Lamb County Juvenile Probation Officer Retires

An estimated 70 people attended the Come and Go Retirement Reception held at the Lamb County Family Resource Center on Phelps Ave. in Littlefield, Texas on Thursday, August 24, 2023 for Carrie Barden who is retiring after 40 years of service to the families of Lamb County. The reception was hosted by friends, co-workers, and Lamb County personnel. Special guests for the event included Officers of Lamb County, fellow area Juvenile Probation Officers, along with friends and neighbors wishing her well. Special guests were members of her family; Dawn Williams, Roger Williams, Tammy Underwood, Dan Williams, Jill Barnard, and Vince Barnard. Friends and co-workers provided the food and the decorations for the event.

Carrie Diane Barden was born in Littlefield, Texas in 1961. She was raised in Springlake, Texas and attended schools in the Springlake-Earth Independent School District. She graduated from Springlake-Earth High School in 1979.

She attended South Plains College in Levelland, Texas from the fall of 1979 until her graduation in 1981. When asked if she knew what she wanted to aspire to, she stated that “I always knew that she wanted to work with children.”

She enrolled at Texas Tech University in 1981. Her degree program was naturally in Child Development. One of her educational requirements that perhaps influenced her career decisions was the Practicum-Requirement in which she found herself receiving actual experience and fit right in with her focus with kids at the Lubbock Juvenile Detention facility. She graduated with a Bachelor’s of Science in Child Development in 1983.

Following her graduation from Texas Tech, the Justice of the Peace in Earth at the time told her that there was an opening coming up at the Lamb County Juvenile Probation Department. She was hired and worked with Lori Bellows from 1983 until Bellows left in 1984. At that time Carrie became the Chief Juvenile Probation Officer for Lamb County and she remained so until her retirement. She also served Lamb County as an Adult Probation Officer parttime from 1992-1995. She was the only probation officer when Ms. Bellows left until 1997.

Lamb County Judge James DeLoach offered a few words commending Ms. Barden’s exemplary work in the Probation Office. He noted especially her devotion and innovations which greatly advanced the mission of the Lamb County Juvenile Probation Office.

Terri Hanna the Administrative Assistant for the Lamb County Courthouse, spoke at the retirement party on a more personal note and recalled Carrie as a young, shy, girl right out of college. When Lori Bellows left, Terri and Carrie began their journey as co-workers setting up and running the Probation Department. She remembers knowing it was time to go to work when she heard Carrie’s high heels on the courthouse stairs. Carrie always wore heels to work then. The two of them became lifelong friends. Terri shared that Carrie would often come by and tell her let’s go to lunch at Asian Cuisine. Those lunches also involved Vanilla Newton soft drinks afterwards.

Carrie has worked with many programs and organizations during her career to further the betterment of the youth and families in the Lamb County communities.

Those include: the Littlefield Explorer Post, she helped develop Safety Fairs in Lamb County, Assisted in developing the 4-H Action for Kids to help at-risk youth and families in 4-H; served on the board of Lamb County Vocational Training Center through the Lubbock State School, member of CRCG, served on committees for the Texas Community Future Forum with Texas Agri-Life Extension Office, organized Global Youth Service Day, participated in the City Wide Cleanup day, member of WTC, PAJPO(Plains Association of Probation Officers), JJAT( Juvenile Justice Association of Texas), Lamb County Family Council Services through the Lamb County Agri-Life Extension Service, board member of RCI Steward Group (Rural Children’s Initiative with the Central Plains MHMR area, board member of Our Place, non-profit organization that was established in 2003 to develop programs to engage youth in positive recreational activities, (boxing was one of the programs established), board member of LEAF (Llano Estacado Alliance for Families), past president and vice-president, she was a member of West Texas Chief’s Association serving as President for one year and a member of a local gang task force, she was a member of the Texas Integrated Families Initiative in which Lamb County was the lead agency overseeing the finances, and assisted in developing the Standing Together Allowing no Drugs (STAND) program which was a prevention program originating from a grant from TJPC. The funding ceased, but the grant continued for approximately eighteen years and established local programs such as parent groups, drug education, and anger management, “Why Try”, youth AA, and Boot camp. She served on the Texas Juvenile Justice Department Advisory Council from March of 2013 until March of 2017.

These programs are housed in what was once the Lamb County Library on Phelps Avenue. Carrie was instrumental in obtaining and converting the building to what is now the Family Resource Center. Carrie devoted her time and energy to create a system of care and partnership with other agencies to meet the needs of troubled and at risk youth and families. She stated that she “loved the families she worked with” and apparently she believed that there was always something more she could do to help the troubled youth and families that crossed her path.

Her efforts and devotion did not go unnoticed.

Carrie received the Women of Distinction Award through the Girl Scouts Texas Oklahoma Plains Council in October of 2008; JJAT awarded her for Outstanding Achievement in the Probation Field; and She served as President of the Panhandle Association of Juvenile Probation Officers (PAJPO) from 2020 until 2022.