The Role Of The Probation Officer In Intake: Stories From Before, During, And After The Delinquency Initial Hearing

The juvenile probation intake officer stands at the threshold of the delinquency system, ideally positioned to attach to a child the label "bad," "sad," "mad," or "can't add"-or no label at all.' By attaching the delinquency system label of "bad," the probation intake officer determines who makes it into the delinquency system and, in a real sense, who "doesn't make it." The central hypothesis of this Article is that a carefully crafted role exists in the law for the juvenile probation office and that intake probation officers do not properly understand and execute their role before, during, and after initial hearings in delinquency cases.