Some of them have been on standard probation and been in trouble again. Others have committed a very serious offense, and need extra supervision to protect the community.
JIPS probationers are supervised by a probation officer and a surveillance officer, who must visit them several times a week. These visits are unannounced and can happen at anytime during the day or night.
JIPS probationers are expected to work or go to school full-time. Otherwise they are under house arrest, and every time they leave or return to their home, they are expected to call the probation officer or surveillance officer.
The probation officer may ask the Court to detain the juvenile for up to a month if he breaks the terms of his probation.
All JIPS probationers must be tested for drugs at least once a week.
Juveniles who do well on JIPS can be put on standard probation. For many juveniles, JIPS is a “last chance“ on probation. If they can’t make it on JIPS, there is a good chance the judge will send them to the Department of Juvenile Corrections (ADJC).
During the Spring 2013 semester, I was granted the opportunity to intern at Denton County Juvenile Probation. This institution is responsible for delinquent juveniles that have committed a criminal act. The institution consists of several departments: intake, the court, detention, the POST adjudication program, and JJAEP (Juvenile Justice Alternative Education Program). My intern experience consisted of working with juveniles placed in the Courage to Change (CTC) POST adjudication, which is a diversion program of the Texas Juvenile Detention Department (TJJD). However, while interning, I was able to experience the many facets of the juvenile justice system, from the juveniles’ entry into Denton County Juvenile Detention Center, all the way to their release from the Courage to Change program and