Yaneli Rangel
EDGE PROJECT
Internship
My proposal for my EDGE project was to do an internship for the Juvenile Justice Probation Office. I was able to get an internship at the Juvenile Probation Office here in Cedar. My proposal was about being able to shadow probation officers to get a better understanding on how Juvenile Probation works. The reason I chose to do this internship is because I would like to work as a Probation Officer once I graduate. During this internship I learned about how laws are changing for the juveniles that are on probation. I was also able to attend court and hear detention hearings on juveniles. Also I was able to hear child welfare cases. Not only did I get to see the court process but I also got to conduct probation meetings. Another neat thing I got to experience was going on work crew with the Deputy Probation Officers. Overall, I just expected to shadow probation officers but ended up doing more things hands on. This is something I liked because I was able to perform some duties the probation officers take on.
Project Details
I started my internship on February 5, 2018. I decided to go in from Monday through Friday from 1 pm to 5 pm. Some of the things that I got to do during my internship were to shadow probation officers and see the duties that they take on. I was able to conduct meetings with the youths as well as making a case plan for them. I was also able to call and make appointments to meet with the youth and discuss such things as; restitution and work hours they needed to complete. I was also able to conduct home meetings to see if the youth was at home or not. A Deputy Probation Officer from St. George came to Cedar to specifically teach me how to send overdue account letters. This was a great opportunity to learn other aspects of what probation officers get to do. One thing that I did not know about a Deputy Probation Officers is they are in charge of conducting work crews. These work crews are for the youths to participate in to pay off their restitution. Not only did I get to experience what probation officers do, but I also got to attend detention hearings and child welfare hearings.; this is where I got to learn a little more about how the court works when it comes to juvenile cases and child welfare cases.
Reflection
What I got out of this project was the ability to learn the duties of a probation officer. They not only take part in the court process but they also take part in helping juveniles with other programs that they can benefit from. What I found out about myself was the ability to learn new concepts quicker than I thought I could normally do. I was able to conduct meetings which is something that I struggle with when it comes to public speaking. I was able to take on certain tasks by myself without the help of the probation officer. Another thing I was able to learn were effective ways on how to communicate with the youth that were on probation. I was able to talk to them in effective ways that would have impacted their understanding of how crime can affect them. I had more responsibility than I ever had before because this was dealing with very confidential things as well as dealing with youths that were on probation. I grew from this from being able to see myself taking a role that is very important in the juvenile’s life.
This project really impacted my future. The reason being is because it is a career that I have always been interested in. I got to learn different things that I could apply in my future career if I ever work in probation. I also got to meet other people with different jobs when it comes to the Juvenile Justice System, so I got to learn the tasks that they take on as well.