About the Probation Department

About the Department

Led by Chief Probation Officer Kalisa Rochester, the Merced County Probation Department is committed to providing unparalleled service and support to our community. The department consists of three divisions: Juvenile Services, Adult Services and Administrative Services. 

The Merced County Probation Department is responsible for the background investigation of offenders and the preparation of social history reports for the Merced County Superior Courts.  The Probation Department also operates and maintains the County's Youth Detention Facility; and several other facilities, programs and various collaborative courts. 

The Department teams with various law enforcement agencies, schools, community-based organizations and the citizens of Merced County to form productive partnerships with an underlying goal of public safety.

Mission

The Merced County Probation Department acts as a fair and impartial justice partner to the court, provides rehabilitative community-based supervision, and maintains a safe custodial environment for the youth and young adults in our care.

Vision

We are catalysts for change to foster healthier families and safer communities.

Values

Rehabilitation: We are committed to fair and balanced intervention approaches while maintaining the belief that people can change and that we can facilitate that process.  

Integrity: We subscribe to ethical principles by doing the right things for the right reasons.

Learning Organization: We create, acquire, and transfer knowledge throughout the organization and we modify our practices to reflect new knowledge and insights.  

Data Driven: We strive for continuous process improvements and practices by evaluating our effectiveness in our service delivery to prevent further justice system involvement.  

Collaboration: We cultivate meaningful and effective relationships with community and justice partners to achieve positive results.

Inclusivity: We foster a positive, safe, and supportive work environment where contribution of everyone is valued.

History of the Department

The origins of the Merced County Probation Department go back to an order of the Board of Supervisors on November 9, 1909, creating a detention home for dependent and delinquent children. The original location of the detention home was at the County Hospital, where suitable rooms were set aside for this purpose. The superintendent of the County Hospital was employed to supervise the detention home. With this beginning the Merced County Probation Department has steadily expanded into the community corrections agency it is today.

Chief Probation Officers

Juvenile Institutions