Anyone Work with Juvenile Corrections? Looks like I have a job there!

[ScrappinSpidey]

I finally heard back from the state this week and they offered me a position at the Juvenile Correctional Facility. I am a new grad but am excited about this opportunity. When I interviewed we discussed the schedule and it is one I like, even though it is 5/8's :)

My start date is May 3rd since they start at the beginning of a new pay cycle for new employees. I don't know yet what the training schedule is like but I know we discussed my shifts being 3 evenings and 2 nights. Love it!

I have so many questions lol. Can anyone just give me a brief rundown of the Juvenile facilities they have worked for? Obviously a lot of things vary based on department but I just was curious.

Im also very nervous because this isn't just a new job for me but also a total career change. That said I still can't wait to get started :)

Any advice for someone coming into this new??

Thanks!

Lynn/BW

[LethaChristina]

Hi Lynn/BW, I spent two years occasionally working at our city's juvenile detention (I was a psych agency nurse at the time)... and had an eyeful of what seemed to me to be quite an over-reliance on force, even when force was not called-for. I realized that these were out-of-control kids--but did my best to exude a caring and respectful demeanor. I am NOT saying here that I am a "push-over" and able to be "manipulated" (my how I hate that word!)... but I AM a very personally-concerned person (this is also not to say I don't have "boundaries", but that particular word is not understood in its proper context). Some of my interventions to fragile and wounded people may seem, at first, to be abit "in your face and controlling"--this is because of my open and honest, frank discussion of what I see... be it correct or not (to the person involved). Since we ALL use assumptions about the other in our interventions... we all are sometimes guilty of misinterpreting, as well as frankly wrongful assessment of behavioral observations (after all, we are coming out of our own experiences)... just like in any other nursing field--the need for careful and focused "listening" is crucial to success in communicating with the kids--and earning their co-operation with nursing interventions. Also, beware! There is also the possibility of "politics" behind detainment... keep your eyes and hears very open--to everything and everyone. We are all responsible for each others' welfare: whether we like to admit it or not--or even want to address it.

[Nur_1996]

I have been working in juvenile corrections for almost 3 years. I like it better than the prison because I feel like I can make a difference in a young persons life, maybe help them make some changes in their lifes. My program is a behavior modification program they are here for 6/9 months, you can see many grow into fine young men, others we just can't save.