When Barton County Sheriff Brian Bellendir extended the invitation, Marissa Woodmansee was quick to accept.
As executive director of Juvenile Services (JS), Woodmansee wants to take every opportunity to keep law-enforcement officers up-to-date on juvenile-justice matters.
“When Sheriff Bellendir reached out, I knew this local training session would be a great venue to provide updates,” Woodmansee said. “I am beyond grateful to talk with officers about behavioral health and other concerns as they relate to juvenile detention and incarceration.
“Juvenile Services and law enforcement must connect with one another to review expectations, while collaborating about what works and what doesn’t. It reminds all of us to pick up the phone and ask questions to ensure the best outcomes.”
While the training session covered many topics, Woodmansee focused on Juvenile Intake Assessment – one of the many programs at JS.
“I put quite a bit of emphasis on the use of the Notice to Appear, which is now a state requirement in many types of juvenile cases,” she said. “I also relayed a strong reminder that we need to make sure youth have been medically and mentally cleared if they require placement outside the home.
“Sheriff Bellendir agreed with this because it relates to those going to the Barton County Detention Center.”
Woodmansee also noted it is important for law enforcement to understand that JS serves ages birth to 23.
“Young people can intersect with our programs at varying times in their lives,” she said. “We want youth, law enforcement and the community to know that after a Notice to Appear is issued or an arrest is made, there will be follow-up with immediate interventions.
“The professionals at Juvenile Services are experts in their field. We want to keep other entities in our community apprised of the laws and our programs.”
20th Judicial District Juvenile Services empowers youth in Barton, Rice, Ellsworth, Stafford and Russell counties to achieve positive outcomes by offering Juvenile Intake & Assessment, Immediate Intervention, Intensive Supervised Probation, Case Management, Journey to Change, Life Skills, All Stars and Youth Crew. Parents and guardians also are offered The Parent Project. Visit 1800 12th in Great Bend or call 620-793-1930.
