One of the best measures to effecting change is to make sure that those who are on the job are well-trained and capable of discerning the best action to take in every situation. It’s important that they know what to look for, or else how will they ever find it?
Two examples were in the news recently.
First of all, in Bozeman the state youth probation officers were learning new approaches to help keep kids away from drugs and alcohol. There was a two day training event held by the Montana Juvenile Probation Officer’s Association (MJPOA).
First of all, the officers were updated on all of the new problems that are being seen. For instance, alcohol in jello was mentioned as an item that might otherwise be overlooked. This story didn’t specifically mention it, but no doubt they covered the trend to make “boozie bears” out of gummy bears soaked in vodka also. And they probably talked about the synthetic drugs that are being sold and of course the problems with pill parties and illegal usage of prescription drugs.
Officer Jermaine Galloway said, "The goal is to always try to keep kids off probation- to try to get them before they're going to do an act or multiple acts that are going to put them on probation. But for the kids who are on probation, all these officers are spending time trying to help them to get off probation and live a successful life. So, these are just tools and identifiers that are going to help these officers do their jobs."
The seminar also discussed risk and management of juvenile sex offenders and personal safety for officers when working with juveniles.
The second example was seen in a series of news stories regarding mandatory training for those who serve alcohol. A new state law went into effect as of October 1, 2011 and now alcohol servers and sellers must complete a training course. The goal is to eliminate sales to those who should not be drinking, in other words: underage, or drunk. The training focuses on recognizing proper identification and levels of intoxication in a customer.
