How Do I Become a Juvenile Parole Officer?

Proper accreditation and a little advance know-how on the matter can help anyone to become an official juvenile parole officer. What exactly must one do to become an officer for this specific area of the juvenile corrections system? Read on as we cover the basic path and requirements to becoming a juvenile parole officer today.

General Job Outline

When you work as a juvenile parole officer, you work intimately with a wide variety of juveniles that have committed crimes and desperately need to assimilate back to a crime-free life outside of the confines of incarceration. The goal in these youth is not for them to be locked up, but to learn from their past mistakes and move on in public-safe manner. The parole officer is therefore devoted to overseeing this transition in its entirety.

It is this individual that will maintain contact and oversight over the released juvenile. If their behavior outside of incarceration is acceptable, they will maintain a paroled and free status. If behavior is not acceptable or additional crimes are committed, the parole officer may then revoke the juvenile’s parole status, thus sending them back to a detention facility. Those working this important job maintain society’s right to general safety and peace while also giving a fair chance to those juveniles being rehabilitated from a criminal past.

Educational Requirements

As a result of the importance of this position and the consequences of its performance or lack thereof, there are some fair educational requirements attached to the position. Along with a high school diploma or GED, one must usually also possess, at the very least, a bachelor’s degree in a relevant field of study. This can be criminal justice, law, psychology, or even social science degrees dealing with community management and society. Beyond this bachelor’s degree, no other educational requirements are typically required.

Personal Requirements

It may be easier to understand the educational requirements generally attached to this position than the personal ones. In order to carry on the required duties of the position on a daily basis, one must be able to handle occasional, stressful situations, long hours at times, and clientele that is not always enthused of the parole officer’s dealings in their affairs. In first obtaining this job, on the other hand, one must also be of a generally good personal history as well. This means that a criminal record, a negative job history, or even an online social presence that is not exactly savory to the ethics of the position can indeed act as immediate and undebatable disqualifiers.

Additional BLS Info

The Bureau of Labor Statistics provides more detail on the position of today’s juvenile parole officer as well as obtaining that position. Grouped into the category of the very similar probation officer and correctional treatment specialist positions, the BLS indicates the following of this particular career choice.

– Bachelor’s degree accreditation is required.

– Short-term, on the job training is required

– The job outlook is slower than average at an approximate 4% growth rate.

– In 2014, the approximate number of such kinds of positions totaled around 91,700.

– Oral, written, and psychological exams are also required.

Juvenile parole officers provide the system of checks and balances between released juvenile inmates and the outside world. Their position is quite important to general public safety and an effective correctional system alike. With the proper background, preparation, and educational accreditation, you too can make a career of taking part in this crucial correctional system function for juveniles.

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