Superior Court of Arizona in Maricopa County Spring 2001 Edition

FOCUSA Look at the

Maricopa CountyJuvenile Court

FOCUS is now online at:www.superiorcourt.maricopa.gov

Continued on page 4

Safe Schools travels to Bosnia

Safe School Probation Officer Tawny Peralta (above) has gathered manymementos during the past 2 summers traveling to Bosnia to help educators thereteach democracy. Snap Shots: (Right, top to bottom) Peralta said many beautifulbuildings in Bosnia are marred by the effects of war; Peralta often travelledthrough towns that have yet to be repaired from the damage — towns too poor torepair the roofs over the people’s heads; The teachers so far have embraced whatthey’ve learned from the program which sent Peralta to Bosnia; Peralta said shehopes to return to “beautiful” landscape this summer.

The summer trip that SafeSchool Probation OfficerTawny Peralta has come to lookforward to every year isn’tabout relaxation or gettingaway from work.

For Peralta, travelling towar-torn Bosnia andHerzegovina during the pasttwo years has been about tak-ing her job with her to showeducators how to teach change.

Courtesy of an interna-tional exchange program,Peralta has taken concepts sheuses everyday in the SafeSchools Program at Edison El-ementary School in Phoenix toBosnian cities to help the edu-cation system there foster de-mocracy.

“We teach the importanceof starting with children whenthey’re young,” Peralta said.“Bosnian educators get it. Theyknow if you’re going to changethe country, you have to startwith the children.”

The Safe Schools Programis a countywide program thatplaces police officers (known asschool resource officers) andjuvenile probation officers onschool campuses. In additionto establishing a presence oncampus to enhance safety andprevent delinquency, probationofficers provide Law RelatedEducation — instruction onrules, law and the legal system— to show children what itmeans to be a responsible citi-zen.

Peralta, a probation officerof nearly 11 years, is one ofseveral U.S. trainers thatmakes the overseas trip through

the Civitas at Bosnia andHerzegovina Summer TrainingProgram, a program run by theCenter for Civic Education andthe U. S. Information Agency.Peralta became acquainted withthe program when a delegationfrom Bosnia visited Edison El-ementary in 1999. Throughcontacts made during the visit,that summer Peralta was invitedto train Bosnian teachers basedon the one of the elements ofthe Safe Schools Program: LawRelated Education.

After receiving permissionfrom Juvenile Probation Admin-istration, Peralta embarked onher two-week overseas trainingtrip.

Specifically, Peralta, andothers from across the U.S,

train teachers to teach the“Foundations of Democracy.”The four-part program focuseson responsibility, justice, pri-vacy and authority.

Director of the JuvenileProbation Department Com-munity Services division,Hellen Carter, said she is ex-cited to have the reach of thelocal Safe Schools program ex-tending overseas.

“It’s exciting that whatworks in an inner city schoolin Phoenix could have the samekind of impact in Bosnia,”Carter said. “We’re all reallyproud of Tawny. Number 1,because she has the courage togo to Bosnia, and Number 2,because she has skills that canliterally save lives.”

The exchange program hasbeen ongoing since 1996 andaids educators in writing andtraining for a new civics cur-riculum. In addition to addingnew curriculum, Peralta saidBosnian educators are movingfrom a rigidly traditional for-mat of lecture, notes and teststo a more interactive style ofteaching.

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Continued on page 5

Adoption tradition for East Valley family

Left: Jason and Shellie Hughes hold their adopted children, Charlie (left) andAlyssa. They officially became a family last year, following the path Jason’s parentsShirley and Van Hughes. Shirley and Van received local and national attentionwhen they adopted 10 siblings at once, in Juvenile Court in 1999.Below right: Jason, Charlie, Shellie and Alyssa Hughes join the family dog in afamily moment. The family became one in May 2000.

The Hughes’ concept offamily has taken on new mean-ing during the past five years.

The family of 10 hasswelled to a family of 22.

Thanks to foster care andadoption, which has become aHughes family tradition, twelvechildren, including 10 siblings,were legally added to theHughes family tree within thepast two years.

“We don’t look at it as anybig deal,” said Shirley Hughes,who with husband Van adopted10 brothers and sisters duringthe summer of 1999.

Van and Shirley becamenationally recognized followingtheir record-setting adoption,which started through the De-partment of EconomicSecurity’s Foster Care program.Out of the media glare, theHughes’ biological son, JasonHughes and his wife Shellie,quietly and privately adoptedtwo children in May 2000, andplan to adopt at least one morechild in the future. The Hughesother biological son Jeff has twochildren of his own.

Although the additions arerelatively recent, the sense offamily has deep roots.

“I call them my brothersand sisters,” said Jason of the10 siblings his parents adopted.He now has the sisters he neverhad. “I can’t really think backwithout them, I am just usedto them now.”

Jason, a police officer, hasalways wanted to adopt chil-dren. While toying with theoption of adopting through aprivate agency, he and his wifedecided to follow his parents’example by becoming fosterparents first, shortly after Vanand Shirley took in the first ofthe 10 siblings they would lateradopt.

Charlie, 4, has been withJason and Shellie for four years.Alyssa, 3, has been with thefamily for 3 years. Both adop-tions were made final in Juve-

nile Court on May 15, 2000.Charlie and Alyssa are like

many children their ages. Theyclimb, they scream and they getexcited and restless when some-one new comes around. Theyare told not to hit, not to slamthe toy car on the glass tableand to stop pulling at a guest’sshirtsleeve.

“You can tell it was easy tobond with them,” Jason saysshowing pictures of the childrenas infants, with a father’s gleamin his eye.

“We always consideredthem our children but (on May15) we knew they would be oursfor the rest of our lives,” Shelliesaid.

The Hughes’ sibling adop-tion was final July 29, 1999,after four years of foster care,during which time the children

slowly reunited under theHughes’ roof after being sepa-rated following the removalfrom their biological mother’shome. The children are: Fran-cisco Lopez, 18, MariaHughes, 17, Asucena Baumea,16, Estevan Lopez,14, AugustinoBaumea, 13, JuanBaumea, 11, JoseBaumea, 10,Stephanie Hughes,9 Veronica Hughes,7, and DonicioGonzalez, 5.

“They’ve givenas much to us aswe’ve given tothem,” Shirley said,adding that she is en-couraged by the belief that thekids have a good chance at suc-cess in life. “They have an op-portunity to break free fromfalling into the same patternstheir parents did. Now they’reseeing what a real family is likeand before, they didn’t have aclue.”

The mass adoption broughtVan, Shirley and the 10 siblingsa flood of media attention sincethe adoption was made public,some of the attention resulting

in rewards and gifts for theirundertaking. After appearing onthe Rosie O’Donnel show, theHughes were given a new vanto replace the one they wereusing, which had more than400,000 miles on it, to take thekids around town. From newsshows to talk shows, the familyhas made numerous televisionappearances and continues totravel to adoption conferencesacross the nation. Jason, whopurposefully took a low profileduring the sibling adoption, saidhis parents’ dedication to mak-ing appearances have been tofurther the cause of adoption.

“I think (the media atten-tion) helped kids who are upfor adoption to see there arepeople who will really adoptthem,” Shellie said.

Superior Court Commis-sioner Thomas Jacobs legalizedVan and Shirley’s adoption andwas associated with the case forfour years.

He said it is not uncom-mon to find couples who have

previously adopted childrencome back into court to adoptmore. Never, however, has heseen an adoption of the magni-tude of the Hughes adoption.Commissioner Jacobs said thatwith Jason Hughes also adopt-ing children the Hughes familyis helping to place adoption andfoster care at the forefront ofthe public’s minds.

“Every child needslove. Every Child needsto be shown how tolove.— Shirley Hughes,Adoptive mother of10 siblings

”

3

A fair to rememberSome with hopeful eyes and others with curious

minds, people crowded into the into the SuperiorCourt Old Courthouse for the first Maricopa

County Adoption Fair to Celebrate Adoption.For 42 children, the day meant that they were fi-

nally a part of a family as several families finalized their adop-tions at the event. The normally closed adoptions were opento the public in order to promote adoption. The second floorof the courthouse filled quickly with public in search of in-formation on adoption through various agency booths orthrough a number of educational sessions on adoption.

Superior Court, and various private and governmentadoption agencies organized the fair, the first of its kind inMaricopa County. Fair organizers hope to continue the eventthis year.

Clockwise from top left: Many children were dressed in their best for theoccasion; Adoption Fair organizers discuss the fair in progress; Cake wasoffered in celebration of a special day; More than 40 families made theirway through the Old Courthouse first floor hallway en route to finalizingtheir adoptions.

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Bosnia, From Page 1

She said quality teacher-student interaction was rarelypracticed and still remains for-eign to some.

With the exception of de-struction from the war, Peraltabelieves Bosnian and Ameri-can educators are facing thesame challenges in helping at-risk children overcome hard-ships.

“The kids in Bosnia havebeen through a horrible war,”Peralta said. “They’ve been vic-tims of poverty, prejudice anddiscrimination ... it would beeasy for them to just give up. Icannot help but see similari-ties between many of the chil-dren we work with in the in-ner cities and the children inBosnia and Herzegovina.”

Peralta’s time in Bosniawas encompassed training andtravelling. In two trips so far,she has traveled to Sarajevo inEast-Central Bosnia, Mostarto the south, Bihac to thenorthwest and various spots inbetween. She says the land-scape is beautiful, but oftenmarred by the destruction of

Juveniles in MaricopaCounty who are on probationor involved in dependencycases now have a little extrapush to get them by whenneeded

For the past year, a$10,000 grant from the ArizonaCommunity Foundation hasbeen available to the MaricopaCounty Juvenile Court to pro-vide needy juveniles with basicessentials they normally don’thave.

Clothes, shoes and hygieneproducts were among the itemsjuveniles are able to purchasewith the grant, which was givento Juvenile Court in January2000. The Arizona CommunityFoundation, established in1978, is a partnership of non-profit organizations and indi-

vidual community donors thatseek to find solutions to com-munity needs.

Juvenile Court Depen-dency Programs AdministratorBill Callahan said once the grantwas awarded, administratorsworked with the County Boardof Supervisors to get approvalto distribute the funds. Distri-bution began in April 2000. Afour-member committee meetsmonthly to consider applica-tions for funds. Probation of-ficers and Court AppointedSpecial Advocates submit theapplications on behalf of thejuveniles. The committee’s ap-proval is based on need. If ajuvenile is on probation, theboard also considers thejuvenile’s probation perfor-mance, in addition to the need.

Callahan said most requests aregranted.

“Most of the juveniles weget requests for are very needy,”Callahan said. “Generally, it ispretty fair to say that if a needis demonstrated, we’ll fund it.”

Callahan said the requestshave ranged from $27.50 to$300, the maximum that canbe given. Most of the requestslast year were for apparel andpersonal products. Other re-quests were more unique.

One juvenile requestedand received a bike, with a hel-met and a lock, which the ju-venile used to get to drugscreenings and drug interven-tion group meetings. Anotherjuvenile sought guitar lessonsand books to learn how to playthe guitar. Another juvenile

sought fees and equipment tojoin the cheerleader squad.Baby blankets and clothes, ma-ternity-wear and school fees andsupplies are also among the re-quests approved last year.

The committee received anadditional $4,000 in Novem-ber 2000 to augment the origi-nal $10,000 grant. As of No-vember 2000, the committeeapproved less than $3,500 ofrequests since April.

“The grant provides a re-source where there wasn’t onebefore,” said Danna Quinn,Judicial Services Administratorin the Juvenile Probation De-partment, and committee mem-ber. “ I think it is wonderfulthat probation officers andCASAs have somewhere to turnfor those requests.”

war. Driving from city to city,Peralta said the moment canchange from jovial conversationand laughter to silence and tearsas the group passes through acity demolished by war and toopoor to rebuild.

“The first summer, nobodytalked about what they wentthrough. The people were stilltoo raw from the experience,”Peralta said. “Last summer Inoticed people openingup more.”

The teachers’ attitude anddedication toward their stu-dents, as well as their kindnessand gratitude, amazed Peralta.She said the teachers under-stand the change will be slow,and so far have embracedthe training.

“The teachers I have hadthe privilege to train fill me withhope for the country,” Peraltasaid. “They are so dedicated totheir students. Some did every-thing they could to continue toteach during the war. Withoutpay, classrooms or even sup-plies, they found studentsto teach.”

approaches. She has recievednumerous postcards from teach-ers and hosts from the differentcities where she has traveled.She still communicates to oneof the translators she met oneher first trip weeklyvia e-mail.

Peralta said she hopes toreceive word of another trip thissummer. In two years of the pro-gram, Peralta has given all sheknows on the subject of law-re-lated education and interactiveteaching styles.

With every trip, Peralta re-ceives in return an added senseof passion for working withkids at Edison Elementary,where she has been a probationofficer for six years.

“We have the opportunityto do pure prevention, to reachthese children and teach themthey have to be responsible citi-zens,” Peralta said. “Some ofthese kids don’t get out of Phoe-nix at all. I want them to realizethere is a world outside of Phoe-nix — that the choices theymake can change the world ifthey want.”

Foundation grants help to kids in Court

“They’ve been victimsof poverty, prejudiceand discrimination …it would be easy forthem to just give up. Icannot help but seesimilarities betweenmany of the childrenwe work with in theinner cities and thechildren in Bosnia andHerzegovina.

— Tawny Peralta,Safe SchoolsProbation Officer

”

The kindness and grati-tude she experienced on thetrip often came in the form ofgifts and mementos frompeople she met. Many of thegifts she received line her of-fice walls or sit on countertops.From the teachers, to the driv-ers to the translators, Peraltasaid the many friendships shehas made in Bosnia, makes itdifficult to leave when the time

5

“I’m glad it is getting thepublicity it’s getting,” Jacobssaid. “It’s all the better if ithelps to get kids out of sheltersand out of emergency homes.I think it’s great.”

With the media attentionslowly fading away, Shirley saidfamily life is returning back tonormal. Although having 12new faces around is alreadydaunting, as Shirley can attestduring back-to-school shop-ping, more faces could pop upin the future.

“We want to adopt onemore, but we also want twomore of our own,” Jason said.“But if somebody called us to-day and said hey we have one,we would adopt. Right now Idon’t care if I have a (biologi-cal) child, I would like my wifeto experience it, it would niceto experience it, but eventhough they’re not our biologi-cal children, I consider themmine. It’s just like a fatherwould feel about a child.”

Shirley said if she and Vanever hit the lottery, they’d moveto a large property and take inas many kids as they could.

“Every child needs love,”Shirley said. “Every child needsto be shown how to love.”

JUVENILE COURT NEWS BRIEFSAdopt, From Page 2

Shellie and Charlie Hughes take amoment to play. Shellie and JasonHughes adopted Charlie, 4, and 3-year-old Alyssa in May 2000.

Starting this spring, themakeup of the Juvenile CourtBench began a new season ofchange.

Most recently, Judge EileenWillett rotated to the CriminalDepartment of adult court.

W i l l e t thas beenas s ignedto theDurangofacility fornearly 3years, oneof whichas a com-missioner.J u d g e

Alan Kamin, previously as-signed to the Civil Departmentat the downtown facility, tookJudge Willett’s spot on the ju-venile bench at the DurangoFacility. Judge Kamin was firstappointed to the Superior

New season of rotations affects Juvenile Court BenchCourt bench in 1983. Willettwill take office at the down-town court facility.

Long time Juve-nile Court JudgesRebecca Albrecht,Pamela Franks, andJuvenile PresidingJudge MauricePortley will be tak-ing assignments inadult court in June2001. Judge DavidR. Cole, currentlyassigned to thecriminal depart-ment, will rotate tothe Southeast Juve-nile Facility in placeof Judge Portley.Judge Cole was ap-pointed a judge in1989, and has sinceserved in the Crimi-nal, Family, Civil and Spe-cial Assignment Depart-

Former Juvenile Court Ad-ministrator Caroline Lautt-Owens may have left JuvenileCourt behind her, but she re-mains within the realm of Ju-venile Justice.

Lautt-Owens recently leftJuvenile Court to take a posi-tion with the Arizona FosterCare Review Board (FCRB),after more than two years asJuvenile Court Administrator.

As Program Manager ofthe FCRB, she will be workingwith the Arizona Legislature re-garding child welfare issues,among other duties.

Maricopa County cur-rently has more than 40 FosterCare Review Boards in place.Each board is made up of fivevolunteers appointed by thecounty Juvenile Court Presid-ing Judge. Each county has aFRCB.

The volunteers regularlyreview every case with a depen-dent child in an out-of-homeplacement.

Judge Eileen Willett

Judge Alan Kamin

ments.Once appointed, new judges

will assume the spotsvacated by JudgeFranks and JudgeAlbrecht. JudgeLinda Scott will be-come the new presid-ing juvenile judge.

Another changewas the retirement ofCommissioner Eliza-beth Yancey in Janu-ary.

CommissionerYancey was first ap-pointed a commis-sioner in 1987, andhas since served inthe Criminal, Fam-ily Court and Pro-bate/Mental HealthDepartments. Sherotated to Juvenile

Court in 1998, and was assignedto the Southeast Facility in Mesa.

CommissionerElizabeth Yancey

Administrator leavesScout’s Honor

Even while on thebench Juvenile Court Pre-siding Judge MauricePortley is all over town.

At bus stops, andbillboards across town,Judge Portley was featuredin the “Today’s Scouts,Tomorrow’s Leaders cam-paign by Grand Canyon

Council of the Boy Scouts ofAmerica.

Among the Judge’s co-honorees: Arizona State Uni-versity President LattieCoor and Arizona RattlersHead Coach Danny White.

Judge Portley achievedEagle Scout in 1970 in Si-erra Vista, Ariz.

Judge Maurice Portley’s photo is featured across town as part of the BoyScouts of America “Today’s Scouts, Tomorrow’s Leaders” campaign.

Superior Court of ArizonaJuvenile Court1810 S. LewisMesa, Arizona85210-6234

Presiding Judge Maurice PortleyJudge Rebecca AlbrechtJudge Silvia ArellanoJudge Dennis DairmanJudge Emmet RonanJudge Linda ScottCommissioner Thomas Jacobs

JUVENILE COURT JUDICIAL OFFICERS

602.506.2306602.506.3727602.506.3649602.506.1855602.506.0438602.506.2610602.506.4203

602.506.3528602.506.5340602.506.2050602.506.6086602.506.3157602.506.3663602.506.3366602.506.3892

Southeast Court Center1810 South Lewis St.

Mesa, AZ 85210

Durango Court Center3125 West DurangoPhoenix, AZ 85009

Associate Presiding Judge Pam FranksJudge Janet BartonJudge Thomas Dunevant IIIJudge Brian HauserJudge Alan KaminJudge William Sargeant IIICommissioner Robert ColosiCommissioner George Foster Jr.