THE COUNTY BUDGET CRISIS : A Test of Character : Probation Officer Is Among Those Facing Demotions, Layoffs

Eric Ufondu is something of a urine expert. He can tell by its color whether it has been diluted with a chemical or tampered with to mask traces of illegal drugs.

As a Los Angeles County probation officer, Ufondu takes urine samples from thousands of convicted felons each year to make sure probationers are not using drugs--a big concern because many have to steal to buy them.

On Monday, Ufondu was notified he may have failed a test of a different sort. He is among more than 1,600 Probation Department employees to receive layoff or demotion notices--part of a mandate by the county Board of Supervisors to the department to trim its budget by 24%. Save any last-minute action by the state or county to restore funding, the cuts will take effect Aug. 1.

Ufondu, a nine-year employee who climbed to the rank of deputy probation officer in the Van Nuys office, received a demotion notice that would put him in a job paying $600 less per month. “I guess I’m going to have to depend on my wife’s pay,” he said.

But the reductions will affect more than Probation Department workers and their clients, officials say. Facing cuts of nearly $50 million, Probation Officer Barry J. Nidorf warned that “public safety will be damaged irreparably” as a result of his department’s layoffs.

The proposed cuts--which would lay off 785 employees and demote 842 others--will mean some officers will be responsible for as many as 5,000 men and women on probation.

“You will end up with more gang homicides, more crime on the streets,” Nidorf said.

The department’s longtime union chief, Richard Shumsky, has threatened to quit if the cuts are made.

Department officials predict the cuts could also:

* Double the workload for juvenile investigation officers.

* Eliminate detailed pre-sentencing reports to judges--which list personal and criminal history--in favor of a two-page checklist.

* Close five probation camps that now house 500 juvenile offenders. The youths would either be released or sent to the much harsher California Youth Authority.

In its defense, the department claims it left a $14.8-million surplus from the last fiscal year, which ended June 30.

But county officials say the savings by the Probation Department will stave off even deeper cuts.

Probation worker Ufondu says cuts mean there will be fewer checks on high-risk criminal offenders.

Ufondu now supervises those convicted of crimes that include child molestation, domestic abuse and drunk driving. All have had drug problems, some with multiple drug habits.

“Look at this guy: cocaine, morphine, marijuana, methamphetamine,” Ufondu said. “If I wasn’t here, if someone wasn’t watching him, he would be out there victimizing people. Now, he might go to state prison.”

Each of Ufondu’s clients is required to call in every day and must take a drug test once a week. Ufondu also visits each client on a weekly basis, sometimes showing up in the early morning or late at night to catch them off guard, he said.

Some of his clients try to cheat on their urine tests. “They come in here, and they’re completely wired with tubes filled with someone else’s urine,” he said.

Instead of busting them, Ufondu said he prefers to send them to drug treatment centers.

Matthew, 41, a cocaine user for 22 years who was recently released after six months in a residential drug treatment center, was one of Ufondu’s clients Monday. Over the past two years, Matthew has been in jail half a dozen times, first for beating his wife and later for probation violations. Last year, Ufondu had a judge issue an arrest warrant after he missed an appointment.

During this appointment, Matthew told Ufondu he needs “a grant” to get back on his feet. And when he was refused, he admitted thinking about selling drugs to earn money.

“It is a temptation,” Matthew said.

Later, Ufondu said the man is only one example of the thousands in Los Angeles County who require close watch--even with the county’s budget troubles.

“Its not a question about being tough,” he said. “It’s a question of looking after the community. And if it means locking him up, I’ll do it, whether I’m going to be laid off next week or not.”