Sonoma County Deputy Probation Officer III Larry Younger Receives Statewide Recognition from the Chief Probation Officers of California for CPOC Award of Excellence

On December 8, 2022, Sonoma Deputy Probation Officer III Larry Younger was recognized at the statewide 2022 Annual Chief Probation Officers of California Awards Ceremony in Sacramento as the CPOC Award of Excellence recipient. This award is given to an employee of any rank selected by the CPOC affiliate for meritorious service, significant contributions, career achievement among other reasons warranting recognition.

“We are proud to give the CPOC Award of Excellence to Larry Younger who has worked with Sonoma County’s reentry youth for several years, " said Vanessa Fuchs, Chief of Sonoma Probation. "We are grateful that Larry is always present and compassionate with youth helping them find healthier and safer pathways. His tireless work to help our youth and community is inspiring and should be recognized."

Larry Younger, the Deputy Probation Officer III, exemplifies in his everyday work with youth and families, what it means to be an agent of change. Larry has worked with Sonoma County's re-entry youth for several years. Typically, this group is referred to as the "time and dismiss" population. These youth often had many opportunities in the community and/or in placements, but continued to not be successful on probation. As a result, they serve the remainder of their time in custody, usually exiting to adulthood. Regardless of their past struggles, Larry works with them while in custody and motivates them to participate in programming.

"Thank you Larry for your hard work, compassion, and true commitment to the youth that we serve," said John Keene, President of CPOC. “Officers like Larry help put youth on better pathways and help make communities safer.”

Larry attends community events, speaking engagements, and sits on a variety of collaborative community/interagency committees, notably the Violence Prevention Partnership. He is often the first to volunteer to attend focus groups for our department when making systems improvements and is committed to highlighting the good work of probation. He is very motivated to change the narrative that stigmatizes youth who enter Juvenile Justice. Larry also volunteered to deliver Cognitive Behavioral Interventions and to be one of our department's EPICS (Effective Practices in Community Supervision) instructors. In addition, he volunteered to be one of only a small handful of individuals willing to help the department with our Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Anti-Racism work.

The Chief Probation Officers of California (CPOC) is an association of all 58 counties with a shared identity as law enforcement leaders. CPOC is committed to a research-based approach to public safety that promotes positive behavior change. Their leadership guides policy and practice in prevention, community-based corrections, secure detention for youth, and direct human services. CPOC aims to prevent crime and delinquency, reduce recidivism, restore victims, and promote healthy families and communities.