Lab Tech​/Probation Officer

** GRANT FUNDED:
Classification:
Limited employment; appointments to and continued services in this position are subject to the cessation of grant funding from the One Ohio Recovery Foundation. The current grant period is from November 2026 through October 4, 2028.

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 Franklin County Municipal Court is one of Ohio's largest and busiest municipal courts. The Court has 14 judges in its General Division and one judge in its Environmental Division. Judges preside over civil, criminal, and traffic cases and conduct both jury and non-jury trials. 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 referred by the Court's judges. 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.

• Promote, model, and abide by the Vision, Mission, policies, and procedures of the Probation Department.
• Meet with defendants to explain the drug-testing call-in system, collect urine specimens for processing, and operate the drug-testing analyzer in accordance with the drug-testing procedures.
• Operate and maintain the drug testing laboratory and testing hours, including some evenings and weekends.
• Perform testing of running controls and calibrations on the drug testing analyzer daily and follow all specimen collection protocols.
• Maintain accurate records and data input in the drug testing case management system.
• Maintain HIPAA compliance protocols on all samples collected throughout the day.
• Maintain and refill all supplies daily and uphold cleaning protocols for the equipment and laboratory.
• Follow established protocols for specimen collection and chain of custody.
• Testify in Court as requested and needed.
• Administer the Ohio Risk Assessment System and other identified assessment tools to ensure appropriate supervision placement, intervention, and programming.
• Supervise and support defendants through the behavior-change process, skills and goal attainment, and compliance with court-ordered conditions of supervision, which include teaching new skills, role-playing with defendants, and applying motivational interviewing skills.
• Conduct investigations for the Court and prepare written reports to assist judges in determining appropriate sentences, release conditions, or the sealing of criminal offense records, as assigned.
• Complete thorough, well-written reports that detail an individual's progress under supervision that include thoughtful and informed recommendations.
• 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…