Pubdate: Thu, 03 Nov 2005
Source: Times-News, The (ID)
Copyright: 2005 Magic Valley Newspapers
Contact:  http://www.magicvalley.com/
Details: http://www.mapinc.org/media/595
Author: Dana Morfin

JUVENILE PROBATION OFFICER AIMS TO HELP KIDS TURN AROUND LIVES

JEROME -- If life lessons are learned by taking the right turns at 
major forks in the road and coming full-circle, Mario Umana, has been 
a model student.

As a juvenile probation officer for Jerome County since 2003, this 
former U.S. Marine is still on a mission, using his head and heart to 
guide young people back to the right path.

He knows the pressures that assault young people at every bend and 
offers them options to turn their lives around before it's too late.

Big brother role

Born in El Salvador 30 years ago, Umana grew up in the Mini-Cassia 
area and graduated from Minico High School. The oldest, he is 
familiar with the role of big brother and uses it to his advantage 
when working with young people.

"Kids need someone to turn to who will really listen," Umana says. 
This is especially at a time when parents are busier and more 
stressed than ever, and unfortunately, as is the case with many of 
his young offenders, caught up in the drug and alcohol culture themselves.

Umana is one of three juvenile probation officers and works with 44 
young offenders, primarily males between the ages of 10 and 19 
involved in drug-related crimes. Most juveniles are in the system for 
six to nine months, depending on the nature of their offense. The 
majority of his clients who leave the system don't come back, he says.

Although the average age of his clients is 14 to 15 years, Umana has 
seen children as young as 9 already heavily addicted to drugs. 
Experimentation began as young as 5.

Almost 90 percent of the time, the drugs were given to these 
youngsters. His green eyes darken as he remembers recalls finding 
syringes on the same floor where toddlers were playing during house checks.

"Kids get scared to let us know what's going on," Umana says. "The 
peer pressure is awful and none of them wants to be known as a 
'nark,' especially if a family member is involved."

The offenders come from all walks of life, Anglo and Hispanic, and 
living in wealth or poverty.

"Everyone and anyone can make mistakes," he says.

Any youngster has the potential to become a drug user if the stresses 
are present and overwhelming enough, he warns.

Stakes raised

When he was in high school, the drug culture was pervasive. Now, 
cocaine and methamphetamines have filtered not only to that age 
population but down into the junior high level, as well. The only way 
to break the cycle is to forge relationships with the young, their 
parents and teachers, and provide a web of protection the keeps them 
from being sucked down the wrong path, he says.

Umana says he's proud of the partnerships his facility and Jerome 
schools have forged.

"Everyone helps each other to keep the kids on the line," he says.

Umana and his fellow probation officers work with school staff and 
resource officers to form probation plans tailored for each offender. 
A common requirement is keeping a C grade-point average in their core 
classes, which often necessitates providing tutoring.

"We don't step on toes," Umana says. "We respect the school's system 
of rules and they respect ours. If it's a school violation, the 
school handles it. If it's a probation violation, we handle it."

Paths

Umana knows about paths.

He and his friends were going to sign up for the Marines together. 
Yet, Umana was the only one who actually went through with the 
enlistment. He served in the Persian Gulf and Korea, learned 
discipline and saw a broader world.

When Umana returned in 1998, he worked for the Mini-Cassia Juvenile 
Probation system. He was excited about a job where he could steer 
kids clear of the land mines that had tripped up some of his former 
classmates. Ironically, Umana's supervisor was his own former 
probation officer when, as a junior high student, he had a brief 
brush with the law.

He stayed in the Mini-Cassia office for five years until leaving it 
to take his present position.

Umana continues to draw from his own past experiences to reach young people.

He knows that finances often lure young people into dangerous 
lifestyles, he says. It's hard to sell teens on a minimum wage job, 
advance placement courses or grueling high school football practices 
when their jean's pocket are filled with $2,000 from a drug sale.

Getting young offenders involved in extracurricular activities or 
tutoring is not a challenge but keeping them there is, Umana says. 
Trouble with transportation and finances are often the deciding 
factors, pushing teens into the job market rather than school.

He remains thankful to his parents who, although they allowed him to 
work, made him tow the line after his first and only juvenile 
offense. Many offenders don't have that kind of support at home, he 
says. Instead, they are often encouraged to leave school to work and 
help support their families.

Umana worries about those with serious drug offenses on their record 
because this can keep them out of many career paths, especially in 
law enforcement and the military. Gang tattoos, repeat offenses and 
probation violations are all red flags to future employers. He wants 
his clients to realize that if they don't turn from their present 
behavior, the impact of it could be lifelong, he says.

"The number one answer is to make them want it," Umana says. That is, 
helping them to see a new horizon. Without that vision, it's too easy 
to stay in their present rut and never leave the circle of friends 
that drag them down.
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MAP posted-by: Beth