Juvenile Hall orientation video recognized as ‘innovative’
Melisa Leonardo, a secretary at San Benito County’s Juvenile
Hall, recently received a state award for her part in creating an
orientation video.
Juvenile Hall orientation video recognized as ‘innovative’
Melisa Leonardo, a secretary at San Benito County’s Juvenile Hall, recently received a state award for her part in creating an orientation video.
Leonardo was awarded a California State Association of Counties Challenge Award. She was honored at a county board of supervisors meeting a few weeks ago, when she received the glass-engraved plaque.
Supervisor Reb Monaco suggested Leonardo enter the project for the awards, which “recognize the innovative and creative spirit of California county governments as they find new and effective ways of providing programs and services to their citizens.”
San Benito County won in category for counties with 50,001 to 200,000 residents.
“We put together our submission letter and sent that in with the copy of the videotape,” Leonardo said. “It was a great project, but it’s obviously an honor to be awarded an award like this.”
When Brent Cardall come on board as chief probation officer, he said he wanted to implement orientations for juvenile and adult offenders.
“We wanted them to have a better understanding of what would be expected of them and what they needed to do on their end,” Leonardo said. “Our issue is that it is hard to have orientation once a week if they are only in for a three or four days.”
Leonardo and the staff brainstormed about the best way to do the orientation.
“We needed something that could be shown during the day, at night, or multiple times a day,” Leonardo said. “A video ended up being our best option.”
To keep the cost of the video to a minimum, Leonardo connected with the San Benito High School filmmakers club last year, advised by teacher Mary Maio.
“I pretty much acted like the liaison between Juvenile Hall and trying to make that work with the capability of the SBHS filmmakers club,” she said.
The video was produced in English and Spanish, with student actors and directors. It runs for 26 minutes.
“We play it for minors when they come in for intake,” she said. “It plays in the lobby when parents come in and it’s also on CMAP so it’s not just being used in Juvenile Hall. We are hoping it is acting as a preventative in the community.”
Since the rules at Juvenile Hall are regulated by state standards, Leonardo said they don’t change often so the video will be used for years to come.
The video goes over intake procedures, court appearances and the token system that is used to reward kids for good behavior.
“It can be really scary for kids and parents if they have never gone through the court system,” Leonardo said.
According to the submission letter, the students filmed for one day at Juvenile Hall, where they were taken through in the intake process and dressed in prison clothing. They took seven months to edit the footage down into a 26-minute video. Staff estimated it would have cost $26,000 to create the video with a professional crew. Instead it cost $100.
“I don’t think people realize how confined Juvenile Hall is,” said a participating actor in the film, at the debut of the video last spring. “It makes people realize that this isn’t a joke.”
In the letter, staff wrote “the Probation Department saved money as well as time in that guardians are less likely to call in with questions; the video can be used as a deterrent piece; and the student-filmmakers learned how to work for a client, and gained empathy and understanding for the in-custody minors.”
The other county to win in the category was Lake County, which put together a task force to help revitalizing the unincorporated area of Clearlake Oaks.
