January 28, 2002 

Henderson
3053 SW Coast Ave
Lincoln City, OR 97367

Department of Youth Services
107 N. River Street
Suite C
Enterprise, OR 97828

Attn: John Lawrence  

Today, Philip had an interview with a US Army recruiter.  

Two problems- no GED and the existence of juvenile charges. Philip is summarily disqualified from any of the other military branches. 

The GED we are working on. Philip had been taking GED classes here at the Oregon Coast Community College. He took a “pre-test” and scored 229 out of 235. So it appears that he may be able to take the test and pass. 

However, the records expunction appears to be a problem. I have tried to research the #1 issue, which is the “At least five years have elapsed…” This appears to be a REAL PROBLEM. 

If this is not a problem, where do I find the “Proper Format” to make application? 

In my research I found http://www.co.yamhill.or.us/juvenile/expunged.htm the statement “In addition, the juvenile court may order expunction of all or any part of the person's record if it finds that to do so would be in the best interest of the person and the public. If the Juvenile Department begins an expungement proceeding, the person whose record is affected will, if possible, be notified of the expungement proceeding.” 

So apparently you could start the expungement from there. I also noticed that the County Juvenile has to be the originator of the expungement anyway. 

Philip has been generally functioning acceptably here at “home”. But an 18 year-old with no GED, no job skills and little prospect of getting a job is NOT A GOOD THING. The State of Oregon has consistently “dropped the ball” with this kid. 

Philip agrees that he needs to be someplace like the Army to learn how to “be a man” and be presented with some real “challenges” and OPPORTUNITIES. 

Are we going to be able to “clear the path” so Philip can go to probably the best (and possibly ONLY) place he could have a chance at a future?  

Sincerely,