In this free, online training series, you’ll learn what probation transformation is, the urgency behind it and its implications for day-to-day practice. Also, you’ll have opportunities to reflect on the bigger picture of youth justice in the United States, the role of probation and our highest aspirations — for what we bring to the work as individuals and what we hope to achieve for young people in the juvenile justice system.
The courses are interactive. You’ll learn, reflect on and apply strategies that make fundamental changes to the structure and culture of this work. The overall purpose is better and more equitable outcomes for youth, families and communities.
Navigating This Page
The courses are for anyone interested in probation transformation; however, they are primarily designed for probation leaders, supervisors and staff, based on the level of detail and types of reflection questions and activities.
Complete the registration at the bottom of this page. You will then receive an automated email from the learning platform (Rise) prompting you to log in. Click 'accept the invite' in the email and then create a password. You will be taken to your learning dashboard where you will see the courses available to you. Bookmark or save this page.
The order of the seven courses is intentional, with content from early courses informing and providing context for those that follow. See the course numbers below. If desired, however, each course can stand on its own.
Jurisdictions and individuals are invited to use these courses in creative and interactive ways. Some jurisdictions may have participants complete the courses individually at their own pace, and then come together for discussion. Others may prefer to offer the courses as a collective experience, with real-time pauses for facilitated dialogue and implementation planning.
There are two companion resources to deepen engagement with the course material: 1) a notebook for individuals to use for exercises and reflections and 2) a discussion guide for use with groups. Links to these resources can be found within each course.
Participants explore why juvenile probation transformation is needed, what it entails and how it can address racial inequities, support positive youth development, decrease confinement and achieve better outcomes for youth, families and communities.
Participants explore why transforming juvenile probation requires a commitment to racial equity and begin to explore how to achieve equitable results.
Participants explore how partnership between public systems and communities most directly affected by the justice system helps center racial equity in probation.
Participants explore what is developmentally appropriate for young people based on the ongoing maturation process of the brain. This course offers important context for teen behavior and probation transformation.
Participants explore the core principles and practices of Positive Youth Justice (PYJ), a strengths-based, relationship-focused approach to working with youth in the justice system. PYJ is grounded in broader concepts of youth voice and positive youth development and is central to probation transformation.
Participants explore what authentic family engagement looks like, why it is a necessary part of probation transformation and what steps individuals and agencies — in partnership with families themselves — can take to bring it to life.
Participants explore what trauma is, how it shows up and why it is necessary to understand its impact when working with youth and families and setting out to transform youth justice practices. The necessary conditions for healing are also discussed.
Participants learn how a department’s values and other aspects of organizational culture — including the broader system in which the department operates — can support probation transformation.
Probation is the most common experience young people have in juvenile justice. But evidence shows surveillance- and compliance-oriented probation doesn’t work. Despite the dedication and admirable intentions of probation professionals, probation, as it’s currently designed, often pulls young people — even those with first-time or low-level offenses — deeper into the legal system without offering the support and guidance that would put them on the right path and reduce the likelihood of re-arrest. Probation also plays a large role in perpetuating the vast and continuing overrepresentation of Black, Indigenous, Latino and other youth of color in juvenile justice systems.
For young people to thrive, we need to respond more effectively when they make mistakes, even when they cause harm. This means moving away from a culture of punishment toward more developmentally appropriate responses, including options that keep more kids away from the justice system altogether.
Probation transformation fundamentally reimagines how probation officers work and whom they work with. Probation transformation examines and addresses what’s in the way of getting probation right, from structure and culture to resources, relationships and more. This big-picture thinking, combined with tested strategies to improve outcomes for young people, is at the heart of probation transformation.
Transforming probation requires:
Complete the form below to register for the Juvenile Probation Transformation Training Series.