Wheeling is part of West Virginia’s 1st Judicial District, which had a total of 314 juvenile probation cases in 2009. The 1st Judicial District also includes Brooke and Hancock Counties.
As of 2009, there were 5,693 new juvenile probation cases in West Virginia, with 3,058 juvenile delinquency cases reported and 1,838 status offense juvenile cases reported. During the same year, 1,400 juvenile delinquency cases were formally disposed.
Sponsored School(s)
How to Become a Juvenile Probation Officer in Wheeling
Individuals interested in becoming juvenile probation officers in Wheeling must possess a valid driver’s license and a bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university in one of the following fields:
- Business administration
- Business management
- Corrections
- Criminal justice
- Organizational behavior/management
- Political science
- Psychology
- Public administration
- Social work
- Sociology
All candidates for probation officer jobs in Wheeling must take and pass a written test. Only those candidates who meet the minimum employment qualifications are eligible to take the exam.
Training requirements for probation officers include pre-service training, annual, in-service training, and annual firearms training if the Commissioner of West Virginia, Division of Corrections, grants the right to carry firearms.
West Virginia Division of Probation Services
The West Virginia Division of Probation Services (under the Supreme Court of Appeals) provides services to circuit courts. Probation officers work with community agencies, such as schools, day report centers, local community health centers, and community service work providers, as well as other state agencies, to provide services to the state’s more than 14,000 adult and juvenile offenders. Further, the Division and its probation officers are responsible for providing services to the juvenile drug courts in West Virginia which, as of 2010, included four drug courts in the counties of Cabell, Logan, Wayne, and Mercer. Six new programs were implemented in 2011 in the counties of Monongalia, Randolph, Brooke/Hancock, Boone/Lincoln, Putnam, and Wood.
Juvenile probation officer jobs in Wheeling may include: conducting investigations, preparing pre-disposition reports, recommending dispositions; monitoring offenders; and conducting drug screenings.