University Daily Kansan
Friday, November 17, 1972
5
County Juvenile System
Critics Suggest Probation Changes
By KEVIN SHAFER
Kansan Staff Writer
Public critics of the juvenile system in Douglas County have suggested that reform is needed in the system both in the areas of the staff of the probation office and in detention facilities available for juvenile offenders.
Editor's note: This is the last in a two-part series examining the juvenile system in Douglas County and recommendations for its improvement.
Ruth Ann Bean, one of the two probation officers of Douglas County, said that having one person outside of the office on call would not work.
Bean said that most of the work involved in the cases was done during the day. Consequently, the person hired from outside the office would not be fully aware of anything about the case except what he read in the report.
Presently the officers must rotate their 24 hour call period and often are called out in case of a break.
On the other hand, she said, the daytime
situation needed to know what had happened in
the room.
Many of the critics question the effectiveness of the practice of putting a person other than a probation officer on call. One of the criticisms is that of the pressure of the probation officers.
BEAN SUGGESTED that a full-time
Harold Hutton, the senior probation officer in Douglas County, suggested that volunteers be hired to relieve some of the pressure on the two officers. He said that many new volunteers were being hired now and the system seemed to be working out fine.
employe be hired to work in the office during the day that could be placed on call at night. Ideally, someone could be hired to work outside of Lawrence since the law requires that be concerned with all of Douglas County and not specifically Lawrence, she said.
Bean said that the whole philosophy behind the work of the probation officer was to help the officers individually. Naturally, she said, the officers had to provide information about each case in order to deal with it properly. Bean said that the officers knew as many cases as possible outside of court.
Bean said she thought the highlight of the juvenile court was that there was no set action.
"I DON'T THINK there should ever be and evidently most states agree because they don't have set dispositions for juvenile cases." she said.
Hutton suggested that one of the biggest problems that many of the subjects of the book were facing was the
If the mother and father of the juvenile were divorced, Hutton said, then the
juvenile had four parents instead of two. Often, he said, the child was overlooked because of parental problems or parental incompatibility.
Hutton said that he thought Douglas County had one of the best juvenile system in the state of Kansas. He said that the system tended to solve most of its cases without having to send the juveniles to detention homes.
In a lunchroom sponsored by the Douglas County League of Women Voters on Oct. 12, 1972, Mike Ewell, newly elected county clerk, was appointed the plight of the county probation officers.
Elwell was asked what qualifications he would recommend for persons who would be considering applying for the position of county probation officer.
"BE ABLE TO cope with frustration and want to work hard." Elwell said.
He suggested that the officers were subjected to a great deal of abuse from the public. Often, he said, the parents of the juvenile were not satisfied with the care their child and gratitude for the work of the probation officers was not often shown.
Elwell said that the frustration came in because of the great amount of problems that the officers faced each day. There is no book, he said, that has all of the answers and the officers are often the brunt of a lot of criticism for the decisions they make.
Elwell said that pay was also a drawback to the officers. According to a report published by the League of Women Voters in Douglas County, Hutton is paid $7,500 for each person who has been a probation officer here for two years less than Hutton, received $2,700.
Ewell suggested that the salaries were obviously low and did not instill much incentive to the officers, but that the budget of the was set and would be very hard to change.
NewAdult Status of 18-Year-Olds Complicates Assessment of Fees
Resident status was further complicated because 18-year-olds still were considered minors in some states, Charles Oldfather, university attorney, said recently. He said that an individual's resident status depended on the state laws where he lived.
July 1, 1972, 18-year-olds were given adult status under Kansas law. The passage of the law has caused considerable confusion and nonsense in cases, and nonresident status for fee purposes.
By DEBBY CONNOR
Kansan Staff Writer
However, if a student came here claiming residency, he would fall under the Kansas law which gives 18-year-olds adult status, Oldfather said.
Many students think that since they are registered to vote in Kansas, they are entitled to claim residency for fee purposes. But the requirements to vote in Kansas and the requirements to acquire Kansas domiciliary permits are very different according to Oldfather.
THE PROBLEM IS largely in legal terms. It is a matter of law, law definition, residence means living in a particular locality while domicile means living in that locality with the intent to make a claim for property.
The state policy is that anyone who wishes to say that he is a resident will be entitled to waiver of the fee.
To pay in-state fees, however, the student is required to establish domicile in the state. The student must prove his intention to make Kansas his home by certain actions such as paying state taxes, being employed in the state, obtaining a Kansas driver's license and car insurance or banking in the state, as well as meeting the six month residency requirement.
Theoretically, a student could move to Lawrence at the beginning of the summer, go through the accepted motions of establishing domicile in Kansas and claim citizenship. He was father said. The student can be enrolled fulltime during the six month requirement.
"THE FACT THAT a person registers to vote here is some evidence of domicile," did father说, "but it would be clearer as a mother said, the requirements were the same for everything."
PAUL HULL. A guidance counselor at West Junior High in Lawrence, had high praise for the work of the juvenile probation officers in Douglas County.
"It is the belief of many students that they must be out of school to fulfill the six month requirement," Oldfather said. "This was true under the old law, but now you can be going to school full-time and still acquire residency."
The support a student receives from his parents still is a factor in establishing his status. However, the amount of support a parent receives from their parents is not sharply defined, be said.
Many students question the purpose of in-state and out-of-state fees. According to a survey by the University of Kansas are supported by public funds and because out-of-state students or parents of out-of-state students must pay higher fees, they must compensate by paying higher fees.
"IF EVERYTHING a student does is pointed towards residency, and the only factor against his residency is the substantial support he receives from home, it
would be quite difficult to say that he is a nonresident. "Oldfather said,
The first step for students who believe they are eligible to pay in-state tuition is to pick up and fill out an application for the program. The student can be obtained at the registrar's office.
"These juvenile authorities must have the kids at heart. To do anything in this field is really difficult but these people are doing real well," Hull said.
"In my knowledge, 100 per cent of the cases in which we have worked with juvenile authorities have worked out in a positive way," Hull said.
Hull is in contact with the juvenile system whenever students at his school are habitually truant and if he cannot work out the problem with the parents of the child
Kelly, registrar. If the student wishes to contest the initial appointment, he may appeal to the Resident Committee headed by Charles Oldfather.
THE APPLICATIONS are processed by the office of the Regents and an opportunity to apply is made by William
Louise Cook, a social worker for Unified School District 497, praised the work of the probation officers but expressed some concern about the adequacy of the system itself.
SHE SAID THAT no one in this community could say that the system was adequate. She suggested that the probation office was understaffed, that the system lacked staffing, that not enough detention facilities and foster homes were present in the community.
Students have the responsibility of enrolling under the correct status. Any discrepancies will be investigated by the registrar's office, according to Kelly.
The OSKA
'We audit the students' residence
status, when we audit fees each
station.'
In Douglas County, Cook said, there still is the jail but better detention facilities are needed. In addition to the jail, she suggested a separate detention facility.
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The only specific detention facility available other than the city jail is an institutional facility.
The organization, founded in Lawrence by Elery Phillips, director of court services in Douglas County, is a facility for delinquent or dependent-neglected boys in Lawrence. The teaching residential staff at Achievement Place provides most treatment program for youths who have been or are about to be suspended from school.
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