Explore by Career/Community and Social Service
Probation Officers and Correctional Treatment Specialists
Provide social services to assist in rehabilitation of law offenders in custody or on probation or parole. Make recommendations for actions involving formulation of rehabilitation plan and treatment of offender, including conditional release and education and employment stipulations.
- Median pay
- $64,520
- per year
- 10-year outlook
- +2.6%
- Stable
- Typical entry
- Bachelor's degree
Key skills
- Active Listening
- Speaking
- Social Perceptiveness
- Reading Comprehension
- Critical Thinking
- Writing
- Monitoring
- Complex Problem Solving
What they do
- Prepare and maintain case folder for each assigned inmate or offender.
- Gather information about offenders' backgrounds by talking to offenders, their families and friends, and other people who have relevant information.
- Interview probationers and parolees regularly to evaluate their progress in accomplishing goals and maintaining the terms specified in their probation contracts and rehabilitation plans.
- Discuss with offenders how such issues as drug and alcohol abuse and anger management problems might have played roles in their criminal behavior.
- Supervise people on community-based sentences, such as electronically monitored home detention, and provide field supervision of probationers by conducting curfew checks or visits to home, work, or school.
- Investigate alleged parole violations, using interviews, surveillance, and search and seizure.
- Recommend remedial action or initiate court action in response to noncompliance with terms of probation or parole.
- Arrange for medical, mental health, or substance abuse treatment services according to individual needs or court orders.
- Develop liaisons and networks with other parole officers, community agencies, correctional institutions, psychiatric facilities, and aftercare agencies to plan for helping offenders with life adjustments.
- Administer drug and alcohol tests, including random drug screens of offenders, to verify compliance with substance abuse treatment programs.
Majors that lead here
No mapped majors yet.
Sources: U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics (OEWS, Employment Projections) and O*NET, used under CC BY 4.0.