Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists

Provide social services to assist in rehabilitation of law offenders in custody or on probation or parole. Make recommendations for actions involving formulation of rehabilitation plan and treatment of offender, including conditional release and education and employment stipulations.

O*NET reports this occupation under titles such as: Adult Probation Officer; Correctional Counselor; Deputy Probation Officer (DPO); Juvenile Probation Officer; Parole Agent; Parole Officer (PO); Probation Agent; Probation and Parole Officer; Probation Counselor; Probation Officer

Tasks

• Prepare and maintain case folder for each assigned inmate or offender.
• Gather information about offenders' backgrounds by talking to offenders, their families and friends, and other people who have relevant information.
• Interview probationers and parolees regularly to evaluate their progress in accomplishing goals and maintaining the terms specified in their probation contracts and rehabilitation plans.
• Discuss with offenders how such issues as drug and alcohol abuse and anger management problems might have played roles in their criminal behavior.
• Supervise people on community-based sentences, such as electronically monitored home detention, and provide field supervision of probationers by conducting curfew checks or visits to home, work, or school.
• Investigate alleged parole violations, using interviews, surveillance, and search and seizure.
• Recommend remedial action or initiate court action in response to noncompliance with terms of probation or parole.
• Arrange for medical, mental health, or substance abuse treatment services according to individual needs or court orders.
• Develop liaisons and networks with other parole officers, community agencies, correctional institutions, psychiatric facilities, and aftercare agencies to plan for helping offenders with life adjustments.
• Administer drug and alcohol tests, including random drug screens of offenders, to verify compliance with substance abuse treatment programs.
• Inform offenders or inmates of requirements of conditional release, such as office visits, restitution payments, or educational and employment stipulations.
• Participate in decisions about whether cases should go before courts and which court should hear them.
• Write reports describing offenders' progress.
• Conduct prehearing and presentencing investigations and testify in court regarding offenders' backgrounds and recommended sentences and sentencing conditions.
• Arrange for postrelease services, such as employment, housing, counseling, education, and social activities.

Knowledge

• Law and Government
• Public Safety and Security
• Psychology
• English Language
• Therapy and Counseling
• Sociology and Anthropology
• Administrative
• Customer and Personal Service
• Computers and Electronics
• Education and Training

Skills

• Active Listening
• Speaking
• Reading Comprehension
• Critical Thinking
• Writing
• Monitoring
• Active Learning

Abilities

• Oral Expression
• Written Comprehension
• Problem Sensitivity
• Deductive Reasoning
• Oral Comprehension
• Inductive Reasoning
• Written Expression
• Speech Recognition
• Speech Clarity
• Near Vision
• Information Ordering
• Category Flexibility
• Selective Attention