Making Her Case
County probation officer calls for funds
By BENJAMIN C. SHARP bensharp@journal-spectator.com

ROXANE MAREK

From more manageable caseloads to a more specific local focus, the adult probation system has room for improvement, believes Roxane Marek.

A long-time Wharton County Adult Probation Department officer, Marek was recently named the President of the Texas Probation Association.

For the next two years, she will direct the organization's 850-member board of directors, will preside over state-wide training conferences and will testify during an upcoming legislative session regarding bills affecting the state's probation system.

It's that last duty Marek is particularly keen to tackle. She says legislative changes are the key to helping local probation officers to more for their areas of service.

That's provided the benefits of the new statutes can be steered away from the larger metropolitan departments and re-routed towards more rural communities like Wharton County.

"Each biennium, we are given more duties but less funding," Marek said. "How we can make the field better for officers and how we can make probation a better tool for the counties to use" is my goal.

Funding is a prime concern considering the probation department receives the bulk of its budget from the state, with a smaller portion coming from the supervision fees defendants must pay.

Marek said the majority of statewide funds are earmarked for departments located in larger cities.

"There's money there, but sometimes we can't reach it," she said.

And the funds smaller departments do receive are often accompanied by strict guidelines as to use.

That often results in an particular county's needs being largely unmet.

According to Marek, Wharton County, for example, does not qualify for funding designated for reducing officer caseloads.

Yet, the department is virtually swamped.

Currently, the Wharton County office "directly" supervises 731 defendants, all of whom live inside the county. Of that number, 467 are felony offenders and 264 are misdemeanor offenders.

The office further "indirectly" supervises another 541 defendants, with 349 felony offenders and 192 misdemeanor. These are all individuals who live elsewhere.

What kind of staff is there to manage these 1,272 offenders? Just 10 officers, including Department Chief George Washington.

The department includes: four felony officers, two misdemeanor officers, one officer who handles sexual offenders, one who handles indirect cases and Marek, who handles substance abuse cases.

With such a shortage in staff, it's critical any new legislation be "friendly" toward smaller departments, Marek said.

"As an association, we want to influence exactly how that money is spent so it will be in the areas that we need," she said. "Each community is going to be different."

Probation Chief Washington believes Marek is the right person at the helm to affect positive change.

"She's hardworking, conscientious - there's no task assigned to her that she doesn't complete and complete in an exceptional manner," he said. "She's a tremendous asset to this department since she came here in 1993."

An El Campo native, Marek graduated from Louise High School in 1987, attended Wharton County Junior College, and then earned a bachelor's degree in corrections from Southwest Texas State University (now Texas State University) in 1991.

She began her career in the probation department in Jackson County back in 1991. She transferred to Wharton County in 1993.

Now 38, she currently lives in El Campo with her husband, Danny Marek, who is a lieutenant with the Wharton County Sheriff's Department.

She has continued her education along the way, so far completing 12 hours of graduate work at Sam Houston.

Jim Stott, deputy chief of the Jefferson County Adult Probation department and a long-time friend of Marek's, said her election to the top spot of the association is an unprecedented appointment - and one that bodes well for smaller communities.

The association "is very instrumental in training of probation staff, and the development of legislation impacting community corrections," Stott told the Journal-Spectator.

"We are all very proud that Roxane was elected to this prominent position in our profession.

"As the very first line office officer in the state to serve as president, her colleagues feel it would be very deserving for her to receive at least local attention for her accomplishments."