Essential Duties and Responsibilities include the following, other duties may be assigned:

• Monitors a caseload of juvenile offenders, including conducting home, school, and office visits, and preparing chronological reports to document progress and for court proceedings and treatment purposes
• Serve as a role model to youth and assist them in developing social and life skills while providing guidance and support through daily interaction; promote positive outcomes for youth by providing opportunities, fostering positive relationships and furnishing the support needed to build on leadership strengths
• Conducts interviews with juveniles and their families to collect background information, including social history investigations
• Develops individual supervision plans for juveniles and counsels juveniles and families, including attending subsequent school, therapeutic, and other related meetings
• Prepares and files court papers such as petitions, motions to modify dispositions and affidavits requesting a directive to apprehend and serves summonses
• Represents the department at court hearings and detention hearings
• Refers children for outside services such as counseling
• Administers drug tests on juveniles
• Transports juveniles/families to appointments
• Provides community and school presentations about probation and may serve as group facilitator
• Attends training sessions
• Facilitates and/or coordinates education/awareness groups

Minimum Education and Experience. Bachelor’s degree conferred by a college or university accredited by an accrediting organization recognized by the Texas Higher Education Coordinating Board plus one year of social service experience. One year of experience must include full-time casework, counseling, or community or group work in a social service, community, corrections, or juvenile agency that deals with juvenile age youth. One year of graduate study in criminology, corrections, counseling, law, social work, psychology, sociology, or other related field may be substituted for the one year of casework experience.

Special Requirements. Must secure and maintain certification as a Juvenile Probation Officer and Juvenile Supervision Officer by the Texas Juvenile Justice Department (TJJD). Must secure and maintain a favorable background investigation. Must clear a psychological assessment, pre-employment physical and a pre-employment drug screen test. Must have a valid driver’s license, motor vehicle liability insurance, personal injury insurance and a personal vehicle, or available alternate means of transportation. Must have a cell phone. Required to be on call 24 hours a day. May be required to work more than 40 hours during the workweek. May be required to work weekends, holidays and perform shift work in an emergency situation.

Knowledge. Must have knowledge of case management practices; knowledge of mediation and behavior modification techniques; knowledge of issues affecting troubled adolescents; knowledge of social services delivery network; knowledge of support service programs and eligibility requirements; knowledge of basic individual and group counseling; knowledge of TJJD and residential placement facilities; knowledge of juvenile law, Texas Juvenile Justice Code, and Texas Family Code; knowledge of DSM-IV terminology and court procedures; and knowledge of word processing software and other computer applications utilized by the department.

Skills. Must have interpersonal skills to interact effectively with troubled juveniles, co-workers, and the general public. Must have skill in dealing with juveniles and families in crisis.

Abilities. Must have the ability to operate a computer and other office equipment; work closely with court officials on cases; ability to manage time effectively; ability to communicate effectively, both verbally and in writing; ability to communicate effectively with hostile, abusive or irrational individuals; ability to obtain and organize information; ability to operate personal computer and basic office equipment; ability to establish and maintain effective working relationships with co-workers, County employees, outside organizations, attorneys, law enforcement agencies and the general public; ability to interpret legal statutes, analyze reports, and create strategic and tactical plans.

Supervisory Responsibility. Responsible for explaining to juveniles and family members, the conditions of supervision and consequences of failure to comply. Employee receives general supervision when performing the essential functions. Employee selects appropriate procedures required to complete work assignments. No supervision of other employees is required.

Judgment, initiative and decision-making. Judgment is required to explain detention/probation/court orders and conditions to juveniles and family members.
Uses limited discretion to complete work assignments. Initiative is frequently required to complete work assignments. Conflicting or incomplete data is frequently encountered in decision-making. Decisions are made regarding legislative interpretation and individual work priorities. Independent judgment is required to diffuse and respond to potential and actual violent situations and behavior.

Contacts. Constant contact with juveniles, co-workers, and the general public. Frequent contact with other government agencies, outside organizations, other County employees, and law enforcement agencies. Communication is primarily in person, via telephone and through written correspondence.

Working Conditions. The work environment characteristics described here are representative of those an employee encounters while performing the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

Working conditions are primarily inside an office environment with frequent local travel. In an emergency situation may be assigned to work inside either a pre-adjudication or post-adjudication facility environment. Must be able to react professionally and safely under potential or actual volatile conditions and utilize Department approved techniques when necessary. While performing the essential duties of this job, the employee occasionally is exposed to emergency situations in which there is the possibility of danger or physical injury. The employee has frequent contact with other employees both within and outside of the assigned division, law enforcement and juvenile justice system officials, and juveniles and their families. The employee must remain calm and professional in tense, emotionally charged, and stressful situations. The employee frequently must work under time pressures to meet deadlines and must perform multiple tasks simultaneously. The employee must work closely with others as part of and/or a leader of a team. The employee constantly must present a positive attitude as a role model for juveniles and the community. The noise level in the work environment is usually moderate, but may be noisy and distracting.

Physical Demands. The physical demands described here are representative of those that must be met by an employee to successfully perform the essential functions of this job. Reasonable accommodations may be made to enable individuals with disabilities to perform the essential functions.

While performing the essential duties of this job, the employee regularly is required to sit at a desk or in a vehicle, and frequently is required to stand and walk on various types of surfaces. While performing the duties of this job, the employee is regularly required to sit, walk, run, twist, kneel, and climb. The employee is required to utilize hand and eye coordination and manual dexterity necessary to operate duress alarms, two-way radios, handcuffs, and shackles. The employee is required to reach with hands and arms, and talk and hear. The employee may be required to lift and/or move objects weighing up to 40 pounds. Specific vision abilities required by this job include close vision and the ability to adjust focus.

Department Job Requirements: Staff members may work in any of the units identified below. The Probation Field Units are responsible for providing pre- and post-adjudication services to juveniles who have been referred to the department on offenses of the grade of felony and misdemeanors.

The Felony Intensive Supervision Unit is responsible for providing a dispositional alternative by the courts to provide more intensive monitoring of offenders in the community setting when standard probation is not appropriate and residential placement or commitment to the Texas Youth Commission is imminent.

The Specialized Intensive Supervision Units are responsible for providing a dispositional alternative by the courts to provide more intensive monitoring of offenders in the community setting when standard probation is not appropriate. These officers receive specialized training in the areas of gang activity, substance abuse, electronic monitoring and sexual offender modalities.

The Early Intervention Division consists of the School Based, Specialized Diversion, and Diversion Units that are responsible for providing early intervention services for juveniles referred to the probation department for misdemeanor offenses, CINS (Conduct Indicating a Need for Supervision), and truancy related offenses.