§ 200.1002. Juvenile probation officer employment qualifications.
(a) The minimum requirement for employment as a juvenile probation officer shall be a bachelor’s degree, with a background of at least 18 credits in the behavioral or social sciences from an accredited college or university.
(1) Provisions for exception to this standard through participation in an exceptional person process shall be provided for by the Juvenile Court Judges’ Commission.
(2) Eligibility for the exceptional person process shall require an individual to have 4 years of related experience, and to pass a written test, and an oral exam arranged for by the Commission.
(b) Other tests of aptitude, attitude, abilities, skills or knowledge, may be required as found appropriate at the county level, provided that the additional tests are announced in advance and are the same for all candidates. The Juvenile Court Judges’ Commission will provide a testing program which courts may use for screening applicants.
(c) The qualifications for a vacant juvenile probation officer position shall be announced prior to commencing the recruitment process and must be directly related to the expectations for that position as outlined in the job description. No other qualifications may be considered.
(d) A personnel transaction form and a college transcript shall be filed with the Juvenile Court Judges’ Commission by the Chief Juvenile Probation Officer within 10 working days of the filling of any juvenile probation officer position. An exception to the college transcript requirement may apply where the new employee was granted exceptional person status under subsection (a).
(e) A job description for each position shall be maintained and adhered to in the juvenile probation office. A clear job description provides employees with an understanding of their positions and forms the basis for evaluation of employee job performance.
(f) New employees shall be required to complete a 12-month probationary period during which they shall receive more intensive supervision and training than permanent juvenile probation officers. Their performance shall be evaluated semiannually and employees receiving unsatisfactory evaluations shall be terminated at, or before, the end of the probationary period. An exception to this standard applies only when a probationary period of a different length is part of a collective bargaining agreement.
(g) The minimum annual training requirement for continuing employment as a juvenile probation officer shall be the successful completion of 40 hours of approved training per year.
(1) Training programs and graduate classes sponsored by the Center for Juvenile Justice Training and Research are approved.
(2) Subject to the approval of the Chief Juvenile Probation Officer, all in-State, job-related training programs, including training sponsored by juvenile probation departments, are approved, as are graduate classes and conferences.
(3) In-State or out-of-State conferences sponsored by the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges (NCJFCJ), American Probation and Parole Association (APPA), Middle Atlantic States Correctional Association (MASCA), Pennsylvania Association on Probation, Parole and Correction (PAPPC) and the American Correctional Association (ACA) are also approved. Other out-of-State training or conferences require prior approval by the Center for Juvenile Justice Training and Research. Unless a program is completed in its entirety, none of the time spent in it can be counted in meeting this requirement.
(4) Members of the Executive Committee, standing committees and ad hoc committees of the Pennsylvania Council of Chief Juvenile Probation Officers (Council) may apply up to 20 hours of meeting attendance per year toward the annual training requirement. This includes attendance at general membership, Executive Committee, and other meetings of the Council, as well as meetings of the Juvenile Court Judges’ Commission.
(5) The Chief Juvenile Probation Officer shall annually submit a report to the Center for Juvenile Justice Training and Research detailing the approved training completed by each juvenile probation officer. The report must be in a format designed by the Juvenile Court Judges’ Commission.
(h) Juvenile probation officers shall have a written performance evaluation completed at least annually by their supervisors. This evaluation shall become part of their personnel files and shall be available for inspection by representatives of the Juvenile Court Judges’ Commission.
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