Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists
In the Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists occupation, workers provide social services to assist in rehabilitation of law offenders in custody or on probation or parole. O*NET rates it as considerable preparation, which usually means a bachelor’s degree plus a period of work experience. It leans on speaking, social perceptiveness, and active listening. A regular part of the work is to prepare and maintain case folder for each assigned inmate or offender. With a code of SCE, this is mostly a job for people drawn to helping, teaching or caring for people. Conventional interests also help, rated 4.2 out of 7. If you want helping, teaching or caring for people, keep it on your list. If you need creative work with room for original expression, it may feel thin.
What they do
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.
Main 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.
Skills
- Speaking
- Social Perceptiveness
- Active Listening
- Reading Comprehension
- Critical Thinking
- Writing
Who this career fits
May suit you if
- You get energy from helping other people move forward.
- You like clear rules and getting the details right.
- You are ready to spend around four years on a degree, then build experience.
- You are comfortable relying on speaking and social perceptiveness.
May not suit you if
- You find a full day of dealing with people draining.
- You need creative expression to be a big part of your day. Artistic rates 2.2 out of 7 here.
- You want to avoid a four-year degree or its equivalent.
Interest profile
O*NET rates each occupation from 1 to 7 on six interest types. The code SCE takes the three highest, and Social comes first here.
Preparation
Considerable preparation. Most jobs here ask for a bachelor’s degree, and employers usually expect a few years of related experience as well.
Most-reported requirement in the O*NET survey: Bachelor's Degree. This reflects what workers reported most often and is not a legal minimum. Licensing rules can differ by state or industry, so confirm what applies where you plan to work.
Also called
- Adult Probation Officer
- Correctional Counselor
- Deputy Probation Officer (DPO)
- Juvenile Probation Officer
- Parole Agent
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This page includes information from the O*NET 31.0 Database by the U.S. Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration (USDOL/ETA). Used under the CC BY 4.0 license. O*NET® is a trademark of USDOL/ETA.