Juv PO Overlap Read AheadSUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON
FOR THE COUNTY OF LEWIS
(360) 740-1178
360 N.W. North St., MS:JUV01 JUVENILE COURT Fax (360) 748-2258
Chehalis, WA 98532-1900 TDD (360) 740-1480
Shad B. Hail Hon. J. Andrew Toynbee Administrator Judge - Department No. 1 Susan E. Wickert Hon. James W. Lawler Office Manager Judge – Department No. 2 Vanessa L. Conwell Hon. Joely A. Yeager Detention Manager Judge – Department No. 3 Rickie M. Anders Paul A Strophy Probation Manager Court Commissioner
To: Lewis County BOCC
From: Shad Hail, Juvenile Court Administrator
Re: Request for Overlap Funding For Dean Durant
Date: June 28, 2024
Request:
I am requesting approval to hire an additional Probation Officer FTE for a period of approximately 2.5 months of overlap
for Dean Durant’s upcoming retirement.
Budget:
Maximum budget impact is $21,500.
Minimum budget impact may be $0.
I anticipate hiring someone at a 123/3. We would attempt to absorb the additional costs with savings from vacancies we
have been patient on filling. However, we also have had substantial costs associated with leave payouts and anticipate
more with 2 more upcoming retirements this year (we have had 2 retirement payouts in 2024 already). The budgeted
amount is the maximum we anticipate needing for this overlap, but in reality it may be less or no increase in budget at all.
It should be noted that with recent and multiple upcoming retirements, we anticipate our future salary and benefits costs
to be lower as we are replacing people at the very top of the salary range with new employees lower on the salary range.
SUPERIOR COURT OF THE STATE OF WASHINGTON
FOR THE COUNTY OF LEWIS
(360) 740-1178
360 N.W. North St., MS:JUV01 JUVENILE COURT Fax (360) 748-2258
Chehalis, WA 98532-1900 TDD (360) 740-1480
Shad B. Hail Hon. J. Andrew Toynbee Administrator Judge - Department No. 1 Susan E. Wickert Hon. James W. Lawler Office Manager Judge – Department No. 2 Vanessa L. Conwell Hon. Joely A. Yeager Detention Manager Judge – Department No. 3 Rickie M. Anders Paul A Strophy Probation Manager Court Commissioner
Background:
The Juvenile Court anticipates 6 people (almost 20% of our staff) retiring in a 15 month period including 4 in 2024. We
have worked for the last 18 months to develop a succession strategy for cross training and preparing for this. As a result,
we have been able to build overlaps in thus far where needed without requesting budget increases. However, there are
two people we are requesting an overlap for: Probation Officer Dean Durant who is retiring in November and Office
Manager Susan Wickert later (a separate request will come later when more specific dates are known).
Probation Officer Dean Durant has been with the Lewis County Juvenile Court for 31 years. He has built one of, if not the
most successful SSODA programs ever in Washington State, has worked with treatment providers and other agencies all
over the country in numerous different states, and as of November he will leave shoes that are impossible to fill as he
heads off into a well-deserved retirement. I am requesting permission from the BOCC to hire for an approximately 2.5
month overlap with a person starting at the beginning of September.
There are 3 reasons I feel this is important. First, Dean will be using a substantial amount of leave the last few months of
employment. The more he can impart to a brand new probation officer, the better off they and our organization will be.
Second, September is also the beginning of the school year and is a key time for our department as we are interacting with
all of the schools, meeting new administrators, and providing education on truancy and other school related manners. It
would be incredibly helpful to have a new staff attending those meetings and meeting with school personnel to begin
building those relationships. Lastly, there is an academy scheduled for the end of September or beginning of October.
Starting someone in the beginning of September allows us to onboard them, do the pre-academy work and county
mandated trainings, and ideally not have to wait until the following year to get someone to the academy.
I appreciate your consideration.
/s/ Shad Hail
Juvenile Court Administrator