U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Desktop Guide to Good Juvenile Probation Practice

NCJ Number
128218
Date Published
1991
Length
138 pages
Annotation
Intended as a reference manual for juvenile probation policy, procedure, and practice, this manual provides a general overview of the juvenile justice system and probation's role in it and instructs probation officers in job-related skills and practices.
Abstract
The overview of the juvenile justice system presents a brief history of the juvenile justice system and outlines the legal rights of juvenile offenders with emphasis on probation caselaw. Other topics in the overview are legal liability issues for juvenile probation officers, juvenile law (State specific), and the philosophy and standards of juvenile justice system case processing. Regarding job-related skills and practices, the manual focuses on assessment for decisionmaking, supervision, special techniques, special problems and appropriate responses, and enhancement of the profession. Assessment for decisionmaking focuses on interviewing skills, information gathering and report preparation, intake decisionmaking, and predisposition decisionmaking. Special techniques encompass family counseling, crisis intervention, mediation, restitution, and officer safety. Special problems include substance abuse, developmental and learning disabilities, violent and chronic juvenile offenders, and adolescent sex offending.