L.A. County Probation Staff Working to Serve Clients and Their Families During COVID-19 Pandemic
Lucy Munoz (front) and Lori Williams (back) work on masks at the Challenger Memorial Youth Center.
Sewing for Safety: Probation Seamstresses Help Make Face Masks
The COVID-19 pandemic is affecting everyone, and the L.A. County Probation Department is hard at work finding new ways to help keep staff and youth safe during this unfamiliar and challenging time.
For the past five weeks, Management Services Bureau laundry employees at two sites have dedicated themselves to the manufacture of cloth face masks. The probation employees working on this project are seamstress Lucy Munoz and supervisor Lori Williams at the Challenger Memorial Youth Center in Lancaster and seamstress Maria Toral at Central Juvenile Hall. To date, the staff at the Challenger and Central Juvenile Hall facilities have made close to 1100 masks which are being distributed to youth and staff.
The face coverings come in white, black, and multi-colored pattern. Youth send their personal labeled masks to the laundry and are returned the same masks after washing.
Management Services Bureau Director Daniel Aceves sees the making of face coverings going on for the foreseeable future. “We will keep the project going until health services tell us there is no more need to wear masks,” said Aceves. “Until then, the team will continue to work to keep youth facilities safe.”
While there are no plans to add seamstresses at this time, if you are able to cut the cloth used for the masks, the team could use your help. For more information, please contact Probation Director Daniel Aceves at (626) 260-7277
Field Supervisor Luis Albeno models a new mask.
 Image of HP Notebook PC that will be provided to students.
L.A. County Probation Education Service Provides Laptops to College Students
With the recent closure of school campuses and libraries in response to COVID-19, numerous new challenges have surfaced for students across Los Angeles County. For many youth released from L.A. County Probation Halls and Camps who want to continue their college courses they started while in the Department’s care, not having access to a computer at a public facility or one at home becomes a serious impediment.
In collaboration with Los Angeles Mission College and the nonprofit iFoster, Probation Education Services is providing 75 college students with an HP Chromebook to take home upon release. “With many students being released with little to no technological resources available in their communities, it is an honor to be able to support our college students with computers,” said Carmen Banks, a community services counselor with L.A. County Probation Education Services. “The issuance of these laptops will aid our transitioning college students with the completion of their current courses and allow them to enroll in new ones.”
During these unprecedented times, Probation Education Services continues to ensure that the youth in Juvenile Halls and Camps are able to pursue their college education as they transition back into their communities.
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Celebrating a Graduate of the Class of 2020 at Camp Rockey
Youth and staff at L.A. County Probation’s Camp Glenn Rockey came together Sunday, May 3 to honor a student at the facility who recently earned his high school diploma. With traditional graduation ceremonies canceled due to COVID-19, Deputy Probation Officer Bianca Rayford took it upon herself to plan a celebration for the youth. DPO Rayford coordinated with Director Kenyatta Watkins and the rest of the Camp Rockey team to organize a party for the new graduate. All attendees practiced social distancing and wore face coverings during the event.
In his speech, the youth thanked his Camp Glenn Rockey friends and staff from Probation, the Los Angeles County Office of Education and the Department of Mental Health for their continuous support and never giving up on him.
DPO Rayford said she felt the need to show how proud she was of the youth because of and how far he has come along, going from difficult times to maturing into one of the best kids in her unit. “Seeing him smile and feel like he did something positive, and that he can achieve his goals, made it all worth it.”
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