Sixty-one new probation officers were sworn in by Chief Judge Jeannette Castagnetti at the First Circuit Probation Conference held in Honolulu. Chief Court Administrator Lori Okita and Deputy Chief Court Administrator Dwight Sakai presented the officers with lei and certificates of appointment.
The conference, which took place on August 27-28 at the Koʻolau Ballrooms & Conference Center in Kāne‘ohe, aimed to provide participants with knowledge and skills to enhance public safety through effective case management. Attendees included judiciary staff and partners from the State Department of Health (DOH), who listened to experts discuss developments in community supervision best practices.
The event was organized by staff from the Client Services Division alongside the DOH Adult Drug and Alcohol Division (ADAD). It continued professional development initiatives that began at previous Statewide Drug Court conferences.
Probation officers from the First Circuit joined specialty court staff from Mental Health, Veterans, and Drug Court programs, as well as probation administrators from all circuits, to engage with presenters.
Guest speakers included Major Mike Lambert from the Honolulu Police Department; Vanessa Matthews of All Rise's Treatment Court Institute; Jacqueline Van Wormer, Ph.D., from the National Association of Drug Court Professionals; Hon. Kim McGinnis of Pueblo of Pojoaque Tribal Court; Bree Derrick from Idaho Department of Correction; Tia Roberts Hartsock from Hawaiʻi's Office of Wellness & Resilience; Kumi MacDonald and Heather Lusk from Honolulu Crisis Intervention Team (CIT); Joseph Turban, M.D., Medical Director at Kū Aloha Ola Mau; and Randall Kaipo Like, a Certified Substance Abuse Counselor.
Presentations covered topics such as gambling, drugs, ghost guns, law enforcement's role with treatment courts, probation trends, trauma-informed care for probation officers, risk needs and responsivity assessments, evidence-based practices in probation services, medication-assisted treatment, and HPD’s Crisis Intervention Team.