Kevin Allen leaving
After 18 years, he's moving on
By Stacey Creasy
PLYMOUTH � After 18 years as an officer of the court, Kevin Allen is joining the private sector.
The Marshall County Commissioners learned Monday Allen is leaving the Marshall County Probation Department.
Allen confirmed the news during a telephone interview with The Pilot News.
"I am leaving," Allen said. "My last day will be Sept. 27."
The move will be a tough blow for the probation department. Allen is not only the chief probation officer, he has been credited with implementing a number of the programs within the department.
The decision was not an easy one for Allen.
"I was not planning to leave," Allen added. "I heard about this position and threw my hat in. They had to make me a good offer to consider it because I love my job. They made me a good offer. I am the chief probation officer here, there's no place to go. This new job has room for advancement."
Allen will be the Indiana Marketing Representative for Sequel, Inc., an Iowa-based company that has two facilities for juvenile offenders in Iowa.
Allen will be trying to convince counties and communities to use the Sequel facilities in Iowa as a place to send their troubled youth.
"That's one of the really good things," Allen explained. "We will be staying here. The entire state will be my market area."
Allen joined the probation department in 1984 as a juvenile officer. He continues to work with juvenile offenders, but has seen a large number of changes over the years.
"When I started here we had 40 juveniles and I had the entire caseload,"
Allen added. "Now I have more than 200 juveniles. When I first started there were maybe 10 facilities for juveniles in the whole state. When we would have someone that needed to be placed, I would call each one of them looking for a bed."
In 1989, a new law was passed that prohibited underage offenders from being locked up with adults in custody. Allen agreed with the law, but noted if he could not find a facility for a youth, he would forced to let them go.
That was then, this is now. The juvenile crime business has exploded over the past 10 to 12 years. Counties everywhere worked hard to keep up with the problems and the rehabilitation treatment for youths.
"I am proud of the programs we have here," Allen said. "We have fewer kids in placement than we did a few years ago. We also have places like the Porter County Detention Center that will take a juvenile that must be incarcerated."
Allen is quick to give the credit for any success to the people he works
with in the system.
"We are lucky to have had the four judges we've worked with (Dean Colvin, Michael Cook, Robert Bowen and Eugene Chipman Sr., retired) to have the programs we have," Allen stated. "I have had a great group of people to work with in the department. That has made everything possible."
However, no matter who receives credit for areas within the department, when there is a new program or a new method to help rehab kids, Allen is always front and center, working to bring that program here.
As he stated, he loves his job.
Allen said the next chapter will simply be written elsewhere.
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