I happened to be in Las Vegas this week and read a well-written article in Sunday’s Las Vegas Sun headlined “Rising caseloads keep probation officers from involvement in children’s lives.”
My wife is an adult probation officer in Seattle. We discussed this article and suggest it is easier to help a youngster change his life after making bad choices than it is to help adults. With even a small investment on the front end, you get bigger returns. Probation is an alternative to incarceration and, for anyone who is familiar with the system, incarceration is not an effective method for correcting the path of an errant juvenile.
Kevin Eppenger, who was profiled in the article, is an excellent human being and a fine probation officer and is one of many in the field who deserve all the support we can give, whether it is by supporting the system in which they work or by providing an occasional thank you for a job well done not just in Las Vegas, but anywhere.
Parents are responsible for their children, and the problem is not when they get into trouble at 15 (or so). Parents need to be effective role models and protectors for children when they are at a much earlier age, which would reduce the number of children (and adults) in the criminal justice system. It is at that early age that parents should invest in their children, not waiting for school faculty, the police or the criminal justice system to contact the parents and tell them there is a problem.
That is how you reduce the caseloads so that caring probation officers like Kevin Eppenger can continue doing superb work for the citizens of Las Vegas and society as a whole.
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