A template for rural Nevada: JPO centralizes youth activities in Eureka County

The phrase “juvenile probation” traditionally evokes images of rehabilitation programs for troubled youth. In Eureka County, that phrase means something completely different, as the Juvenile Probation Office (JPO) goes far beyond those services to provide a broad range of activities designed to keep kids out of trouble in the first place. 

Juvenile Probation Officer Steve Zimmerman agreed that Eureka County’s approach is unique.

“Typically in other counties, to get access to some of the rehabilitational services that come through juvenile probation offices around the state, you have to get in trouble first,” Zimmerman said. “We would rather take care of some of those on the front end, as opposed to just trying to work from behind on the rehabilitation side.”

The JPO believes the approach began in the 1980s through a series of state drug prevention grants. The core philosophy was simple: prevent trouble by making positive activities accessible. The county eventually brought these services under its own budget after officials saw results for local youth.

“Eureka County stepped up and picked up a lot of those recreational programs to keep them going, because they saw the benefit of keeping kids out of trouble,” Zimmerman said.

Today, this arrangement has blossomed into a robust suite of recreational and educational programs operating under the slogan “Healthy, Active, Drug- Free.” The department’s calendar is packed year-round with diverse opportunities that keep kids engaged and active. Youth baseball currently draws 75 participants, while the dance program serves 95 kids. During the summer months, the department ensures that youth from Crescent Valley are transported to Battle Mountain for swimming lessons. These physical activities are punctuated by social milestones, such as back-to-school pool parties, Red Ribbon Week events, and an alcohol-free “Grad Night” that provides seniors with a safe environment to celebrate their achievements.

Longtime committee member and mother of four Heather Mears said the programs have helped her kids gain confidence and develop into well-rounded adults. Mears has spent around 15 years on the committee and with one son left at home, plans to continue even after he leaves the nest. 

Beyond physical recreation, the office fosters creativity and early development through several specialized tracks. The Youth Enrichment Program offers a deep dive into subjects like math, agriculture, robotics and art, while local kids have seen success in the Junior Duck Stamp Art Contest. In fact, a high school student recently won “Best of Show” in Nevada and is now moving on to the national level. Even the county’s youngest residents are included through “Beautiful Roots,” a nature- and literature-based play program designed for children aged 18 months to four years.

Mears said the department is effective at helping youth work through common challenges. Many are similar from one generation to the next, but Juvenile Probation also responds to new challenges. One of those is vaping, which Mears labeled an “epidemic” among youth today. She said the department has made significant efforts to educate youth on the dangers of vaping, its addictive nature, and to provide programs to help kids quit.

The department also provides programs addressing various social challenges kids face. Administrative assistant Irma Davila runs a “Girls Circle” program to help young women build confidence through group discussion, while Zimmerman leads a corresponding program for boys. These efforts focus on positive social interactions and building a healthy self-image.

“Girls Circle is designed to help teach the girls how to interact with each other,” Mears said. “Just the pressures of being a girl in school age, and you know, an age where girls sometimes pick on each other, or there’s just high pressures to be a certain way. That program definitely helps them with that and teaches them how to positively react in those situations.”

Mears added that, once a year, Zimmerman takes a group of junior-high-age boys on a camping trip, designed to help them learn how to interact with each other in positive ways as they camp, fish, hike and participate in other outdoor activities.

The impact of these combined efforts is widespread, touching nearly every kid in the county. From the nearly 100 dancers preparing for their April 17 recital to the students attending back-to-school and graduation events, and all the activities and programs in between, the JPO has become a central hub of local life.

“At the end of the day, we’re helping these kids find something healthy and productive,” Davila said.

Zimmerman, who has served as the Juvenile Probation Officer for 18 years, and Davila, who has been with the office for nearly 10, are the only paid staff members. Both volunteer their personal time beyond their official duties, joined by a slew of local volunteers who instruct dance, run sports camps and lead workshops. The office also maintains strong partnerships with outside organizations, such as the PACE Coalition in Elko, which funds after-school tutoring.

The data support Eureka County’s proactive investment. Research shows that quality mentoring leads to significantly better outcomes; the Annie E. Casey Foundation reports that 74% of mentored youth credit their mentors for their later success, while 58% say mentorship supported their mental health. Furthermore, a study by Alcohol Research Documentation found that involvement in extracurriculars — like sports, music and drama—lowered the risk of opioid misuse by 36% among justice-involved adolescents.

“One of the things in all the research…is that if there is a positive adult figure in that kid’s life that’s not their parent, they actually end up doing way better,” Zimmerman said.

The approach could serve as a template for other rural communities. While youth activities are often fragmented across various organizations, Zimmerman’s office has successfully centralized them while maintaining strong working relationships with the school district and 4-H. County commissioners recognized this value decades ago and continue to allocate the resources necessary to keep the momentum going.

The department manages a small case load and remains ready to help those who have made mistakes. Zimmerman notes the stark contrast in costs: rehabilitating a single youth can require as much as $25,000. That same amount of money can fund the department’s prevention activities for 100 kids for years.

While many youth in the U.S. suffer from social media and screentime overuse, Mears said a lot of Eureka County’s kids have the opposite problem of having little time to unwind. With the amount of activities available and many local youth characterized as “high achievers” who want to excel at everything, Mears noted that burnout is a real possibility. She added that this presents another growth opportunity for youth to prioritize what’s most important and choose the activities that are the right fit for them in the moment, rather than trying to do everything.

She added that the leaders try hard to schedule activities in a way that complements rather than detracts from other programs and activities in the county. She said Davila “does a very good job” of scheduling activities that fit the community’s needs.