juvenile probation officer
...olling detention facilities. The probation services are appointed by the local juvenile court or the State administrative office of courts in twenty-three states and the District of Colombia. In the other fourteen states the probation services are administered by the juvenile courts and State executive systems. In a typical probation office the chief officer sets policies, supervises hiring, determines training needs, and also sometimes may set sentencing with the judge. In some state controlled departments the chief probation officer duties are set by the central office. The age difference can sometimes have a big difference with juveniles. More than twenty-five percent of juvenile delinquency is between the ages of ten and sixteen. Fourteen percent of the population is aged above sixteen. While the sixteen year olds tend to have a smaller percentage the exclusion of them from the juvenile system can and will have dramatic effect on a need for more juvenile staff. Sanchez 4 There are several problems in which juvenile probation officers face. Many of these stem from lack of resources, not enough staff, and too many cases.(Bilchick, p.1) They choose this line of work in order to help kids, but their greatest source of frustration comes from the inability to impact the lives of the youth, the attitudes of probationer, their families and difficulties in identifying successes (Bilchick, pg. 3). There is two different ways that probation can be used. “They are front end, which is usually used for first time juvenile offenders and back end as an alternative to institutional confinement for more serious offenders.”(Bilchick, pg. 4). There are many cases in which probation is voluntary, which the juvenile agrees to fulfill with a period of informal probation instead of formal adjudication. Once adjudicated and formally ordered to a certain amount of probation, the juvenile must abide to the probation conditions established by the court. The main duties and responsibilities of juvenile probation officers are; investigation, intake, diagnosis, and treatment supervision. The investigation stage is used in order to discover the information for the original sentence. If a offender is going to be placed on probation the officer must obtain enough information about the case. The second task of the probation officer is to interview the cases that have been there for the initial court appearance, this is called intake. During this period of time the juvenile and the complainant try to resolve the case. There are several different way in which the probation officer will try and settle the case. “The Probation officer may try to settle the case without further court action, recommended restitution or other compensation, initiate action that Sanchez 5 result in court hearing, or recommended unofficial or informal probation.”(Senna, J. Joseph, p.448) The third duty is Diagnosis. In this the probation officer takes an analysis of the defendants personality in order to know what would be helpful for this offender. This is just used in order to make sure they know enough about the offender in order to establish future treatment and counseling. After the diagnosis of the offender, the probation officers then plan a program which they believe will be most helpful and affective to the juvenile to fulfill their probation period. The officer meets with each youth individually at least once a week to discuss behavior, school, family or drug and alcohol problems. They also discuss progress on attitudes concerning self-image, family, authority, social skills, money management, and problem-solving skills. The biggest thing the probation officer focuses on is goal setting. They use many different techniques to confront, guide, and support youth. In these sessions there are special services that are often offered during this time. Some of them might include things such as project turnaround, parent support group program, drug-alcohol awareness group, and family therapy. Project Turnaround is a program that is designated to provide youth...