• On the day a youth is sentenced to Probation, the Family Services Unit (FSU) caseworker accompanies the youth to the Probation Office to sign his/her Conditions of Probation (COP).  Sanctions, such as Violation of Probation (VOP), cannot be filed or invoked against the youth until the COP is signed.
• A copy of the COP is provided to the FSU caseworker for filing in the youth’s family record.
• If the caseworker is not able to accompany the youth to the Probation office, he/she immediately telephones the main Probation office at 101 Friendship Street in Providence to notify the Division that the youth is sentenced.  This expedites the assignment of a Probation officer.

• The youth is assigned to a Probation officer within five (5) working days of sentencing.
•  
• If the youth is AWOL, placed in a short-term shelter or otherwise in need of placement at the time of sentencing, the youth is not transferred until the youth is stabilized in placement.
• If a youth is AWOL for more than six (6) months or AWOL and over age eighteen (18), the FSU caseworker initiates action to dismiss the Family Court petitions initiated by Family Services.
• If the FSU caseworker is unsuccessful in dismissing the petitions for a youth under eighteen (18) and the youth has been AWOL for more than six (6) months and has more than six (6) months remaining on his/her sentence, the youth after a consultation with Probation can be transferred to Probation.

• A consultation between the FSU caseworker and Probation officer must occur within ten (10) working days of sentencing.
• The FSU caseworker/supervisor initiates contact with the Probation officer/supervisor to schedule the consultation.
• This consultation should be in-person.  If it is not possible for staff to meet face-to-face, a telephone consultation is scheduled.
• If the FSU and Probation workers are not able to complete the consultation, the respective supervisors are responsible to complete the consultation within the ten (10) day time frame.
• In the event the FSU worker/supervisor is unable to establish contact with the Probation officer/supervisor to arrange the consultation within the ten (10) day period, the FSU administrator is notified and addresses the issue with the Probation administrator.
• During this consultation, it is jointly decided who is responsible to complete the various tasks and duties during the remainder of the thirty (30) days.
• The day of the consultation is the first day of the thirty (30) day period of shared responsibility.  The full thirty (30) days will be used even if the Family Court terminates involvement.
• FSU caseworker provides advance notice to the Probation officer of any plans to request termination of any active abuse, neglect and/or dependency petitions concerning the youth in Family Court.  If the Probation officer and supervisor disagree with the FSU plan, the petition will not be dismissed and the matter will be referred to the next level in the chain of command for resolution.
• If Probation or FSU worker believes that the youth meets the criteria for dual supervision, the processes outlined below in Procedure: Dual Supervision by Juvenile Probation and Family Services are followed.

• If the youth requires placement within the thirty (30) day transitional period, the following guidelines apply:
• During the first two (2) weeks of the thirty (30) day period, the FSU caseworker is responsible for placement.  The FSU caseworker is also responsible for completing any referrals for placement and for documenting the referrals in a Case Activity Note.
• During the third and fourth weeks, the Probation officer assumes responsibility.

• If the youth is the only child active in the family, the FSU caseworker prepares the family record for transfer within two (2) weeks of the date of sentencing.
• The FSU supervisor reviews the record for completeness.  If the record is not complete, it will be returned to the FSU caseworker for corrective action.
• FSU supervisor forwards the complete record to the Record Center for logging at the end of the first two (2) weeks of the thirty (30) day period of shared responsibility.
• The complete record is forwarded to the Juvenile Probation supervisor for review and assignment to a Probation officer.
• If the Probation supervisor has concerns about the completeness of the record, Probation supervisor contacts the FSU supervisor.

• If there are other siblings active, the family case record will remain with the FSU caseworker.
• The FSU caseworker will prepare a packet of material pertinent to the youth sentenced to Juvenile Probation.
• The packet of material includes information not available in RICHIST, in particular, any medical, educational and behavioral health reports.
• The Probation officer reviews the family case record within the first two (2) weeks of assignment to determine if there is other information in the record that is needed.

• When FSU is transferring case responsibility to Probation, RICHIST transactions relating to the transfer are completed at the end of the thirty day shared responsibility period.

• If a dependency petition is necessary or ordered by Family Court, it will be completed and filed by the caseworker prior to the transfer being finalized.  If available, the petition information will be entered on the Court Activity window in RICHIST prior to transfer.