The Santa Barbara County Probation Department, on Oct. 14, conducted county-wide wellness checks on a variety of clients on active probation or post release community supervision.
Specifically, Operation Safe at Home focused on those under supervision for crimes related to domestic violence, child abuse, elder abuse, family violence, and sex offenses, where it was determined there were potentially vulnerable individuals in the home, including children, prior victims, or elderly adults.
The operation covered the Santa Maria, Orcutt, Lompoc, Santa Barbara and Goleta areas.
“While the success of our probationers is a paramount focus for our officers, the wellness of their families and victims are also priorities,” said Chief Probation Officer Tanja Heitman.
She also said the operation was timely not only because of COVID-19 potential barriers to resources, but also because October is recognized as National Domestic Violence Awareness month.
The operational objectives were to perform wellness checks on active probationers and their families. This included observing any needs of the probationer and/or family members, any potential risk factors, and providing information on community resources.
Additionally, ensuring client compliance with their terms and conditions of probation was a priority, as well as a focus on deterring future criminal activity, reducing recidivism, and checking on the welfare and safety of victims.
Wellness bags were provided that included facemasks, hand sanitizer, first-aid kits, stress balls and brochures for resources available in the community and through the Probation Department. For children in the home, wellness bags were Halloween-themed with popcorn, fruit snacks, coloring books, crayons, facemask, and hand sanitizer.
The county operation was successful with 56 wellness visits and 26 searches conducted, and more than 130 adult and child wellness bags distributed, including pumpkins for the smaller children. In total, 29 probation officers and three Sheriff’s Department personnel participated.