Dakota County Community Corrections - Juvenile Corrections Internship
1600 Hwy 55
Hastings, MN
651-438-8249
Website: http://www.co.dakota.mn.us/LawJustice/Probation/default.htm
Interns indicate duties performed :
scheduling appointments with juvenile offenders, home/school/institutional visits with offenders, attending court proceedings, creating case files, creating chronologies of contact with offenders and assisting in supervision of offenders in community work service
Students identified positive aspects of this placement:
- lots of direct contact with juvenile offenders, learning a lot about the court system, learning a lot about mental health issues and drug use/abuse problems/treatments
- The variety of events that occur: different clients and issues. You are able to meet other professionals so you get a rounded perspective of the juvenile justice system and how it all comes together. (2002)
- You get to work one-on-one with the juveniles. It's a great experience as far as meeting people and 'networking.' I was constantly in and out of different facilities meeting new people. (2002)
- It is a very self-motivated internship where you can participate in everything, you don't sit back and watch. It's very observational learning and taking an active role in the day-to-day duties of a juvenile center. You receive extensive training and are required to use it. (2000)
- Hands-on experience is almost immediate. (1999)
- Learning about placement programs and having the opportunity to tour them. (1997
Students identified difficulties typical in this placement:
- Hard not to worry/think about some situation outside of work, see how the justice system isn't always fair, deal with a great deal of people who have serious mental health issues that contribute to the trouble they are in, and sometimes may run into some rather troubling criminal sexual misconduct cases/abuse, etc...
- Dealing with high-risk juveniles can be draining and emotionally difficult at times (2002)
- It's a lot of work. It's hard at first to keep up as far as learning procedures, terms and ways of doing things. It's fun though, and worth it. (2002)
- Make sure you have a 400-600 hour internship because there is a lot to learn. (2000