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Assignment 2 Case Study

Lisa Camper is a fairly new hire at the Icuza Juvenile Probation Office. She is 23 years old, single, and just

graduated from college with a 4-year degree. Her duties at the probation office are to work with male

and female youth who have been abused or neglected. She works closely with the parents of the youth

to reunite them with their children, and with the Division of Family and Youth Services to ensure that

the children are well cared for while under the court’s supervision.

Lisa has done well in the 14 months she has been employed by the department. She gets along with

other probation officers and with the detention and family service workers. Her work has been

exemplary in court, and it appears that she has helped several children return home to safer

environments.

Lisa still maintains an active social life outside of the department. As her supervisor, you have heard her

talk about dating, going to the local bars, and socializing with other people employed in the various

criminal justice agencies around town. These activities are not forbidden in the policy and procedure

manual for the Icuza Juvenile Probation Office.

Today, Lisa came into your office. She informed you that there was information you should know about

the father of one of her clients. According to Lisa, she went to a local bar with fellow officers 3 months

ago on a Saturday night. While at the bar, the waitress delivered a drink to her table and stated that it

was from a man at another table. When she looked at the table, she realized it was the father of one of

her clients. She accepted the drink, thanked him, and drank it.

Three weeks later, at the same location, the father of her client approached her, bought her another

drink, and started a conversation. She stated that she enjoyed the conversation while accepting and

drinking the alcoholic beverage. At the end of the night, he asked her for her home phone number. She

gave it to him. Since that time, they have had multiple and lengthy conversations over the phone.

According to her, she has not used her office phone to speak to him unless it was business-oriented. All

phone conversations so far have been on her personal time and phone.

Lisa went on to say that she has gone out to dinner with her client’s father on at least one occasion in

another town. She has feelings for this individual and would like to pursue the relationship. He has asked

her to spend more time with him. She does not believe that her decisions in the child’s case have been

impacted by her relationship with the father, but felt it was important to let her immediate supervisor

know that she was involved intimately with the parent of one of her clients.

Once Lisa was finished, you asked her for the case file and decided to further investigate the

information. Upon review of the case in question, you found that Lisa did not report to the Division of

Family and Youth Services the father’s presence in a bar and around alcohol as required in the court

order. After questioning some of the officers who were present at the bar during the initial contact, you

were told that at least two of the officers advised Lisa that they felt that accepting a drink from a client

or a client’s family member was inappropriate. The officers also reported that they felt uncomfortable

with Lisa’s behavior and were unsure about how to approach the situation. Currently, the officers feel

uncertainty about what is deemed acceptable and unacceptable behavior according to the policy and

procedure manual.