Parent education program . The sessions, which are held Tuesday evenings, use volunteers and staff from Impact, Inc., to try to impress upon parents that a gun offense is a serious matter, but that it is an opportunity for them and their children to address the underlying problems that led to the offense. The Gun Court is in the midst of its 24th PEP cycle. Court data from 1995 indicate an 87-percent completion rate for PEP participants. After release from the HIT program at Autauga, all youth are placed on maximum supervision probation, which may last from 30 days to 6 months.
Limited resources affect the length of time a youth remains under maximum supervision.
During the initial period of probation, youth are under house arrest except for school attendance or work. During probation, youth must complete the Alabama Substance Abuse Program, a prevention-based program. Probation officers team up with law enforcement officials to make home visits through the ONCE program. ONCE targets juveniles age 17 and younger, making visits on 2 randomly selected nights per week, at random times during the night. All probation officers are trained by police before they take part in ONCE visits and are required to wear bulletproof vests.