ABOUT FRANKLIN COUNTY MUNICIPAL COURT
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.
JOB PURPOSE AND OVERVIEW
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 to promote community safety by reducing recidivism, changing offender behavior, and fostering accountability through the effective use of evidence-based practices. Department functions include pretrial, investigation, and supervision services. Supervision structures are determined by risk and need and include all types of cases referred by the Court's judges. The 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.
A Risk Reduction Probation Officer is under the general direction of a Chief Probation Officer and the immediate direction of a Probation Officer Supervisor. A Risk Reduction Probation Officer’s primary responsibilities are to investigate, interview, assess, case plan, provide interventions, and manage a defendant’s compliance with court orders and required programming to promote public safety and reduce recidivism. Probation officers routinely communicate a defendant’s supervision compliance with the assigned judge and work closely with criminal justice partners and community resources.
ESSENTIAL DUTIES AND RESPONSIBILITIES OF THE POSITION
- Promote, model, and abide by the Vision, Mission, policies, and procedures of the Probation Department
- Administration of the Ohio Risk Assessment System and other identified assessment tools to ensure appropriate supervision placement, intervention, and programming.
- Develop an appropriate supervision plan that addresses the court's requirements and the defendant's assessed and identified needs.
- 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.
- Perform field work as needed; notify the Court of defendant compliance with supervision requirements; conduct arrests when necessary; and attend court hearings when required.
- 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 detailing an individual’s supervision progress and including 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 considerations; defendants convicted of sex offenses; defendants ordered to a period of electronic monitoring or work release; or ordered to complete a specialized docket program.
- Maintain accurate, current, and thorough documentation and records.
- Participate in activities that enhance the department, the Court, the individual units within the department, and the officers' professional development.
- Active participation in required training and professional development events around evidence-based practices in community corrections and behavioral health issues, per department standards, and as deemed appropriate.
- Perform other tasks as assigned and may fulfill roles of different positions in other departments of the Court as needed.
QUALIFICATIONS AND REQUIREMENTS
- A bachelor’s degree from an accredited college or university with core coursework in areas related to criminal justice, criminology, corrections, psychology, social work, or a related field.
- The ability to demonstrate and apply basic knowledge of mental health, trauma, and substance abuse issues.
- Become trained and certified to perform the ORAS and other department risk and need-assessment tools.
- Successful completion of the state probation officer certification and training process within one year of hire if not currently certified
- Meet the eligibility requirements and pass the tests required to become certified to use Law Enforcement Automated Data Systems, National Crime Information Center, Bureau of Criminal Identification and Investigation, Federal Bureau of Investigation, and Interstate Identification Information Systems (LEADS) computer information systems.
- Willingness and ability to be trained and maintain certification in the department’s field-safety training program, including but not limited to defensive tactics, verbal de-escalation techniques, and first aid/CPR, to engage with defendants in the community.
- Ability to assess and supervise defendants effectively (e.g., assess and resolve problems, motivate defendants toward prosocial support and activities, and facilitate interventions that assist defendants in changing their thinking and behavior)
- Ability to appropriately respond to both pro-social and non-compliant behavior in a way that promotes public safety, accountability, and behavior change.
- Effective oral and written communication and interviewing skills (e.g., ability to listen effectively, obtain sensitive information, explain complex issues in a comprehensible manner, prepare accurate and logical reports relevant to a defendant)
- Ability to make informed and thoughtful recommendations and decisions.
- Knowledge of the criminal justice system and current research trends in community corrections to work effectively within the court and community corrections field.
- Ability to appropriately receive and follow supervisory feedback, coaching, and direction.
- Demonstrate resilience and flexibility in a high-paced, dynamic work environment.
- Ability to maintain sensitive and confidential information.
- Electronic monitoring or work-release units must be willing to work various days and/or hours throughout the week, including evenings and weekends, if assigned to the pretrial services department.
- Proficiency in operating a personal computer and using, or learning, Microsoft Office products such as Word, Outlook, and Excel, as well as the court’s case-management software.
- Pleasant personality, ability to deal with potentially difficult people, ability to interact and maintain effective working relationships with judges, employees, attorneys, litigants, law-enforcement officers, and others conducting business with the Court.
- Conscious of and sensitive to the diversity within the Court’s jurisdiction and ability to interact professionally with this diverse population of people from many different geographic, socioeconomic, religious, racial, and ethnic backgrounds on a regular basis.
- Excellent time-management skills, ability to prioritize work, ability to work independently, and ability to work under time constraints.
- Ability to work effectively in a team environment.
- Professional appearance and demeanor, particularly a positive attitude appropriate for the position and the work environment as a representative of the Court
- Demonstrated dependability, punctuality, and excellent attendance record.
- Ability to work collaboratively with criminal justice partners.
- Skilled in the art of interviewing and assessment
- Willingness to become familiar with the Court’s community resources.
- Maintain a valid Ohio driver's license.
- Monitor and/or collect urine specimens from defendants.
PREFERRED QUALIFICATIONS
- One (1) year of experience in the courts, corrections, behavioral health, law enforcement, or related fields.
- Experience as a licensed social worker, professional counselor, and/or chemical dependency counselor
- Successful completion of the state’s probation officer certification standard
- Additional consideration will be given to individuals who are fluently bilingual in Spanish and English, with a college-level vocabulary in both languages, the ability to communicate complex information in both English and Spanish, and who speak a language commonly used by people of Somalia for whom English is a second language, or who are proficient in American Sign Language
BENEFITS
The Franklin County Municipal Court offers an excellent benefits package that includes medical, prescription, vision, dental, and life insurance; short-term disability; generous vacation, sick, and personal leave; 11 paid holidays; longevity service payments; sick-leave reciprocity; employee assistance and deferred-compensation programs; tuition reimbursement; and credit-union membership.
Court employees are members of the Ohio Public Employees Retirement System, which provides retirement, disability, and survivor benefits for public employees. The Court pays the required employer 14 percent of the employee’s salary. Court employees do not have Social Security taxes withheld from their paychecks because they are members of OPERS.
COURT EXPECTATIONS OF EMPLOYEE
In completing the duties and responsibilities of the position, the Court expects the employee to adhere to all Court policies, guidelines, practices, and procedures; act as a role model both inside and outside the Court; perform duties as workload necessitates in a timely, accurate, and thorough manner; be conscientious about meeting department productivity standards; and communicate regularly with the supervisor about department issues.
AT-WILL EMPLOYMENT
Employees of the Court are at-will employees and serve at the pleasure of the Court; they are not in the classified civil service system and are not members of bargaining units.
EQUAL OPPORTUNITY EMPLOYER
The Court is an Equal Opportunity Employer and does not discriminate on the basis of age, gender, religion, race, color, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, disability, military status, or genetic information.
