The third week of July has become synonymous with Pretrial, Probation and Parole Supervision Week, also known as #PPPSWeek, a time to publicly recognize the many professionals who work to enhance community safety.
This includes pretrial, probation and parole officers; juvenile court counselors; juvenile custody services specialists; community works leaders; mediators; corrections counselors and technicians’ victim and survivor advocates; administrative and clerical staff; interns; and volunteers, to name a few.
Every year the American Probation and Parole Association celebrates Pretrial, Probation and Parole professionals across the country. In Multnomah County, they play a vital role in public safety by supervising individuals in the community and helping to keep families intact, said Denise Peña, newly appointed director of the Department of Community Justice.
“The Department of Community Justice is an integral part of the community safety system, and our employees embody the County’s values and monitor individuals with compassion," Peña said at a Board of Commissioners proclamation Thursday, July 18.
“It takes every single person in our department to support our vision, which is ‘Community Safety through Positive Change.’”
Pretrial, Probation and Parole Supervision Week includes a yearly theme. This year's theme, “Wellness Unveiled, Navigating the Journey,” applies not only to the County's workforce but also to the entire community in seeking ways to promote health and well-being.
"As we continue to rise and face challenges here in Multnomah County, we're focused on the security and safety of our employees, the people we serve, and our larger community,” said Peña. “As a new director, I am committed to ensuring they have the tools and support they need to do this difficult job, which can include vicarious and secondary trauma.”
Leadership is hearing directly from staff on efforts that can improve wellness, said Peña.
“I want to highlight and thank members of our peer support network, dedicated staff who support colleagues in challenging times. As a department, we are very lucky to have them."
Peña emphasized the Department of Community Justice’s partnerships and collaborations with community-based organizations, other departments, and public safety agencies to address violence and harm, while helping people engage in positive change.
"We serve the highest-risk populations, base our decisions on outcomes and evidence-based practices, and invest in programs that improve community safety while helping individuals change their behavior," Peña said.
Speakers highlighted work across Community Justice’s three divisions: Juvenile Services, Adult Services, and the Director's Office.
In Juvenile Services, Dr. Kyla Armstrong-Romero has focused on improving the detention facility to be more trauma-informed, said Peña. She has also emphasized community engagement, investing in upstream interventions through the Community Healing Initiative and through the Transforming Probation partnership with the Annie E. Casey Foundation. A newly redesigned restorative practices team is infusing restorative practices and principles throughout Juvenile Services.
Truls Neal, interim director of Adult Services, said the division is focused on increased community presence and responsiveness.
"We continue to expand culturally responsive service and support," said Neal.
Community Justice’s newly created culturally responsive supervision unit combines the long-standing African American Program with a new Latine-focused program. The unit uses the H.E.A.T. (Habilitation, Empowerment, Accountability, Therapy) curriculum for men, as well as the HER (Habilitation, Empowerment, Recovery) Programs, which are Afrocentric and acknowledge and address systemic drivers of behavior while celebrating and restoring cultural connection.
"We have also seen great success with the Stabilization and Readiness Program, a critical component of the County's Homelessness Response Action Plan," said Neal. "This program operates in the Mead Building downtown and serves the highest-risk, highest-need individuals on supervision, experiencing severe and persistent mental illness."
Jay Scroggin, interim deputy director of the Department of Community Justice, described the work of the Director's Office, which supports the department's operations.
"It includes dedicated individuals who work tirelessly to support colleagues in the Adult and Juvenile Services divisions," Scroggin said. "It also includes Victim and Survivor Services, the only post-conviction, system-based advocacy team that helps individuals navigate and regain a sense of safety and security while upholding crime victims' rights."
The Director’s Office oversees Human Resources, hiring, retention, outreach, data and business applications, and the Equity and Inclusion team, guided by the Workforce Equity Strategic Plan.
Before reading the proclamation, Scroggin was thanked by Peña for his years of service as he prepares for retirement in January 2025.
"I want to thank Jay for his wealth of knowledge on all aspects of community corrections, from budget and legislature to evidence-based practices," Peña said. "His knowledge and passion for this profession will be a tremendous loss for our department, as he is a true believer in the work that we do."
“I want to extend my deep appreciation for all the employees at our Department of Community Justice who are doing this work, especially around the work of pretrial, probation and parole,” said Chair Jessica Vega Pederson. “There are so many different components that go into this work. We have this unique role in our justice system with the work that the Department of Community Justice does, and the department has been able to pivot and include new requirements as they come at you from the Legislature. It's really incredible work. I love the reference to leading with race. I want to recognize that this work is not easy and we know how staff makes a huge difference in people’s lives during this hard work.”
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