The Santa Barbara County Probation Department, on Dec. 17, in collaboration with the Office of the District Attorney, Victim Services Division, conducted countywide wellness checks on active probation clients. The operation focused on probationers where it was determined there were children, victims, or vulnerable adults in the home.

These cases included but were not limited to domestic violence, child abuse, elder abuse, family violence, and where there was a child likely living in the home. The operation covered the Santa Maria, Orcutt, Lompoc, Santa Barbara and Goleta areas.

The objectives were to perform wellness checks on active probationers and their families, including assessing their living environment; documenting needs of the probationer and/or family members; providing information on probation and community resources; and ensuring client compliance with their terms and conditions of probation, in order to deter future criminal activity and reduce recidivism.

Wellness bags were handed out to each family and to children in the home. The bags included facemasks, hand sanitizer, sanitizing cloths, first-aid kits, thermometers, stress balls, and brochures for resources available in the community and Probation Department.

Child wellness bags were holiday-themed and included popcorn, coloring books, crayons, puzzles and candy canes.

The combined effort was a success — a total of 36 locations were visited with 30 contacts made and zero arrests. Officers handed out 43 family and child wellness bags. Twenty deputy probation officers and three victim advocates from the district attorney’s office participated.

For more about the Santa Barbara County Probation Department, visit www.sbprobation.org.