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Tulare County Probation launches mobile service center to bring casework and referrals into rural communities
Summary
Probation supervisors described a mobile service center — an office-on-wheels equipped with computers, wheelchair lift and private meeting space — that will deliver probation reporting, case management and referrals across Dinuba, Pixley, Porterville and other communities; Geo Solutions will staff the van beginning July 1.
Tulare County Probation has launched a mobile service center intended to deliver probation reporting, case management and community referrals directly in underserved parts of the county, supervising officers told the task force.
“Basically, our goal here is to bring our services into the community to bridge barriers and address things that are keeping people from being able to report in person,” Supervising Probation Officer Kimberly Madonza told the Tulare County Task Force on Homelessness. Madonza described the vehicle as an office-on-wheels with seating, computers, an interactive whiteboard, a wheelchair lift and an onboard generator.
Madonza said the unit already had begun a soft launch and that the probation team is operating it multiple days a month in set locations. “We have laptops and i pads that are available for the community to use,” she said. The vehicle provides a private area for one-on-one meetings, internet access for job searches or virtual therapy, and hygiene supplies and water when needed.
Madonza said the unit will host at least two probation staff at any time and will include one Geo Solutions staff member beginning July 1 to help coordinate services and immediate referrals. She said four probation officers are dedicated to the mobile unit and that those officers supervise unhoused individuals so that outreach is focused on that population.
Current tentative schedule provided in the meeting includes Dinuba Library and Ledbetter Park (first and third Mondays), Pixley Park and the Tulare Hillman Complex (second and fourth Mondays), Porterville (Thursdays) and Farmersville WIC (Fridays). Madonza said the schedule will expand as site contracts are finalized.
Madonza described goals to contract with partner agencies for on-board or rapid off-site services, and to provide transportation to appointments when needed; she said the vehicle is independent of power and does not require on-site hookups but does not include an on-board restroom.
Task force members and partners raised planning questions — including space, power hookups and vehicle dimensions for potential co-location at housing developments — and several members praised the outreach-first approach as a way to reduce barriers to services.
No formal action or county funding decision for the mobile unit was recorded at the meeting. Madonza said the program will scale up over the coming year and that she will accept partnership inquiries through the probation mobile service center email listed on the program flyer.
