making it “a lot tougher” for probation officers to handle the cases, Martin said.

He said about 2,500 juveniles are on probation in Clark County. The department has 224 officers.

The American Probation and Parole Association caseload standard for juveniles is one officer per 30 youth for moderate to high-risk cases and one officer per 15 youths under intensive supervision.

Standard supervision involves regular checks by officers to make sure juveniles are complying with the terms of their probation.

Youths under intensive supervision may be struggling with compliance and are subject to more frequent visits from officers ensuring that they keep required appointments and are at home, school or work when they are supposed to be.

The caseload issue arose during a Feb. 5 policy and fiscal affairs meeting for the Clark County Department of Juvenile Justice Services and the Clark County Department of Family Services.

Probation officers have cases that are geographically assigned, but it’s still difficult for officers to keep up, Martin said.

It doesn’t help that the department has eight probation officer vacancies and one planned supervisor retirement.

A training academy is scheduled for mid-March to fill some positions.

The department also operates Spring Mountain Youth Camp. Martin told county officials during the Feb. 5 meeting that the staff/youth ratios at the camp are 1-to-10 when the recommended standards from the American Correctional Association are 1-to-8.

“While we are discussing this, though, I think it’s important to realize that we are not waiting and I’m not waiting to ask the (Clark County) commission for more staff,” Martin said during the meeting.

That’s one of the reasons why the department is looking at a screening tool that serves a few purposes, such as keeping juveniles off probation when they don’t belong on probation, Martin said.

In the two to three years that Martin has been in the department, caseloads have gone down “dramatically,” he said. Part of it has to do with declining juvenile crime and making the department more efficient.

Martin said to get additional officers, he would have to ask county management for new positions, which would require approval from Clark County commissioners.

Clark County Family Court Judge William Voy said caseloads in the agency have always been high. He said he has been advocating every year to lower the caseloads, which have gone down over the last couple of years because referrals are down and the population at the Clark County Juvenile Detention Center has dropped.

The detention center once had a population that hovered above 300. The population Tuesday morning was 130, Martin said. Officials have been able to close two units at the detention center and transferred those officers into the field, he said.

“We haven’t had many new positions over the last 10 years,” Voy said. “It’s been a very difficult situation for us over the last 10 years.”

Voy said the department needs more bodies to really make a difference. “It impacts the ability of probation officers to adequately supervise those kids.”

However, both Martin and Voy were thankful that county commissioners approved new positions for the department last fiscal year. Most of the positions, however, were for the department’s evening reporting center, which should open in the spring. The center will help better supervise juvenile delinquents by offering school programming, mental health services and drug counseling, among other services, in one place.

Clark County spokeswoman Stacey Welling said the county added nine positions last year. Eight were for the evening reporting center and one was a clinician position for the Spring Mountain Youth Camp.

“Prior to that, no positions had been added for three to four years because of the recession,” she said Tuesday.

Contact Yesenia Amaro at yamaro@reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0440. Find her on Twitter: @YeseniaAmaro.