Juvenile Institutions Officer

Continuous

Exam #24/60F88/08MM

The Probation Department is a law enforcement agency within the County of Monterey, with 5 major divisions: 4 operational divisions (Adult, Juvenile, Juvenile Hall, and Youth Center), and one infrastructure division, Administration, which includes Finance, Personnel, Training, Grants and Contracts, and Technology. The Department has about 290 permanent positions (with the majority being sworn officers), in addition to temporary staff and interns.

Probation is a fast-paced environment which requires excellent customer services skills, personal initiative, adaptive thinking, strong ethics and commitment while maintaining a sense of family and camaraderie.

The Monterey County Probation Department is seeking qualified individuals to fill vacancies for Juvenile Institution Officer I. The Juvenile Institutions Officer is responsible for the safety and well-being of youth referred to the Juvenile Hall detention center. The primary function of a Juvenile Institution Officer is to direct and supervise the routine daily activities of detained youths – e.g., school, yard work, meals, and recreational activities.

Other duties of the position include providing situational counseling according to individual and group needs, explaining and participating in the enforcement of facility rules and regulations, providing transportation to and from the institutions, and preparing written reports and evaluations. Juvenile Institution Officers must have the ability to maintain consistent and regular attendance as well as the ability to work well with others.

• Maintains security for all staff and minors; conducts searches on clients upon entry into the facility or as required; and conducts required area searches; conducts intake and release procedures.
• Maintains discipline; orients youth to juvenile facilities by distributing rules, demonstrating certain procedures, and explaining both legal and custodial procedures appropriate to situation(s) of detained juveniles.
• Maintains proper health measures for all minors; may be required to dispense prescribed medication and document the information in medical logs; administers CPR and First Aid as necessary; makes visual checks of minors for health and security purposes.
• Assesses behavior of clients, and prepares individual reports on progress and behavior which are submitted to the Juvenile Court; completes incident reports and other documents and notations for departmental files.
• Organizes and conducts recreational activities; may develop, teach and conduct recreational or work skill programs; oversees work programs, i.e., routine cleaning and maintenance; performs and/or instructs minors in maintenance and housekeeping, including laundry and kitchen assistance.
• Physically intervenes in physical confrontations between minors or between minor(s) and staff; physically restrains minors who are behaving in a violent manner until able to control their own behavior.
• Transports and supervises minors out of the facility in secure custody to medical appointments, court appearances, hospital, etc.
• Monitor daily activities of minors.

Will have a proven track record demonstrating the following knowledge, skills, and abilities:

• Physical and psychological development patterns of children and adolescents.
• Factors contributing to delinquent behavior and attitudes of juveniles and adults, such as peer pressure, family environments, and role modeling.

• Maintain objective attitude and relationships with delinquent juveniles and probationers.
• Interview and counsel individuals from diverse social, economic and ethnic backgrounds.
• Communicate effectively, both orally and in writing.
• Model appropriate behavior and attitude.
• Recognize health and behavioral problems in minors.

Any combination of training, education and/or experience which provides the knowledge, skills and abilities and required conditions of employment is qualifying. An example of a way these requirements might be acquired is:

Approximately three months experience working with youth and/or adults in an institutional setting providing custodial care.

OR Approximately three months experience as a group leader planning and organizing recreational activities of youth and/or adults.

OR Approximately six months experience providing general counseling to youth and/or adults, in either a group or one-to-one situation.

Approximately 30 units of college…