A former Palmerton woman who admitted stealing from an elderly woman she was caring for was placed on probation Thursday in Carbon County court.

Paula T. Kuntzman, 47, of New Haven, New York, had previously pleaded guilty to one count of theft, as a felony 3, admitting she took the AMT and debit cards ofa woman she was caring for, and used them to take $7,328.37.Judge Joseph J. Matika placed Kuntzman on probation for three years and ordered her to repay the money she took. Kuntzman was previously placed in the county's Accelerated Rehabilitation Disposition probation program but was revoked for not making payments on the restitution and court costs.Kuntzman told Matika, "I used very bad judgment, which was out of character for me."She said she was dealing with family issues at the time.Kuntzman was caring for the victim for about two and a half years at the time, state police at Lehighton said.In addition to the probation period, Matika ordered Kuntzman to render 100 hours of community service, supply a DNA sample, have no contact withthe victim, make restitution of $7,328.37, pay court costs of about $1,000 and pay a $50 per month supervision fee while on probation. The payments will be deducted automatically from her pay check from her employer in New York. She made a $500 payment Thursday.