The Los Angeles County Probation Department has survived budget crises and staff reductions by designing and implementing a survival strategy that included: (1) addressing the credibility of the department and placing its work clearly in the criminal justice system, not social work; (2) establishing probation as a logical and effective alternative to backlogged courts and overcrowded jails; (3) developing new prevention-oriented services and restructuring the department to be more responsive to community expectations, justice system needs and county-wide administrative goals; (4) restructuring the department to enable it to change rapidly in response to changing circumstances, eliminating several levels of management and leading to increased reliance on employee empowerment and innovation; and (5) aggressively pursuing out-of-county revenues to offset money needed to pay departmental costs from the county's general fund. Note