The Multnomah County Board of Commissioners proclaimed July 19 through 23 as Pretrial, Probation and Parole Supervision Week.
The annual celebration recognizes the work of staff in community supervision who work to protect public safety while also helping people, families and communities thrive and achieve a vision of “Community Safety through Positive Change.”
Multnomah County’s Department of Community Justice (DCJ) includes over 500 professionals — from pretrial, probation and parole officers to juvenile court counselors, juvenile custody services specialists, corrections counselors, administrative staff, employment coordinators, victims advocates, community health specialists, nutrition staff, interns and many others who have, and continue to, work amid immense challenges.
“This work isn’t just necessary,” said Chair Deborah Kafoury, who opened Thursday’s proclamation. “It’s also broad and diverse. And while people might be familiar with the roles of probation and parole officers, there are so many others who play an important part in ways to keep the community safe.”
DCJ staff have continued to provide services to people involved in the justice system and their families throughout the COVID-19 pandemic. They have also stepped up in response to unprecedented levels of community violence.
“These professionals are essential to our efforts to promote safety, prevent harm and heal trauma and not just among individuals but in our community at large,” said Kafoury.
“And DCJ has been integral to offering support and advocacy for community members who have been harmed and traumatized by violence. The work of our Victim and Survivors Unit has been especially important.”
Department of Community Justice Director Erika Preuitt has not only served DCJ in various capacities for over two decades, she has also filled a national role as a past president and executive committee member of the American Parole and Probation Association, which leads the observance every year.
“I want to underscore the theme of this year’s celebration “Recognizing Heroes In the Field. It is even more relevant this year as our staff continue to provide services to our justice-involved individuals and their families amid the COVID-19 pandemic, and the increase in community violence that has spread across our country,” said Preuitt.
Profound loss among community members and the organization itself, speakers shared, has marked the past 18 months.
“We have lost some staff this year, and we have staff who have lost family members because of COVID-19. It is important to take time to recognize the work that our staff do every day to help individuals change their lives, restore their families and build stronger communities,” said Preuitt.
DCJ staff supervise over 10,000 adults annually, processes more than 24,000 cases in the Recognizance Unit, receives over 2,200 youth referrals, and serves approximately 875 youth and their families through diversion and informal and formal supervision services.
“Unlike many County operations, the need to provide in-person direct service at the Juvenile Services Division never stopped [during the pandemic],” said Deena Corso, division director for Juvenile Services Division.
“They come to work daily just like they did pre-pandemic. And they have remained focused and committed through the pandemic, wildfires, ice storm and most recently, the heatwave.”
The Juvenile Services Division Nutrition Services team continued to provide food for youth and staff at the division. The team even provided food at shelters that were opened to respond to COVID-19. Juvenile Court Counselors maintained connection with youth and their families on their caseloads amid the pandemic.
The rise in community violence has dramatically impacted some of the youth and families that DCJ serves, Corso said.
“We have been working closely with our community partners to identify what additional support and services are needed, and we thank the board for additional investments to help in this effort,” said Corso.
Jay Scroggin, director of the department’s Adult Services Division, highlighted the work of the Recognizance Unit and the many field offices that safely connected with justice-involved individuals, victims and survivors despite the pandemic.
Adult services teams have remained nimble by finding different ways to provide services, including a mobile mental health van to connect with people in the community.
The Gang and Family Services Units has played an active role in addressing public safety issues by supporting the individuals and their families who have been impacted by the surge in community violence, said Scoggin.
“Our [probation and parole] officers are key partners to other law enforcement agencies who are working to get guns off the street. One of the County’s probation and parole officers played a key role in a mission that resulted in an arrest of a gang member and confiscation of a large number of firearms and drugs,” said Scroggin.
Preuitt ran through a list of the myriad ways that different DCJ units advance their mission and contribute to the safety of the community.
“I would like to close by again thanking all the staff who work towards our vision: ‘Community Safety Through Positive Change,’” Preuitt said. “It is an honor to serve as director of this department.”
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Remarks from Board Members
Commissioner Sharon Meieran
I really want to express how meaningful this proclamation is, particularly at this point in time.
With all the County, the department, all of our residents have gone through this past year, year and a half, the leadership is just brilliant… There is so much that you all do.
The people working on the frontline that do the work every single day are incredible and they have engaged in truly heroic efforts over the past year. With pivoting and looking at the future of work, what we can learn from this and for just being out there and doing the work day after day — not only supporting people through the trauma that they are experiencing in the community, but experiencing that trauma themselves and the trauma of what they are going through as individuals with family members who may become sick themselves with the challenges they face day to day.
I am so sorry to hear about those who were lost in the department and their families. People truly are heroes and I am so pleased to support this proclamation today where we can honor the work that has been done.
Commissioner Susheela Jayapal
Thank you for your leadership and the work that you do every day. The theme seems so fitting to me, “Recognizing Heroes in the Field.”
The job that your staff do, at the best of times, is a really challenging job. They are dealing with people at the worst points in their lives. They are dealing with families in trauma and communities in trauma and to do that on top of this public health crisis, that they themselves are dealing with and layer on top of the wonderful movement of racial justice and the spotlight that it has shown on our public safety system I think is an added layer of opportunity and responsibility which has heightened the challenge of the job.
Jay, the work that your teams have done responding to the spike in gun violence. There is a lot of emphasis on the policing aspect of responding to gun violence and people don’t fully understand the range of work that parole and probation does and its role in responding to gun violence and victim services.
One theme that shines through for me is to create public safety. We can create accountability, plus successful reentry into community, plus keeping families together plus keeping communities together. Deeply appreciative to support this proclamation.
Commissioner Jessica Vega Pederson
I do want to add my thanks to all the staff here at Multnomah County for their commitment to community safety and dedication to supporting those impacted by our justice system. This is such an unprecedented year and to hear how the staff have shown up to serve in the midst of COVID and natural disaster, protests and unrest, and really the tragic surge in community violence that’s taking place here and across the country, it’s just amazing the dedication, and something I have so much respect for.
We’ve been having a conversation over the last year about how our community is going to be grappling with the multiple challenges that are going to require the response and coordination of all of our systems. We see the gun violence crisis devastating our communities and we have to think differently about the role of law enforcement and the pretrial, probation, and parole supervision systems and how that works in terms of ensuring community safety.
“We have to have that strong coordination within our systems, our court system, justice system and law enforcement and to have healthier relationships.
I really appreciate the beautiful Op-ed Erika that you and Ebony Clarke had in the Oregonian, where you talk about how you see our community as Black women born in Portland and as government leaders… These are the sentiments we need to embrace as we try to address the multiple challenges we face.
Commissioner Lori Stegmann
Thank you to all of you. The hundreds of people that stand with you and behind you that carry out this work every day. So really, a heartfelt thanks to all of the unseen work that we don't see everyday.
This reminds me of one of our earlier commissioners, Commissioner Shiprack. I was always so touched by her approach to community justice. Do we want to just punish people or do we want to restore people? I think really this proclamation and the work that you all do is about restoration.
Sometimes I think that gets lost because you all have hard jobs. It’s not glamorous, it’s very difficult and it’s shifting in a positive way. But I think some people have a different perspective on what community justice is or was.
You have a lot of work in front of you but you have always done a lot. Let’s get upstream and help people so they don’t have to come through our doors.
Your heart is in this work.I have always been so impressed about the humanity that you bring to incredibly difficult and challenging work. I think that’s what shines through today and what you represent for all of the employees and staff you manage and I am really grateful.
Thank you for your work.