The Role Of A Juvenile Probation Officer

The field of Social Work that interests me is in the Criminal Justice Field, more specifically Juvenile Probation. Ever since I was a young child, everything about law enforcement and the criminal justice system has been a fascination of mine. By completing countless hours of volunteer work throughout my high school career, I’ve come to love working with the youth and being a mentor figure. Being able to play an active role in the lives of those children, and seeing a change in them, has helped shape me into the person I am today and was very rewarding. By taking on the job as a juvenile probation officer, I would be given the opportunity to live out both of my passions each and every day. Even though there are hardships that come along with

With the large expenses that come along with incarcerating delinquents, probation has become the oldest and most well-known alternative to incarceration among the juvenile population (NeMoyer et al, 2014). Juvenile probation officers provide a valuable service to communities by monitoring young probationers, offering advice and resources to offenders and their families, and alleviating the burden on crowded juvenile detention facilities (Probation Officer, 2015). While the main goal of a probation officer is to ensure that their clients do not partake in any more prohibited activities, the real effort of this profession is to encourage juveniles to lead productive and enjoyable lives. Juvenile probation officers use their skills as counselors as well as community resources to make positive changes in their client’s lives. With this said, a juvenile probation officer’s job is never dull. Each day comes with its own challenges, workload, and officers conducting various roles in their offender’s cases. Even though probation officers wear many titles, all of their responsibilities can be condensed into three categories: case work, resources brokerage, and law enforcement (Shearer,

Secondly, with communication being a large part of the probation process, a language barrier among the officers and offenders can lead to important protocols or information not being directly communicated between the two. Lastly, as many of the juveniles committing the crimes and placed on probation, many offenders can find themselves not having transportation that is needed to attend their program/counseling sessions and/or court ordered meetings. Although the socioeconomic status of the offenders can vary, a majority of the juveniles are coming from low income economic status families who are living in "overcrowded homes"(Dwivedi, 2006).

To become a probation officer, it is highly recommended that individuals acquire at least a bachelor’s degree from an accredited university. Some agencies, depending on where you apply, require specialized studies at the post-graduate level. The most common and competitive majors for entering the probation field is Social work, Psychology, Criminal Justice and Law. Also individuals who are licensed social workers or substance abuse counselors can enjoy an advantage during the competitive hiring process (Probation Officer,