In Franklin County the supervision of juveniles on probation is conducted by the Juvenile Probation Department of the Franklin County Court of Common Pleas. In 2012, the juvenile court of Franklin County processed 34,157 cases. Of these 7,917 cases were related to delinquency with 3,504 relating to traffic offenses and 3,116 related to neglect, abuse or dependency. Another 5,315 were related to custody, and 5,169 were related to support enforcement. In 2012, almost 2,005 juveniles were sentenced to probation.
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Requirements to Become a Juvenile Probation Officer in Franklin County, Ohio
The juvenile probation officer jobs in Franklin County, Ohio may be found through the Franklin County Department of Human Resources. The minimum requirements for juvenile probation officers are:
- Graduation from a four year university or college with a bachelor’s degree in Education, Social Sciences or a related field
- At least one year of experience in community supervision
- Possession of a valid driver’s license
Candidates with an advanced degree, such as a PhD or Master of Social Work, are likely to experience competitive benefits during the hiring process. In some cases, the work experience requirement may be satisfied by volunteer or internship experience.
Training for Juvenile Probation Officer Jobs
In Ohio, all new juvenile probation officers must complete a minimum of 40 hours of training prior to active duty. This training must be completed in the following categories:
- Juvenile Justice – 5 Training hours
- Probation Officer Basic Practices – 10 Training hours
- Orientation to Evidence Based Practices – 10 Training hours
- Discretionary Topics – 15 Training hours
Actual courses include:
- Ethics
- Family engagement
- Drug testing
- Motivational interviewing
- Mental health orientation
- State resources
After the initial year of service, officers must complete 20 hours of training annually.
Franklin County has one of the Largest Juvenile Probation Departments
There are six units within the Probation Department. In 2012, the Pre-sentence Investigation unit conducted 791 investigations into the criminal and social histories of offenders and produced recommendations for the juvenile courts. The Intensive Probation Supervision, Sex Offender Unit, two General Supervision units and Special Services unit provide the monitoring and supervision of offenders across the spectrum of offenses including drug related, violent, and sexually based. These units initiated over 100,000 contacts with supervisees and made almost 2,000 referrals to community organizations within the past year.
A highly effective program within the juvenile court system is the Teen Court, which is a diversionary program for first time offenders. Only offenders who have face misdemeanor charges are eligible for this program, which puts offenders in a courtroom of peers. These teens offer education, social advice and intervention to help youth offenders alter the arc of their lives. The teen court utilizes prior defendants to later serve as jurors or attorneys in later cases, offering them the opportunity to witness the actions of other delinquents through objective eyes. The use of the teen courts has limited repeat offenses to four percent of all participants.