Juvenile Probation Officers: How the Perception of Roles Affects Training Experiences for Evidence-Based Practice Implementation

• NCJ Number: 237606
• Journal: Federal Probation Volume: 75 Issue: 3 Dated: December 2011 Pages: 3-10
• Author(s): Danielle S. Rudes; Jill Viglione; Faye S. Taxman
• Date Published: December 2011
• Length: 8 pages
• Grant Number(s): R01 DA18759
• Sponsoring Agency: National Institute on Drug Abuse
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This study analyzed interviews with juvenile probation officers (POs) in order to determine how their role orientation relates to perceptions of evidence-based training and practices as well as the juvenile probationers they supervise.

Abstract

Findings from a literature review indicate that POs typically fit into one of three distinct workplace roles: law enforcement, social service, and resource broker; however, the current study found that although POs at times have goals and perceptions related to a mixture of role orientations, only two role orientations prevailed, i.e., social service (57 percent) and resource broker (43 percent). A major finding of this study was that PO role perceptions, whether as social service or resource broker, did not have a direct impact on PO perceptions of training and juvenile probationers. Both role orientations were associated with positive and negative perceptions of training and probationers. A second major finding regarding the impact of training was that POs from all three study groups (Enhanced, Standard, and Control) were represented in different combinations of positive and negative perceptions of training and probationers. The only exception was for POs who shared positive views of both training and probationers. These POs were all participants in the Enhanced study group, which received both booster sessions and on-site training assistants. Despite the fact that not all members of the Enhanced training group shared positive perceptions of training and probationers, it is an important finding that those who received the intensive training and booster sessions devoted to developing a social climate to support the use of evidence-based practices showed the most positive perceptions overall. Based on the findings of this study, further work should include observations of POs in their daily routine. The study used a randomized controlled experimental design that involved assigning POs to three experimental training groups. 1 figure, 56 references, and appended methodological information