Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists
SOC: 21-1092.00

Description:

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.

National Salary Information:

Hourly Statistics:

Annual Statistics:

Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2015 wage data.

Employment Projections:

Employment (2014):
91,700 employed

Projected (2024):
95,000 employed

Projected growth (2014-2024)


Source: Bureau of Labor Statistics 2015 2014-2024 employment projections external site. "Projected growth" represents the estimated change in total employment over the projections period (2014-2024). "Projected job openings" represent openings due to growth and replacement.

Alternate Titles:

  • Adult Parole Officer
  • Adult Probation Officer
  • Attendance Officer
  • Certified Juvenile Probation Officer
  • Chief Juvenile Probation Officer (CJPO)
  • Classification Case Manager
  • Classification Officer
  • Correctional Case Manager
  • Correctional Casework Specialist
  • Correctional Counselor
  • Correctional Officer
  • Correctional Probation Officer
  • Court Worker
  • Crime Prevention Worker
  • Deputy Juvenile Officer
  • Deputy Probation Officer (DPO)
  • Detention Attendant
  • Detention Officer
  • Detention Worker
  • Drill Instructor
  • Family Preservation Officer
  • Juvenile Correctional Officer
  • Juvenile Detention Officer
  • Juvenile Probation Officer
  • Offender Employment Specialist (OES)
  • Offender Job Retention Specialist
  • Offender Workforce Development Specialist (OWDS)
  • Parole Agent
  • Parole Officer
  • Parole Supervisor
  • Pre-Parole Counseling Aide
  • Prisoner Classification Interviewer
  • Probation and Parole Officer
  • Probation and Patrol Agent
  • Probation Counselor
  • Probation Officer
  • Probation Worker
  • Truant Officer
  • Youth Probation Officer

    • Job Zone Four: Considerable Preparation Needed

    Experience:

    A considerable amount of work-related skill, knowledge, or experience is needed for these occupations. For example, an accountant must complete four years of college and work for several years in accounting to be considered qualified.

    Education:

    Most of these occupations require a four-year bachelor's degree, but some do not.

    Job Training:

    Employees in these occupations usually need several years of work-related experience, on-the-job training, and/or vocational training.

    Required Skills:

  • Reading Comprehension
  • Active Listening
  • Writing
  • Speaking
  • Mathematics
  • Science
  • Critical Thinking
  • Active Learning
  • Learning Strategies
  • Monitoring
  • Social Perceptiveness
  • Coordination
  • Persuasion
  • Negotiation
  • Instructing
  • Service Orientation
  • Complex Problem Solving
  • Operations Analysis
  • Technology Design
  • Programming
  • Operation Monitoring
  • Operation and Control
  • Quality Control Analysis
  • Judgment and Decision Making
  • Systems Analysis
  • Systems Evaluation
  • Time Management
  • Management of Personnel Resources

    • Knowledge Used:

  • Administration and Management
  • Clerical
  • Economics and Accounting
  • Sales and Marketing
  • Customer and Personal Service
  • Personnel and Human Resources
  • Production and Processing
  • Computers and Electronics
  • Engineering and Technology
  • Mathematics
  • Chemistry
  • Psychology
  • Sociology and Anthropology
  • Geography
  • Medicine and Dentistry
  • Therapy and Counseling
  • Education and Training
  • English Language
  • Foreign Language
  • History and Archeology
  • Philosophy and Theology
  • Public Safety and Security
  • Law and Government
  • Telecommunications
  • Communications and Media
  • Transportation

    • Tasks:

  • Prepare and maintain case folder for each assigned inmate or offender.
  • Write reports describing offenders' progress.
  • Inform offenders or inmates of requirements of conditional release, such as office visits, restitution payments, or educational and employment stipulations.
  • Discuss with offenders how such issues as drug and alcohol abuse and anger management problems might have played roles in their criminal behavior.
  • Gather information about offenders' backgrounds by talking to offenders, their families and friends, and other people who have relevant information.
  • Develop rehabilitation programs for assigned offenders or inmates, establishing rules of conduct, goals, and objectives.
  • 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.
  • Arrange for medical, mental health, or substance abuse treatment services according to individual needs or court orders.
  • Provide offenders or inmates with assistance in matters concerning detainers, sentences in other jurisdictions, writs, and applications for social assistance.
  • Arrange for postrelease services, such as employment, housing, counseling, education, and social activities.
  • Recommend remedial action or initiate court action in response to noncompliance with terms of probation or parole.
  • Interview probationers and parolees regularly to evaluate their progress in accomplishing goals and maintaining the terms specified in their probation contracts and rehabilitation plans.
  • Assess the suitability of penitentiary inmates for release under parole and statutory release programs and submit recommendations to parole boards.
  • Investigate alleged parole violations, using interviews, surveillance, and search and seizure.
  • Conduct prehearing and presentencing investigations and testify in court regarding offenders' backgrounds and recommended sentences and sentencing conditions.
  • Recommend appropriate penitentiary for initial placement of an offender.
  • Participate in decisions about whether cases should go before courts and which court should hear them.
  • Identify and approve work placements for offenders with community service sentences.
  • Develop and prepare packets containing information about social service agencies, assistance organizations, and programs that might be useful for inmates or offenders.
  • Administer drug and alcohol tests, including random drug screens of offenders, to verify compliance with substance abuse treatment programs.
  • 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.

    • Tools & Technology:

  • Breathalyzers
  • Desktop computers
  • Dictating equipment
  • Drug testing kits
  • Electronic tracking devices
  • Laptop computers
  • Laser facsimile machines
  • Law enforcement handguns
  • Metal handcuffs
  • Mobile radios
  • Multiline telephone systems
  • Passenger cars
  • Personal computers
  • Photocopying equipment
  • Plastic handcuffs
  • Protective body armor
  • Side-handle batons
  • Tablet computers
  • Upper body restraints
  • Urine testing kits
  • Videoconferencing equipment
  • Appointment scheduling software
  • Case management software
  • Corel WordPerfect Office Suite
  • Court records databases
  • Electronic tracking device software
  • Email software
  • Microsoft Access
  • Microsoft Excel
  • Microsoft Office software
  • Microsoft Outlook
  • Microsoft PowerPoint
  • Microsoft Word
  • Speech recognition software
  • Tyler Technologies Odyssey Case Manager
  • Web browser software

    • community and social service

    industry stats

    SOC: 21-0000

    Total Employed: 1,972,140

    Average Annual Salary: $46,160