By Kathy Chouteau
Contra Costa County’s Probation Department is rolling out three recreation vans as mobile offices for its Probation and Pretrial Services programs and for its community outreach efforts, it recently announced. The vans were first purchased in May 2022 through a partnership with Contra Costa Superior Court.
The Probation Department’s vans are tricked out with fully functioning workstations so that deputy probation officers can offer services traditionally provided in a brick-and-mortar office. An opportune spot for one of the vans to provide services is by the A.F. Bray Court Building in downtown Martinez, where it is stationed on weekdays so clients and probation staff can connect.
Chief Probation Officer Esa Ehmen-Krause said that “Delivering services in the community allows Probation to better engage with clients, which reduces barriers and ultimately increases their chances for success.”
The Probation Department elaborated by noting that the mobile vans eliminate “clients’ need to travel to their local probation office to satisfy a court requirement or receive needed services,” ultimately “saving them money, time and other resources.”
The Probation Department’s vans have also been appearing at community events and plans are underway to reach out to the County’s unsheltered residents and people facing housing instability to provide an array of services.
Contra Costa County’s Probation Department is operating one of the first mobile probation services programs in California, according to the department. For more info about the County’s Probation Department, click here.
