Probation services within Nashville and Davidson County are provided through the Davidson Region, one of 12 regional offices of the Tennessee Department of Children’s Services (DCS), Division of Juvenile Justice.
As of June 2012, there were 294 juveniles under the care of DCS in the Davidson Region, 57 of who were under probation supervision.
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Minimum Qualifications for Employment
Degrees – Individuals interested in juvenile probation officer jobs in Nashville or other parts of Davidson County must earn a bachelor’s degree, with at least 60 semester hours (or 90 quarter hours) in criminal justice or social services.
Previous Experience – In addition, candidates must also possess at least one year of experience working in child welfare through social, correctional, or psychological counseling/case management, juvenile classification coordination, or volunteer services coordination in a children’s service program.
General Qualifiers – All juvenile probation officers in Nashville must undergo a criminal history investigation and possess a valid driver’s license before being hired through the DCS.
Training – All new recruits in Nashville and the rest of Davidson County must complete 40 hours of training to learn how to become effective juvenile probation officers upon being hired by the Department. Further, all juvenile probation officer jobs require, at a minimum, 40 hours of annual, in-service training.
Tennessee Department of Children’s Services, Division of Juvenile Justice
The Division of Juvenile Justice serves juveniles who have been referred by the state’s juvenile courts due to delinquent offenses. The Division provides a number of services to the juveniles in Tennessee, including probation services, custodial care, community-based placement, and secure facility care. Further, it funds juvenile courts and community programs.
As of June 2012, there were 4,303 staff members within the DCS. Juvenile probation officers (also called case managers or family service workers) are assigned to the juvenile justice division. There are about 3,000 juveniles supervised in aftercare/probation in Tennessee at any given time.