Using Adolescent Development and Risk Reduction to Guide Case Closure

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Marty Molina is a Specialized Probation Officer for District 3J Juvenile Probation in Lancaster County, Lincoln Nebraska. Mr. Molina has almost 7 years of experience with District 3J Probation. Prior to his role with Probation, Mr. Molina started his career with the State of Nebraska in August 2013 at the Youth Rehabilitation Treatment Center in Kearney, Nebraska, working as a Youth Security Specialist. He worked there for 6 months as he was finishing his bachelor’s degree at the University of Nebraska-Kearney. Upon graduation, he moved to Lincoln where he was hired at the Lincoln Regional Center as a Mental Health Security Specialist. After 2 years in that role, Mr. Molina started his career with Probation in January 2016. He began serving as a Community Based Resources Officer (CBR), working with lower risk youth on Juvenile Probation. He then began serving as a Community Based Interventions Officer (CBI) in 2018, working with higher risk youth on Juvenile Probation. Mr. Molina’s role has expanded into different subcommittees within District 3J Probation, including taking an active role with the Gang committee as well as the Case Closure committee. Participating on the gang committee has allowed Mr. Molina the experience of meeting with Sergeant Jeff Sorenson of the Lincoln Police Department Gang Unit on a monthly basis to discuss the population of youth on Juvenile Probation and whom LPD has identified as gang affiliated. This has also allowed the experience of brainstorming different strategies and programming to offer that population of youth. Mr. Molina also worked with the Case Closure committee to develop a new process and format for Case Closure’s. District 3J was selected as the front runner for this project and was responsible for implementing the new process and format, as well as seeking to implement this process statewide.

Danelle Reed is a Specialized Probation Officer in District 3J, Nebraska State Probation. She began serving in this capacity in October 2000. Ms. Reed has a lengthy history within the probation system and has served in numerous roles. In 1998 she graduated from Peru State College with a Bachelor of Science in Criminal Justice. From there she moved into a role as a Life skills/Aftercare/Youth Diversion Specialist with CJ’s Young Futures in Council Bluffs, Iowa. In her capacity Ms. Reed worked with a small caseload facilitating a life skills group, ensuring youth accountability, and assisted in the reintegration of youth into their communities. In March of 1999 Ms. Reed moved into the role of Social Service Worker with the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services. While in this role Ms. Reed managed a large caseload of Medicaid recipients and helped determine eligibility for economic assistance. When first beginning at Nebraska State Probation, Ms. Reed took on the roles of a supervising officer as well as in an intake role and investigation writer. Eventually, the structure within probation changed, leading to more specialized roles. Ms. Reed became one of the district’s first Community Based Intervention (CBI) officers in which she supervised high risk youth, to include, at one point, a case load of gang involved youth. This role provided Ms. Reed the opportunity to participate in the beginnings of the program Operation Tipping Point, and networking with the Lincoln Police gang taskforce. In addition, during this period of time, Ms. Reed took the organizational lead in the district with the Project Safe Neighborhood details led by the Lincoln Police Department. Ms. Reed has also worked within the district as a Community Based Resource (CBR) officer as well as a Predisposition Investigation Officer. Ms. Reed is a trainer within the Nebraska State Probation district and has trained new probation officers on various topics including intake, predisposition investigations and currently the YLS. Ms. Reed has been on numerous committees throughout her time with probation and currently has been involved with the Robert F. Kennedy, Dennis Mondoro Project in Lancaster County by sitting as the chair on the Case Closure committee as well as serving on a trauma sub-committee of the Adolescent Brain Development group.