The El Paso County Probation Office is located in the Judicial Court’s Fourth District, headquartered in Colorado Springs. Here one will find dedicated probation officers who work each day with juvenile delinquents in a process to help them learn how to become responsible and admit their wrongdoings while at the same time providing them with the tools for rehabilitation and positive growth. After completing a discerning application process and extensive training program, juvenile probation officers work with young offenders in a variety of traditional and non-traditional ways.
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One such non-traditional program is called Restorative Justice, and a recent piece of legislation gave juvenile court judges an option of imposing this instead of a detention facility sentence. Through the Restorative Justice program, juvenile probation officers worked with the young offender to organize public lectures and educational seminars where young offenders described their crimes and how it affected the local community, how it made the young offender feel, and the resulting healing process.
Meeting the Education Requirement for the Job
Job candidates need to have more than just an extensive training regimen to become juvenile probation officers in El Paso County; they need to come from a background with the right education. The State of Colorado has recognized this and therefore requires that candidates have at least a bachelor’s degree from an accredited four-year institution. Furthermore, it is advised that candidates obtaib their degree in one of the following fields:
- Psychology
- Criminal Justice
- Sociology
- Social Work
Application and Training
Applications are accepted when there is a vacancy for juvenile probation officer jobs in El Paso County. Vacancy notifications are posted on the Colorado Judicial Department’s jobs website and depending on the announcement, candidates can either apply online through the advertisement or submit a paper application as directed in the job announcement. Jobs are posted as Probation Officer, and after completing the training process officers can choose to work in the juvenile division.
After making a successful application and being hired, juvenile probation officers will begin their new careers with training. This starts with a Basic Safety Course, and is followed by the New Employee Training. Within their first year new officers will need to complete a 75-hour Probation Academy that will provide an overview of the juvenile justice and court system. This includes instruction in:
- Juvenile probation philosophy and history
- Jurisdiction, legal procedures, and making presentations to the court
- Interview techniques, juvenile risk assessments, and community resource referral
- Supervision and surveillance methods
- Rights of the offender and society
Juvenile probation officers will need to complete a second, third, and fourth Probation Academy for each successive year of employment, along with an annual 40 hours of continuing training after their first year on the job.
El Paso County’s Fourth Judicial District also includes Teller County, and in addition to providing juvenile probation services to Colorado Springs, officers working in this jurisdiction provide their expertise to the entire area of the two counties, including the cities of Fountain and Woodland Park.