Aglahia Blanco was genuinely surprised when she opened her email several weeks ago to learn that she had won a prestigious honor for juvenile justice professionals in Oregon.
"I wasn't expecting it at all," said Blanco, who serves as a juvenile court counselor in Multnomah County's Juvenile Services Division.
"It's an honor to receive this, but it's not only me. It's our coworkers, it's our community partners, it's management and the organization overall."
Every year, the Oregon Juvenile Department Directors' Association bestows the Juvenile Justice Professional of the Year award to a select group of professionals across the state who embody and demonstrate professionalism, commitment, innovation and collaboration. Blanco was this year’s award recipient for the Metro Region.
Looking back at Blanco's dedication to her work with justice-involved youth and their families over the last eight years, it’s clear why that award email landed in her inbox.
“Aglahia has been a stellar performer when faced with adversity,” said Juvenile Services Division Director Dr. Kyla Armstrong-Romero in her speech honoring Blanco at the recent annual Oregon Juvenile Department Directors' Association.
“We would like to express our sincerest gratitude to Aglahia for her tireless efforts and positive influence that she's had on our team and the community. She is respected and admired by her colleagues. She has a very strong work ethic and a genuine, caring personality.
She is personable and reliable,” said Armstrong-Romero.
“We also appreciate her effort to connect with her team by sharing stories about her puppy, Bruno and delighting us with delicious cuban coffee,” she added.
Originally from Cuba, Blanco studied psychology before immigrating to the United States and Oregon. She completed her psychology degree at Portland State University, then worked as a drug and alcohol counselor at Central City Concern for a decade. In 2015, she joined the County Department of Community Justice Juvenile Services Division, a natural transition that drew on her years of experience working in an intensive treatment program.
As a bilingual counselor and the lead for a probation service model called Functional Family Probation — a strength-based approach that brings in family members to support youth involved in the justice system — Blanco drafts safety and supervision plans, conducts assessments, prepares herself to present in court and coordinates treatment, among a host of other responsibilities.
The Functional Family Probation model, which works to build on the strengths of youth involved in the justice system and their families, began at the Juvenile Services Division in 2011. It is based on respect and consideration for differences and encourages engagement through alliance.
"It really grabbed my attention, the work with the family,” said Blanco. "I'm a huge fan of the model. How do you go to the next level of respecting family values and norms and not imposing our expectations on our rules?”
"We are going and meeting families where they are at and understanding what they're going through. We're too often quick to judge and find solutions, but sometimes we just need to be an instrument for solutions, instead of us providing that solution for them."
Blanco and her colleagues work hard to uncover, then build on, the hopes and strengths of families. That intentional effort helps families understand the importance of connecting and building the trust and rapport that keep them engaged in the face of obstacles.
"I have found that families become more resilient, stronger, and have better communication,” she said. “They also have better trust in the system where there is huge mistrust.”
Blanco works to prevent and stem violence and harm by holding youth accountable and responding to probation violations. She also develops action plans and meets regularly with youth, along with their family, to help them develop positive behaviors.
Over the years, she has stood out for her work elevating and incorporating the voices of victims and survivors. She works closely with the County's Victim and Survivor Services to center the needs of survivors tied to her caseloads.
This means ensuring they are heard and supported in the ways that they choose. That includes honoring the wishes of victims and survivors who don’t want to be involved in any part of the adjudication process.
Her work has earned her high marks among her colleagues and victims and survivors alike, who have relied on her to help coordinate court appearances and facilitate meetings. That takes flexibility and thinking outside the box.
"I had a victim who wrote a letter to court but didn't want to be at the hearing, but still wanted to share her experience," she said. "I was able to translate the message she wanted to share and read it to the court."
The victim, Blanco said, was impressed with the work we were doing with her and the offending youth.
”Aglahia has consistently gone above and beyond to support survivors, and is survivor-led and trauma-informed with each person she works with,” said Rhea DuMont, manager of Victim and Survivor Services and past awardee of the Juvenile Justice Professional of the Year for the Metro Region.
“She treats each survivor with dignity and respect and follows their lead on how involved they wish to be with the process. She is always creative and collaborative to be responsive to their needs and understands that we cannot serve our community and promote community safety without recognizing the inextricable link to serving everyone impacted by crime/harm, said DuMont.
Blanco acknowledges that the work she and her colleagues perform every day is not easy.
"When I tell my friends what I do, even they say the job is challenging. We are all dealing with stress, crisis and upset parents. That puts a lot of stress and responsibility on our shoulders,” Blanco said.
“But at the end of the day, we ask ourselves why we are here and what is the most important thing.”
To Blanco, the answers to those questions are simple: “Community safety and representing the best interest of youth and family."
"Even when you feel like no one is recognizing you, someone is recognizing it,” she continues. “The best motivation you have is the youth's life — when their life is transformed and they become a contributing member of the community. “
Blanco is the latest Multnomah County juvenile court counselor to be recognized by the Oregon Juvenile Department Directors’ Association: Canh Nguyen won in 2021, while Candace Johnson was nominated in 2022.
“Working here at Multnomah County has given me a huge opportunity to grow as a professional and push me totally out of my comfort zone,” she said.
True to form, Blanco is quick to look outside herself. “Multnomah County has provided me the opportunity to work with this beautiful team of people. We have amazing human beings in Multnomah County.”
#####