Katharineseniorproject

 Katharine Alfond Today concludes my time in the Remington building for this project. I never would have imagined this to go the way it did. Never in a million years did I believe I would witness all of what I have, in such a short time. I have little to no specific experience in this field, and yet I have been able to do some of the most meaningful and uplifting work in my life.  This work has been draining at times. I have never seen people in such a devastating state, with such upsetting and horrifying stories & trauma. In spite of this, these people need support and grace. No matter the circumstances, I found it to carry with me further than the doors of the office. It was difficult to come to terms with because the only other experience I have is school. At least for me, sometimes when the day ends at 3pm, it's done. I don't find myself pondering 

 Of the fifty percent of  probationers I met with, six of them that have relapsed due to postpartum. Three of the babies were born of withdrawal.  This was hard for me to hear. I struggled to keep my emotions inside for most of these conversations. It is such a real problem that I have been aware of for a long time. I didn’t though, know about the extent of the mental toll it had on women. It broke my heart to hear about their journey to sobriety coming to an end due to postpartum depression. As well as to hear about the extent of their stories. I feel that I learned a lot from these women. 

     Tuesday: On Tuesday I debriefed on the work I have done. I didn’t do as much research as I would have liked. This is because I frankly needed a day to decompress from the mental toll a lot of these cases have been causing me. It has been difficult and daunting to deal with such hard subjects on a day to day basis especially because I am so young. I’m glad I was able to take this day to really reflect on the work I’ve done. I’m proud of what I have been able to accomplish. 

    Monday: One thing about most of the cases I worked with was that they involved kids. Often this is because the probation clients had kids that were at risk. I watched the Gabriel Fernandez trials on Netflix to help me do research on yet another case similar to the ones I had worked. Although the kid was dead it shed a lot of light on social workers neglecting their duties and in particular home visits. I joined in RED which was a group of social workers meeting to discuss the severity of certain cases (see previous RED blog). It is interesting to me because it was refreshing to see social workers being proactive unlike the Gabriel Fernedez case which could have been prevented if he had received the care he needed from them. 

     Friday: On my last Friday I visited the local food bank. I brought back food for clients to take with them home. It was interesting because it was very specific types of food. This was because many of the clients didn’t own utensils to use. The people helping us load the food into the cars we’re others on probation which tied it all together. It took over an hour to unload all the food. It was nice to see a community working together and I am grateful for the valuable experience.

     Thursday: I was given a tour of the juvenile assessment center. The center is on the first floor of the Remington building and is heavily secured. There’s a place for kids to take off their shoes to ensure they do not attempt to run away. They can only be there a maximum of four hours. They can go to rooms such as the sun and moon room that have beds in them to create a peaceful environment for the kids to unwind. All the social workers are professional and equipped to work with kids. From this assessment center they are placed into detention centers. 

 Katharine Alfond  On Thursday morning, I had the unique and rare opportunity to join the RED Team Meeting. Rapid Emergency Decisions, is essentially a thorough discussion & investigation with the Jefferson County division of Children, Youth & Families Child Protection Team. During these staffings, all concerning and high profile cases are staffed and assessed, for investigations of child abuse & neglect. Because these meetings are regarding minors, and CPS, I am not able to go into specific detail, due to legality and confidentiality purposes. However, this is an example of how a case would be covered.   Let's say MOC (Mother of Child) is intoxicated, possibly a Methamphetamine user, and has mental health issues, and FOC (Father of Child) calls into the PD. The PD then files a report to the Child Abuse Hotline. The case is then reported to a case worker to take over. These cases are assessed locally and investigated prior to RED meetings. At the meeting ...

 Katharine Alfond A large part of the probation process is rehabilitation and treatment. Most offenses in probation require some sort of inpatient or outpatient treatment. Many of Ms. Jimenez's clients are subjected to be in some sort of program.  I have visited four of these treatment centers, and have heard and researched many more. In this blog I am going to go over some of the treatment centers I have visited. #1 Shannon's Hope I went with Ms. Jimenez to Shannon's Hope to check in on a client who had moved in earlier that day. Shannon's Hope is a safe residence home for women who are struggling. Most patients are either homeless, need drug treatment, therapy, or aid with any mental illnesses. A positive and unique aspect of SH is that these woman are allowed to board with their children (if cleared by CPS). There are all sorts of accommodations for the children, such as a big backyard with a playground, books, toys, etc. There is a big community table, where all the...

 Katharine Alfond  If you all read my blog from May 11th, I briefly talked about the non-profit Porchlight. Porchlight is where I went to the Human trafficking presentation. I also mentioned that it was a family-justice center. In this blog, I will talk more about Porchlight.  On Wednesday, May 18, I went over for a pretty in-depth tour, and to understand more about this center. The first thing we briefed was their mission statement, "Our mission is to bring together essential services for victims, survivors and their children to create a positive pathway forward, and to foster public safety." Porchlight provides an array of services, including any aid or assistance that a victim may need in the realm of: - Legal - Education - Immediate Response  - Mental Health - Law Enforcement  - Medical  - Child Care  - Housing / Shelter  Not only do they provide all of these services, but they do so in a very calming and sympathetic manner. All of the rooms (...

 This week was so important and insightful for me. Since I’ve been a little girl, I’ve always known I wanted to go into law enforcement or criminal justice. I spent my time watching Criminal Minds and Law & Order as well as reading books about these topics. I had been fascinated with this topic and so I was worried that I would end up not liking it. This was not the case. I am getting a versatile experience and seeing all aspects. This week has made me sure that this is what I want to do. I feel more motivated than ever. 

  Today was quite a long day. I first went to the Probation office and had the opportunity to sit in with another probation officer and her client. It was very insightful for me to see since each officer has their own approach and techniques with their clients. I then went to her office and talked with her for about an hour. We talked about the project, college, why i am passionate about this field, and her personal experiences with this work. Throughout the day, it was pretty normal going to other appointments and talking with those who work and their experiences. At around 5, i drove to Regis University, where they had their annual CSI conference, where they talked about a notorious serial killer. The actual investigator for Sam Littles case was there and the guest speaker. His name was Lieutenant Darren Versiga. He talked about his experience reopening the case and how he pinpointed Little. He talked about the behavior aspect as well. It was very interesting and was from 6-9:30....

 Katharine Alfond I started off my morning by driving thirty minutes to the Jefferson County Courthouse. Immediately upon my arrival, I walked through security and took the elevator up to the third floor. This was my first time in a courthouse, and it was very far off from what I had imagined. I sat in Courtroom 430, and listened to a hearing for a client speak as well as Ms. Jimenez and the Judge discussing possible solutions as well as a follow-up date. This Client is the same client from the second call I had listened in on Tuesday morning.  After the hearing was over, we walked around and into the Probation section of the courthouse. I met many Probation officers, that worked mostly with Domestic Violence, Sex Offenses, Juveniles, Woman etc. After my introductions I sat in a conference room and tuned in on a budgeting and payment plan ran by the Chief Probation Officer for Jefferson County.  Following the meeting, another P.O. who specializes sex offense cases talked ...

 Katharine Alfond Senior Project This morning, I went into the office at 8:30. I walked through security, and took the elevator up the second floor. Today was less overwhelming, as some faces I had recognized from my first day greeted me with a kind "good morning" and a smile.  I walked into Ms. Jimenez's office, and began organizing and debriefing my day yesterday. Ms. Jimenez was expecting a client to show at 8:00 a.m. This client was a woman who has been struggling immensely. We had little hope in the client showing up due to her previous actions and her overall nature. We made two follow up calls, however, she did in fact show up, despite being over two hours late. We found her shaken up, possibly dope-sick. She appeared to be very anxious and on edge. We went up the elevator with her and into a big, sterile conference room. The client was recently arrested with her common law husband., however the charges were pending. The client overtime settled into the environment...

 Katharine Alfond Senior Project      Today, Tuesday, May 10th, I stepped into the Jefferson County Remington building, for my first day. It was 7:30 A.M. and although I was tired, I had no problem being able to feel awake, as I was excited and intrigued to see what my days would consist of.  I am currently interning with a probation officer, but within my first hour, I would be introduced and learning about all branches. At around  9:25, Officer Jimenez and I went on to Webex, and I sat in on two court hearings with Human Services.       One was a woman and mother who has struggled with domestic violence and drug abuse. Due to her addiction and unsustainable living environment and partner at the time, three of her children have been taken. However, through inpatient treatment, rehab, and self reflection, she has proven to be fit enough to keep her baby. This call served as a check-in, as well as offering more structure to guid...