Question

Probation Officer's Account of Robert's Home Visit

U‌‍‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‍‍‍‌‌‌‌‍sing the case information attached, you need to make a field vist. You have a choice to visit his school, home, or job. Write a chrono describing where you went, why you went there, who‌‍‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‍‍‍‌‌‌‌‍ you spoke to, what you observed and the clients problem area you wish to address. The purpose of this exercise is to document the visit for the record when you come back to the office‌‍‍‌‌‍‌‌‌‌‌‍‍‍‌‌‌‌‍.

SCENARIO

You have been assigned to supervise a high risk caseload in Adult Operation and you inherited a caseload of 55 cases. A new case was assigned to you and you review the case:Robert Rome is a 19 years old who is sentenced to a 5 year term of probation for robbery with a firearm. He has 2 prior misdemeanor convictions. On one misdemeanor he was initially arrested for Assault and pled guilty to aggravated harassment, and the other misdemeanor was for possession of a small amount of marijuana and he received a Conditional Discharge.He did not keep a scheduled appointment with you to report and comes in two days later unannounced. It is your field day and you were about to go into the field when he appears at the office. He begins explaining to you that he recently obtained a job at Gibonni's Deli, and his start date was the same day he was to report to you. He tells you he is sorry for missing the appointment, but he did not want to miss his first day at work. He goes on to say that his start date was decided long before his appointment with you. Robert also, informs you that he attends Kingsborough Community College three nights a week.Robert enthusiastically tells you he wants to steer away from the criminal activity he was previously involved in and desires to "get on the right track". However, he was arrested last week for another marijuana possession, and tells you it was a bull$*@%^ arrest which is going to be dismissed. You find it interesting that Robert was arrested with the same friends he was involved with on the robbery case. He explains that the robbery wasn't a real robbery, they were "just playing around with this kid" and it became serious. His friend was the one with the gun and he had no idea his friend was carrying one. He also states they did not know the kid they were messing with and he made the situation a big deal. However, the PSI indicates that the $60.00 taken was divided among the three of them and Robert was found with the victim's cell phone.You tell Robert that since he showed up today you would like to drug test him, and he comes up positive for both marijuana and cocaine. He tells you he was at a party two nights ago and the cocaine was just a onetime thing. The marijuana "is nothing" due to being an infrequent use. You suggest he attends a treatment program and he begins to become upset and exclaims "I don't have a problem" "this whole probation thing is bull#$%&".

Robert resides with his mother who is an emergency room nurse at a local hospital. His two sisters are enrolled in college and have never been in trouble with the law. He maintains a healthy relationship with his mother and sisters and claims that his family is important to him. He states that his mother was very upset with this negative behavior and was crying when she came with him to court. Robert tells you he feels like he let her down and is one of the reasons he enrolled into college. He goes on to tell you that his Academic Advisor, Mr. Rocco, who has been working with him, and found him the job, was also disappointed that he was arrested.His two friends who were arrested with him last week for the marijuana possession charge are also the two co-defendants he was arrested with on the robbery and weapons charge.Robert was employed at a local supermarket since 17, but lost that job while being incarcerated for the robbery. He thinks the manager simply didn't want him back due to the felony conviction. Financially he relied on the small amount of money his mother gave him until he obtains employment.

Tips:

Evaluate Robert's strengths and areas of negative attitudes and behaviors.

Strengths: Are positive people, pro-social activities, a desire to engage in a conventional lifestyle etc.

Focus on how you can build a positive rapport by using motivational interview techniques and positive reinforcement.Don't forget the value of graduated sanctions and determine if they are necessary at this point inthe case.Graduated Sanctions: Are levels of discipline coupled with continuing to focus on positive outcome when working with the client. (violation as the last resort)Compromise restrictions for the positive direction Robert is headed toward. (employment and attending college)

Expert Solution

To gain insight into Robert's case, I decided to visit his home to talk to his mother, who had taken a break from work, to avail herself of this interrogation. Though Robert gave his account of his relationship with his family, I found it hard to believe, considering his previous claims that he would change his behavior, promises he did not live up to. I wanted to establish primary family factors common for juvenile cases, including parental neglect, history of crime, and parental abuse. In conversation with his mother, I found out that Robert did have two sisters, and the mother had been a single mother since Robert was 15 years old. The mother also works as an emergency room nurse, meaning she doesn't spend as much time as she would want with her children. I observed that Robert had been raised in a rowdy neighborhood. Additionally, on asking Robert's mother about her relationship with the father, she seemed hesitant before mentioning curtly that she ended things with him. In conversation with her, it was clear that this had been Robert's home for a long time, implying that the father had left this house. Robert's mother did not have much to say about her daughters but that they are both in college and have no criminal record, unlike Robert, and had grown up well-mannered and in a close relationship with Robert. Though the house looked old like they had lived in it for years, it gave no impression of a home; nothing on the walls other than a single photo of a young girl, who Robert's mother said was her firstborn daughter. From my visit, I concluded that family factors had influenced Robert's behavior. I hope to look into the father's history and maybe talk about him with Robert. I believe that relational instability at home, parental absence, and Robert's father's history would enable us to identify the core issue influencing Robert's behavior and be a starting point in solving his repetitive cases.

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