Linn County is pleased to announce two employees at the Linn County Juvenile Detention Center were recognized as Bob Rader Juvenile Detention Services Worker of the Year and Bob Rader Juvenile Detention Line Staff Worker of the Year for 2014 at the National Symposium on Juvenile Services. Dan Williams was recognized as Worker of the Year and Cody Edman was recognized as Line Staff Worker of the Year.
The Bob Rader Awards are presented each year by the National Partnership for Juvenile Services’ Council for Juvenile Detention to recognize outstanding staff members in the juvenile detention field for their professional achievement and performance.
Dan Williams has been the Detention Case Manager since March 2002. He works to ensure the medical, educational, legal and personal needs of youth at the detention center are met. In addition to this work, Williams also communicates frequently with parents, attorneys and juvenile court officers.
Cody Edman has been a youth counselor since February 2001. Cody displays a high level of skill, expertise and leadership and his efforts remain essential in making detention a successful program. His observation, assessment and intervention skills aid in maintaining a high level of safety and stability in the detention center.
In addition to their daily responsibilities, Edman and Williams willingly took on the added tasks of helping to develop and implement a new computer system for the department. They saw the value in a new system and ultimately what it could provide the center. This was a heavy burden added to their daily routine but they continue to help in pushing the program forward, training other staff and being the department’s software consultants to those not as familiar with the new system.
“They are excellent at what they do and I can’t thank them enough for taking on this new computer system which had to be designed from the ground up,” said Dawn Schott, Linn County Juvenile Detention & Diversion Services director. “This is well-earned recognition for both of them.”
The Linn County Juvenile Detention Center provides emergency and short-term care and supervision in a safe, secure and emotionally stable residential environment for youth, ages 12 to 18 years, who are or are alleged to be delinquent, and who pose a threat to themselves or to the community. Staff at the detention center work to stabilize the situations of the youth at the center during their stay and often provide crisis counseling to address immediate needs and issues.
The average daily population of the detention center for fiscal year 2014 was 15.69 youths.