According to people in this career, the main tasks are...
| Task | Importance |
|---|---|
| Prepare and maintain case folder for each assigned inmate or offender. | 89% |
| Interview probationers and parolees regularly to evaluate their progress in accomplishing goals and maintaining the terms specified in their probation contracts and rehabilitation plans. | 88% |
| Gather information about offenders' backgrounds by talking to offenders, their families and friends, and other people who have relevant information. | 88% |
| Discuss with offenders how such issues as drug and alcohol abuse and anger management problems might have played roles in their criminal behavior. | 88% |
| Supervise people on community-based sentences, such as electronically monitored home detention, and provide field supervision of probationers by conducting curfew checks or visits to home, work, or school. | 87% |
| Investigate alleged parole violations, using interviews, surveillance, and search and seizure. | 87% |
| Recommend remedial action or initiate court action in response to noncompliance with terms of probation or parole. | 86% |
| Arrange for medical, mental health, or substance abuse treatment services according to individual needs or court orders. | 86% |
| Develop liaisons and networks with other parole officers, community agencies, correctional institutions, psychiatric facilities, and aftercare agencies to plan for helping offenders with life adjustments. | 86% |
| Administer drug and alcohol tests, including random drug screens of offenders, to verify compliance with substance abuse treatment programs. | 86% |
| Inform offenders or inmates of requirements of conditional release, such as office visits, restitution payments, or educational and employment stipulations. | 86% |
| Participate in decisions about whether cases should go before courts and which court should hear them. | 84% |
| Conduct prehearing and presentencing investigations and testify in court regarding offenders' backgrounds and recommended sentences and sentencing conditions. | 83% |
| Develop rehabilitation programs for assigned offenders or inmates, establishing rules of conduct, goals, and objectives. | 83% |
| Write reports describing offenders' progress. | 83% |
| Arrange for postrelease services, such as employment, housing, counseling, education, and social activities. | 82% |
| Recommend appropriate penitentiary for initial placement of an offender. | 80% |
| Assess the suitability of penitentiary inmates for release under parole and statutory release programs and submit recommendations to parole boards. | 73% |
| Identify and approve work placements for offenders with community service sentences. | 71% |
| Provide offenders or inmates with assistance in matters concerning detainers, sentences in other jurisdictions, writs, and applications for social assistance. | 71% |
| Develop and prepare packets containing information about social service agencies, assistance organizations, and programs that might be useful for inmates or offenders. | 67% |
