Probation officers playing key role in school safety

LYNN – The public school’s top disciplinary specialist said probation officers are helping keep schools safe with regular visits to students who are on juvenile probation or are involved with the courts.”If you talk to any principal or vice-principal in the Lynn public schools, they will tell you how beneficial it is to have probation officers in the schools. It is a tremendous advantage to have them. They inform us of the situations of individual students tied to them,” said Discipline and Attendance Specialist Richard Iarrobino.Throughout the school year, probation officers check with school administrators on a child’s behavior and progress in school. They also collaborate with the court liaison at the schools in addition to visiting the child’s home.Of the students enrolled in the 36 school districts in Essex County, 4,414 children are on probation or court-involved.Students on probation include children between the ages of seven and 17 classified as delinquent as well as others classified as a Child In Need of Services (CHINS) – ones who are truants, runaways or stubborn children. Habitual school offender and care and protection cases also receive probation attention.”Our mere presence in the schools sends a message to court-involved students and those who are not court-involved that probation means something. We hold them responsible for their actions,” Daniel J. Passacantilli, Essex County Juvenile Chief Probation Officer, said. “If they are on probation, they have to follow the rules and the terms of their probation.”Probation officers visit schools to get a better understanding of the needs of the court-involved child in their school setting. They try to provide them with important resources and work with them to change the behavior that resulted in them becoming court-involved in the first place.”Together, we are able to pinpoint the services that will help the students. We have a natural relationship with probation and this benefits probation, the schools, and most importantly, the student,” Iarrobino said, adding, “The biggest benefit is being in touch with probation officers on a daily basis. The accessibility factor is huge. When there is a dangerous situation with a client, Probation makes us aware of what’s coming up.”