Intake Probation Officer

The Franklin County Municipal Court is the largest and busiest municipal Court in the State of Ohio. The Court has fourteen judges in the General Division and one judge in the Environmental Division. Judges preside over civil, criminal, and traffic cases and conduct both jury and court trials. The Court's jurisdiction includes traffic cases, misdemeanor criminal cases, and civil cases where the amount at issue is $15,000 or less.

The Environmental Division has exclusive jurisdiction to enforce local codes and regulations affecting real property, such as fire and building codes. The geographic jurisdiction of the Court is all of Franklin County and those portions of the City of Columbus that extend beyond the boundaries of Franklin County. Despite its jurisdiction and name, the Franklin County Municipal Court is the judicial branch of the City of Columbus government.

The Pretrial and Probation Services Department consists of approximately 120 employees. The mission of Pretrial Services is to promote community safety and pretrial success through research-informed recommendations and supervision services that maximize court appearance, remove barriers to fair and efficient justice, and promote harm reduction. The mission of Probation Services is topromote community safety by reducing recidivism, changing offender behavior, and fostering accountability through the effective use of evidence-based practices.

The Department consists of pretrial, investigations, and supervision services divisions. The supervision structures are determined by risk and need, including all types of cases that the judges of the Court refer to them. The Probation Staff operates specialized caseloads, including domestic violence, sexual offenses, soliciting, mental health, work release, and electronic monitoring. The probation staff strives to stay current and relevant with the ongoing goal of being an evidence-based organization.

An Intake Probation Officer is under the general direction of the Chief Probation Officer and the immediate direction of the Intake and Investigations Supervisor An Intake Probation Officer'ss primary responsibilities are to conduct supervision instructions for community control, investigate, interview, and assess the defendant'ss risk levels using various screening tools, make appropriate referrals, manage the defendant'ss compliance with court orders and required programming, and promote public safety and reduce recidivism using evidence-based practices Intake Probation Officers routinely communicate adefendant'ss supervision compliance with the assigned judge and work closely with criminal justice partners and community resources.

• Promote, model, and abide by the Vision, Mission, policies, and procedures of the Probation Department.
• Supervise specialized caseloads consisting of environmental compliance issues; defendants convicted of domestic violence or related charges; substance-using defendants; defendants with mental-health or developmental disability considerations; defendants convicted of sex offenses; or defendants ordered to a period of electronic monitoring or work release during the intake and assessment phase of supervision.n
• Administer the Ohio Risk Assessment System (ORAS) tool and other identified assessment tools to ensure appropriate supervision placement, intervention, and programming.
• Complete programming referrals that are either court-ordered or deemed appropriate through the assessment process
• Develop and utilize interviewing skills that prompt open dialogue.
• Assist with opening new cases in the OCSS case management system and assign cases as needed for ongoing supervision.
• Conduct investigations for the Court and prepare written reports to assist judges in the determination of appropriate sentences, release conditions, or the sealing of criminal offense records, as assigned.d
• Complete, thorough, well-written reports that detail an individual's progress under supervision and include thoughtful and informed recommendations.
• Maintain accurate, current, and thorough documentation and records.
• Maintain effective lines of communication with all staff and stakeholders.
• Provide positive reinforcement and build rapport with defendants.
• Contribute to a strong, supportive, and productive team environment.
• Conduct DNA testing if required.
• Appear and testify in Court when necessary.
• Participate in activities that…