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Governor Eric J. Holcomb
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Probation Programs

The Howard Circuit Court, Office of Juvenile Services believes certain youths brought before the department be offered an opportunity to restore themselves to the community without formal Court intervention. Informal Supervision, or Probation, may be offered to those youths who admit to the alleged offenses during the preliminary inquiry process and the alleged offense could be considered minor in comparison with prior history. Other considerations include strength of family, peers, emotional stability, history of abuse/neglect, prior interventions, behavior at school, at home and in the community. Informal Supervision, or Probation, shall be supervised by the Probation Officers serving an Intake function within the Department. Informal Supervision/Probation shall be limited in time frame, lasting from thirty (30) to ninety (90) days, on average, pending completion of any single, or combination of, early intervention programs offered by the Court and Office of Juvenile Services. The terms, or length, of the Information Supervision/Probation, may be continued at any time during the term of supervision at the discretion of the supervision Probation Officer.

The Howard Circuit Court, Office of Juvenile Services, in compliance with I.C. 31-37-18, utilizes the program of Formal Probation for youth and families who need some coercive intervention of the Court. The program of Formal Probation shall facilitate a plan of care, treatment, rehabilitation, or placement of a child for those youth and families who need assistance of the Court to restore themselves to the community. Formal Probation shall be offered through a Dispositional Order of the Court for an adjudicated youth. In accordance with I.C. 31-37-17-4, the program of Formal Probation

  1. is:
    • in the least restrictive (most family like) and most appropriate setting available; and
    • close to the parent’s home, consistent with the best interest and special needs of the child;
  2. least interferes with family autonomy;
  3. is least disruptive of family life;
  4. imposes the least restraint on the freedom of the child and the child’s parent, guardian, or custodian; and
  5. provides a reasonable opportunity for participation by the child’s parent, guardian or custodian.

Considerations to be made when making a recommendation to the court for a program of Formal Probation include prior contact with the Office of Juvenile Services, history of and seriousness of delinquency, strength of family, peers, emotional stability, history of abuse/neglect, behavior at school, at home and in the community. The program of Formal Probation shall be supervised by a Probation Officer within the Howard Circuit Court, Office of Juvenile Services. The term and length of Formal Probation shall be determined by the Court with periodic review hearings being held to determine termination of the program.

The Howard Circuit Court, Office of Juvenile Services, in compliance with I.C. 31-37-18, utilizes a program of Intensive Probation for those youth and families who need coercive intervention of the Court. The program of Intensive Probation shall facilitate a plan of care, treatment, rehabilitation, or placement of a child for those youth and families who need more intense services and assistance of the Court to restore themselves to the community. Formal Probation shall be offered through a Dispositional Order of the Court for an adjudicated youth. In accordance with I.C. 31-37-17-4, the program of Intensive Probation

  1. is:
    • in the least restrictive (most family like) and most appropriate setting available; and
    • close to the parent’s home, consistent with the best interest and special needs of the child;
  2. least interferes with family autonomy;
  3. is least disruptive of family life;
  4. imposes the least restraint on the freedom of the child and the child’s parent, guardian, or custodian; and
  5. provides a reasonable opportunity for participation by the child’s parent, guardian or custodian.

Considerations to be made when making a recommendation to the court for a program of Intensive Probation include age of the youth, prior sibling contact with the Office of Juvenile Services, the youths prior contact with the Office of Juvenile Services, history of and seriousness of delinquency, strength of family, peers, emotional stability, history of abuse/neglect, behavior at school, at home and in the community. The program of Formal Probation shall be supervised by a Probation Officer within the Howard Circuit Court, Office of Juvenile Services and shall consist of more frequent contacts with the youths and family up to including three (3) contacts with the youth per week, at least once contact with the parent per week and at least one collateral contact (school, mental health, etc.) per week. The term and length of Intensive Probation shall be determined by the Court with periodic review hearings being held to determine termination of the program.

The Howard Circuit Court, Office of Juvenile Services, in compliance with I.C. 31-37-18, utilizes the program of Unsupervised Probation for youth and families who continue to or have some need for limited intervention of the Court. The program of Unsupervised Probation shall facilitate a plan of care, treatment, rehabilitation, or placement of a child for those youth and families who continue to or have some need for assistance of the Court to restore themselves to the community. Unsupervised Probation shall be offered through a Dispositional

Order of the Court for an adjudicated youth. In accordance with I.C. 31-37-17-4, the program of Unsupervised Probation

  1. is:
    • in the least restrictive (most family like) and most appropriate setting available; and
    • close to the parent’s home, consistent with the best interest and special needs of the child;
  2. least interferes with family autonomy;
  3. is least disruptive of family life;
  4. imposes the least restraint on the freedom of the child and the child’s parent, guardian, or custodian; and
  5. provides a reasonable opportunity for participation by the child’s parent, guardian or custodian.

Considerations to be made when making a recommendation to the court for a program of Unsupervised Probation include prior contact with the Office of Juvenile Services, history of and seriousness of delinquency, strength of family, peers, emotional stability, history of abuse/neglect, behavior at school, at home and in the community. Other considerations can include the successful completion of prior supervision programs or the successful completion of programs or payment of fees from a prior supervision. The program of Unsupervised Probation shall be monitored by a Probation Officer within the Howard Circuit Court, Office of Juvenile Services, however supervision and compliance shall the responsibility of the parent, guardian, or custodian. The Court shall affix the term and length of Unsupervised Probation with possible periodic review hearings being held to determine termination of the program.

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