Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Commission
Our Mission
Juvenile Justice
The Tulare County Juvenile Justice Commission (JJC) has access to, and must inspect, all publicly administered institutions in the county authorized by the Juvenile Court Law. It also monitors all activities involved in the care and supervision of both dependent children and wards of the court from the time they are taken into temporary custody until they leave the child welfare or juvenile justice system.
Please submit questions to bud@sequoiariverlands.org or JBautista@tularewib.org.
Juvenile Justice AGENDAS
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2024
2023
Juvenile Justice Minutes
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2025
2024
2023

History
The involvement of responsible citizens in California’s juvenile justice system dates back to 1903. At that time, a newly adopted statute required that in each county the Judge of the Juvenile Court appoint seven citizens of good moral character to be known as the Probation Committee.
These Probation Committees were given the power to inspect private institutions accepting wards of the court, investigate and report on juvenile cases before the court, provide friendly supervision and visitation, and nominate the county probation officer as well as approve of the probation officer’s deputies.
The work of these committees continued until the Arnold-Kennick revision of the Juvenile Court Law in 1961. With this revision, the Probation Committee became the Juvenile Justice Commission. Welfare and Institutions Code Section 229 states, “It shall be the duty of a juvenile justice commission to inquire into the administration of the juvenile court law in the county or region in which the commission serves.”
Meeting Information
Meetings are held every other month on the second Tuesday from 5:30PM to 7PM at Connections, 3249 W. Noble Avenue, Visalia, CA 93277. All meetings are open to the public. You may join in person or virtual, at the following link or by phone.

Teams Meeting
Click here to join the meeting
Download Teams | Join on the web
Meeting ID: 253 315 088 279
Passcode: nhUWxN
Join by Phone
+1 669-247-1027,,220704293# United States, San Jose
Phone Conference ID: 220 704 293#
Chair
Chief Probation Officer
Judge of the Juvenile Court
Presiding Judge
of the Juvenile Court
Members
Dylan Callison
Ernest Gibson
Frank Escobar
Galen Quenzer
Jeff Jacobs
Jennie Bautista
Manny Castro
Mario Flores
Megan Casebeer
Sam Weiser
Sneha Kumar
Timo Pizana
Americus Campos
Appointments and Meetings
Authority Information
Appointments
The Presiding Judge of the Juvenile Court with the concurrence of the Presiding Judge of Superior Court of Tulare County, Juvenile Division appoints individual citizens for terms of four (4) years to the Juvenile Justice Commission.


Meetings
Public meetings are held every other month on the fourth Tuesday of January, March, May, July, September, and November to begin at 3:30 PM. The public meetings are conducted in such places within the County of Tulare, as the Commission shall designate.
Special meetings of the Commission are open to the public and may be set at any time and at any place within the County of Tulare designated in the notice of the special meeting. A special meeting may be called by the Chairperson of the Commission or any three members on 24-hours’ written notice unless such notice is waived by all members of the Commission. The convening authority of the special meeting may close any special meeting of the Commission to the public. Juvenile Justice Commissions are not subject to the Ralph M. Brown Act. They are, in effect, part of the Superior Court and, as such, fall within the exemption from the so-called Secret Meeting Laws for Judicial agencies provided in Section 11121 of the Government Code. (Ref: Opinion No. CV75/29 I.L.)
Commissioner Affiliations
Bud Darwin – Education Director, Sequoia Riverlands Trust
Jennie Campos Bautista – Deputy Director – Operations, Workforce Investment Board of Tulare County
Carla Calhoun – Deputy Director, Community Services Employment Training Inc. and Board President, Arts Visalia
Dylan Callison – Student, San Diego State University
Manny Castro – Coordinator, Intervention-Prevention, Woodlake Unified School District
Mario Flores – School Social Worker, Farmersville Unified School District
Ernest Gibson – Assistant Administrator, Psynergy Programs, Inc.
Jeff Jacobs – Professor, Porterville College
Galen Quenzer – CEO, Boys & Girls Club of the Sequoias
Frequently Asked Questions
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What is the Juvenile Justice Commission?
What are the Responsibilities?
Within its statutory duty, the Commission’s responsibilities include:
- Inspecting detention facilities used for the placement of any minor under the supervision of the Juvenile Court of Tulare County.
- Investigating programs, policies, and procedures for these youth.
- Conducting public or closed hearings on matters relating to juvenile law in the county.
- Advocating for needed services for youth in the juvenile justice system.
- Providing an opportunity for the public to present oral petitions and public comments concerning juvenile justice at meetings.