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Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists

It's a bright outlook for

This career will grow rapidly in the next few years.

Learn more about 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.

Related: Child, Family, & School Social Workers Correctional Officers & Jailers First-Line Supervisors of Correctional Officers Mental Health & Substance Abuse Social Workers Rehabilitation Counselors

Industries: Government

Summary
Details

Develop rehabilitation programs for assigned offenders or inmates, establishing rules of conduct, goals, and objectives.
Inform offenders or inmates of requirements of conditional release, such as office visits, restitution payments, or educational and employment stipulations.
Conduct prehearing and presentencing investigations and testify in court regarding offenders' backgrounds and recommended sentences and sentencing conditions.
Identify and approve work placements for offenders with community service sentences.
Arrange for postrelease services, such as employment, housing, counseling, education, and social activities.
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.
Prepare and maintain case folder for each assigned inmate or offender.
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.
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.
Gather information about offenders' backgrounds by talking to offenders, their families and friends, and other people who have relevant information.
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.
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.
Assess the suitability of penitentiary inmates for release under parole and statutory release programs and submit recommendations to parole boards.
Provide offenders or inmates with assistance in matters concerning detainers, sentences in other jurisdictions, writs, and applications for social assistance.
Assess the suitability of penitentiary inmates for release under parole and statutory release programs and submit recommendations to parole boards.
Recommend appropriate penitentiary for initial placement of an offender.
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.
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.

Technology Design
- Making equipment and technology useful for customers.
Active Listening
- Listening to others, not interrupting, and asking good questions.
Service Orientation
- Looking for ways to help people.
Negotiation
- Bringing people together to solve differences.
Installation
- Installing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs.
Management of Personnel Resources
- Selecting and managing the best workers for a job.
Monitoring
- Keeping track of how well people and/or groups are doing in order to make improvements.
Operation and Control
- Using equipment or systems.
Speaking
- Talking to others.
Operations Analysis
- Figuring out what a product or service needs to be able to do.
Reading Comprehension
- Reading work-related information.
Active Learning
- Figuring out how to use new ideas or things.
Instructing
- Teaching people how to do something.
Persuasion
- Talking people into changing their minds or their behavior.
Repairing
- Repairing machines or systems using the right tools.
Management of Material Resources
- Managing equipment and materials.
Social Perceptiveness
- Understanding people's reactions.
Equipment Maintenance
- Planning and doing the basic maintenance on equipment.
Systems Analysis
- Figuring out how a system should work and how changes in the future will affect it.
Equipment Selection
- Deciding what kind of tools and equipment are needed to do a job.
Writing
- Writing things for co-workers or customers.
Complex Problem Solving
- Noticing a problem and figuring out the best way to solve it.
Mathematics
- Using math to solve problems.
Critical Thinking
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different ways to solve a problem.
Troubleshooting
- Figuring out what is causing equipment, machines, wiring, or computer programs to not work.
Operations Monitoring
- Watching gauges, dials, or display screens to make sure a machine is working.
Judgment and Decision Making
- Thinking about the pros and cons of different options and picking the best one.
Programming
- Writing computer programs.
Science
- Using scientific rules and strategies to solve problems.
Coordination
- Changing what is done based on other people's actions.
Management of Financial Resources
- Making spending decisions and keeping track of what is spent.
Time Management
- Managing your time and the time of other people.
Learning Strategies
- Using the best training or teaching strategies for learning new things.
Quality Control Analysis
- Testing how well a product or service works.
Systems Evaluation
- Measuring how well a system is working and how to improve it.

Written Comprehension
- Reading and understanding what is written.
Deductive Reasoning
- Using rules to solve problems.
Written Expression
- Communicating by writing.
Information Ordering
- Ordering or arranging things.
Stamina
- Exercising for a long time without getting out of breath.
Static Strength
- Lifting, pushing, pulling, or carrying.
Auditory Attention
- Paying attention to one sound while there are other distracting sounds.
Night Vision
- Seeing at night or under low light.
Mathematical Reasoning
- Choosing the right type of math to solve a problem.
Spatial Orientation
- Knowing where things are around you.
Oral Expression
- Communicating by speaking.
Inductive Reasoning
- Making general rules or coming up with answers from lots of detailed information.
Speed of Closure
- Quickly knowing what you are looking at.
Fluency of Ideas
- Coming up with lots of ideas.
Oral Comprehension
- Listening and understanding what people say.
Problem Sensitivity
- Noticing when problems happen.
Explosive Strength
- Jumping, sprinting, or throwing something.
Trunk Strength
- Using your lower back and stomach.
Depth Perception
- Deciding which thing is closer or farther away from you, or deciding how far away it is from you.
Response Orientation
- Quickly deciding if you should move your hand, foot, or other body part.
Arm-Hand Steadiness
- Keeping your arm or hand steady.
Originality
- Creating new and original ideas.
Number Facility
- Adding, subtracting, multiplying, or dividing.
Visualization
- Imagining how something will look after it is moved around or changed.
Selective Attention
- Paying attention to something without being distracted.
Dynamic Strength
- Exercising for a long time without your muscles getting tired.
Gross Body Coordination
- Moving your arms, legs, and mid-section together while your whole body is moving.
Near Vision
- Seeing details up close.
Peripheral Vision
- Seeing something to your side when your are looking ahead.
Extent Flexibility
- Bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Dynamic Flexibility
- Quickly and repeatedly bending, stretching, twisting, or reaching out with your body, arms, and/or legs.
Speech Clarity
- Speaking clearly.
Manual Dexterity
- Holding or moving items with your hands.
Reaction Time
- Quickly moving your hand, finger, or foot based on a sound, light, picture or other command.
Glare Sensitivity
- Seeing something even if there is a glare or very bright light.
Finger Dexterity
- Putting together small parts with your fingers.
Time Sharing
- Doing two or more things at the same time.
Control Precision
- Quickly changing the controls of a machine, car, truck or boat.
Multilimb Coordination
- Using your arms and/or legs together while sitting, standing, or lying down.
Memorization
- Remembering words, numbers, pictures, or steps.
Category Flexibility
- Grouping things in different ways.
Perceptual Speed
- Quickly comparing groups of letters, numbers, pictures, or other things.
Flexibility of Closure
- Seeing hidden patterns.
Wrist-Finger Speed
- Making fast, simple, repeated movements of your fingers, hands, and wrists.
Gross Body Equilibrium
- Keeping your balance or staying upright.
Far Vision
- Seeing details that are far away.
Visual Color Discrimination
- Noticing the difference between colors, including shades and brightness.
Rate Control
- Changing when and how fast you move based on how something else is moving.
Speed of Limb Movement
- Quickly moving your arms and legs.
Hearing Sensitivity
- Telling the difference between sounds.
Sound Localization
- Noticing the direction that a sound came from.
Speech Recognition
- Recognizing spoken words.

Computers and Electronics
- Knowledge of circuit boards, processors, chips, electronic equipment, and computer hardware and software, including applications and programming.
Communications and Media
- Knowledge of media production, communication, and dissemination techniques and methods. This includes alternative ways to inform and entertain via written, oral, and visual media.
Personnel and Human Resources
- Knowledge of principles and procedures for personnel recruitment, selection, training, compensation and benefits, labor relations and negotiation, and personnel information systems.
Medicine and Dentistry
- Knowledge of the information and techniques needed to diagnose and treat human injuries, diseases, and deformities. This includes symptoms, treatment alternatives, drug properties and interactions, and preventive health-care measures.
Engineering and Technology
- Knowledge of the practical application of engineering science and technology. This includes applying principles, techniques, procedures, and equipment to the design and production of various goods and services.
English Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of the English language including the meaning and spelling of words, and rules of composition and grammar.
Fine Arts
- Knowledge of the theory and techniques required to compose, produce, and perform works of music, dance, visual arts, drama, and sculpture.
Transportation
- Knowledge of principles and methods for moving people or goods by air, rail, sea, or road, including the relative costs and benefits.
Telecommunications
- Knowledge of transmission, broadcasting, switching, control, and operation of telecommunications systems.
Administrative
- Knowledge of administrative and office procedures and systems such as word processing, managing files and records, stenography and transcription, designing forms, and workplace terminology.
Sales and Marketing
- Knowledge of principles and methods for showing, promoting, and selling products or services. This includes marketing strategy and tactics, product demonstration, sales techniques, and sales control systems.
Administration and Management
- Knowledge of business and management principles involved in strategic planning, resource allocation, human resources modeling, leadership technique, production methods, and coordination of people and resources.
Food Production
- Knowledge of techniques and equipment for planting, growing, and harvesting food products (both plant and animal) for consumption, including storage/handling techniques.
Building and Construction
- Knowledge of materials, methods, and the tools involved in the construction or repair of houses, buildings, or other structures such as highways and roads.
Mechanical
- Knowledge of machines and tools, including their designs, uses, repair, and maintenance.
Mathematics
- Knowledge of arithmetic, algebra, geometry, calculus, statistics, and their applications.
Chemistry
- Knowledge of the chemical composition, structure, and properties of substances and of the chemical processes and transformations that they undergo. This includes uses of chemicals and their interactions, danger signs, production techniques, and disposal methods.
Biology
- Knowledge of plant and animal organisms, their tissues, cells, functions, interdependencies, and interactions with each other and the environment.
Psychology
- Knowledge of human behavior and performance; individual differences in ability, personality, and interests; learning and motivation; psychological research methods; and the assessment and treatment of behavioral and affective disorders.
Education and Training
- Knowledge of principles and methods for curriculum and training design, teaching and instruction for individuals and groups, and the measurement of training effects.
History and Archeology
- Knowledge of historical events and their causes, indicators, and effects on civilizations and cultures.
Sociology and Anthropology
- Knowledge of group behavior and dynamics, societal trends and influences, human migrations, ethnicity, cultures, and their history and origins.
Economics and Accounting
- Knowledge of economic and accounting principles and practices, the financial markets, banking, and the analysis and reporting of financial data.
Design
- Knowledge of design techniques, tools, and principles involved in production of precision technical plans, blueprints, drawings, and models.
Foreign Language
- Knowledge of the structure and content of a foreign (non-English) language including the meaning and spelling of words, rules of composition and grammar, and pronunciation.
Law and Government
- Knowledge of laws, legal codes, court procedures, precedents, government regulations, executive orders, agency rules, and the democratic political process.
Philosophy and Theology
- Knowledge of different philosophical systems and religions. This includes their basic principles, values, ethics, ways of thinking, customs, practices, and their impact on human culture.
Public Safety and Security
- Knowledge of relevant equipment, policies, procedures, and strategies to promote effective local, state, or national security operations for the protection of people, data, property, and institutions.
Physics
- Knowledge and prediction of physical principles, laws, their interrelationships, and applications to understanding fluid, material, and atmospheric dynamics, and mechanical, electrical, atomic and sub-atomic structures and processes.
Customer and Personal Service
- Knowledge of principles and processes for providing customer and personal services. This includes customer needs assessment, meeting quality standards for services, and evaluation of customer satisfaction.
Geography
- Knowledge of principles and methods for describing the features of land, sea, and air masses, including their physical characteristics, locations, interrelationships, and distribution of plant, animal, and human life.
Production and Processing
- Knowledge of raw materials, production processes, quality control, costs, and other techniques for maximizing the effective manufacture and distribution of goods.
Therapy and Counseling
- Knowledge of principles, methods, and procedures for diagnosis, treatment, and rehabilitation of physical and mental dysfunctions, and for career counseling and guidance.

Education

Bachelor's degree

Work Experience

No work experience

Training

1 to 12 months on-the-job training

Education and Training Opportunities

Washington Annual Salary

79800/yr

Washington Hourly Wage

38.36/hr

Currently Employed

2,260

Yearly Projected Openings

200

Social: People interested in this work like activities that include helping people, teaching, and talking. They do well at jobs that need:

Adaptability
Empathy
Stress Tolerance
Self-Control
Social Orientation
Integrity

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Handguns
Laser fax machine
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Notebook computers
Personal computers
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Riot batons
Special purpose telephones
Tablet computers
Torso and belt restraints
Two way radios
Urinalysis analyzers
Videoconferencing systems

Calendar and scheduling software
Customer relationship management CRM software
Data base user interface and query software
Electronic mail software
Internet browser software
Map creation software
Office suite software
Presentation software
Project management software
Spreadsheet software
Voice recognition software
Web page creation and editing software
Word processing software

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Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists

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