Juvenile Field Supervision (JFS)
Juvenile Field Supervision offers an array of services to youth (up to age 21) on formal and informal juvenile probation, to families, victims, and the community of Ventura County as a whole. In addition to common supervision services such as regular office appointments, home visits, drug testing, referring to programming and services, developing individualized case plans, utilizing validated risk assessment tools, the unit is also tasked with reviewing incoming juvenile citations from all Ventura County law enforcement. The citation review process determines if a youth’s case will be referred to the District Attorney’s office for filing consideration or if it will be handled informally through a variety of diversion opportunities, without any court involvement. In diversion, the youth typically attends a prevention class, completes an assignment, or performs community service. Likewise, a youth may be referred to the Restorative Justice program, a diversion program, where the youth have an opportunity to work with victims of crime in a safe environment working towards accepting responsibility and making amends for any wrongdoing. In addition, youth assigned the unit have access to public health nurses, youth advocates, educational advocates, employment specialists, and many other beneficial programs and services.