Juvenile Detention Officer

Overview

Under general direction of a supervisory employee during anassigned tour of duty, controls the general conduct and behaviorof juvenile residents, the maintenance of discipline, andcustodial, recreational,  transportation, and housekeepingfunctions; does other related duties as required.

FOR POSITIONS ASSIGNED TO PROVIDE MANAGEMENT OF A HOME DETENTION PROGRAM:

Under general direction of a supervisory employee responsible for carrying out the daily operations and maintenance of an electronic monitoring / home detention program for juveniles as well as adult detainees on a 24/7 on-call status.

Responsibilities

EXAMPLES OF WORK:Transports juvenile residents to various locations outside theinstitution using a van/car to assist them in obtaining neededtreatments, attend court, and so forth.Supervises and/or participates in various programs/activitieswith juvenile residents to stimulate interest in and cooperationwith various social/education programs.Provides advice to individual juvenile residents on personalproblems they encounter while in the institution such as peerpressure, adapting to the surroundings, and so forth bypresenting a positive role model and using common sense torelieve tension and prevent additional problems.Keeps track of assigned juveniles under immediate charge through periodic head counts, and records schedules, activities,incidents, and so forth in a log book to be aware at all times ofthe whereabouts of juvenile residents.Uses appropriate techniques to calm disruptive juvenile residentsin a potentially dangerous situation and may physically restrainthem to prevent them from endangering their health/safety orothers.Observes unusual physical appearance/behavior of juvenileresidents to uncover violations of institutional rules andprotect the health, security, safety, and welfare of juvenileresidents.Detects unusual odors such as marijuana, cigarette smoke,  fires, or alcohol to uncover violations, and protects the security,safety, and welfare of juveniles. Listens for unusual sounds such as a sudden change in noiselevel,  calls  for help, cries of fire, arguments among  juvenileresidents,  scraping  of  metal, and so  forth  to  maintain  thesecurity, safety, and welfare of the juvenile residents,  and  toreact  in accord with established policies/regulations/proceduresin crisis situations.Learns the names and recognizes juvenile residents underimmediate charge and maintains a constructive personalrelationship with them to control their general conduct/behaviorand to identify potential problems.Patrols various locations within the institution for the purposeof checking safety/security hazards such as fire, smoke, brokenpipes, unlocked doors, and tampered windows/locks to protect  the security/safety of juveniles and the institution.Searches juveniles clothing/possessions, and makes periodic room checks to detect contraband in accord with established policies, regulations, and procedures.Supervises, performs, and instructs juvenile residents inhousekeeping duties such as sweeping/mopping floors, making beds, and so forth to maintain sanitary conditions in resident areas.Ensures that juveniles maintain personal hygiene.Listens on conversations among juvenile residents to detectpossible security problems such as planning of  escapes andso forth, and reports such information in accord with establishedpolicies, regulations, and procedures.Writes comprehensive, factual, incident reports and/or fills outshort forms such as head counts and safety reports to giveroutine, detailed information.Will  be required to learn to utilize various types of electronicand/or manual recording and information systems used by theagency, office, or related units.FOR POSITIONS ASSIGNED TO PROVIDE MANAGEMENT OF A HOME DETENTION PROGRAM:Provide 24-hour on-call support to families and clients in the event of emergencies and alert warnings involving monitoring equipment.Ensures compliance with court orders and terms of home detention.Completes home inspections including an interview with family at home.Transports the detainee to home and set-up monitoring equipment.Perform all home detention installations and disconnectsincluding all necessary set-up and termination with themonitoring company.Ensure that the home detention program has the proper equipment in the office at all times and that it is in working order.Establishes, updates and maintains case files.Replace transmitter or unit placed in the house when it is not working properly.Review billing from monitoring company for each client.Maintains contact with contract detention facility concerning the status of the juvenile detainees, their progress educationally, their disciplinary issues, if any, and their general adjustment to the detention environment. Perform daily checks on a client's whereabouts, e.g., school, probation appointments, employment or programs.Serves as the liaison to the Family Court on the status of juvenilesin detention, receiving and communicating Court requirements to the contract facility and reporting to the Court as neededon progress or difficulties of the juveniles placed by the courtin the contract facility.Acts as a liaison between the detention center and state and local agencies e.g., Superior Court, Probation, Juvenile Justice Commission, Family Case Management, substance abuse treatment programs, school or work.Make visits to the contract family to establish and maintain a working relationship with the administrative, educational and medical components of the facility. Will report on thesematters to the Warden and take the lead in working through any issues that may need adjustment or better understanding.Notify the Department of Corrections Transport Unit of need to move juveniles to detention and schedule the transport.Issue warning letters to detainees who show adjustment problems.Conduct random urinalysis tests on detainees.May assist the Coordinator of Juvenile Detention Services in the management of the juvenile detention population held in another county under contract.Writes comprehensive, factual, incident reports.

Qualifications

EDUCATION:Graduation from high school or vocational school or possession ofan approved high school equivalency certificate.TRAINING:Appointees will be required to successfully complete a trainingprogram approved by the New Jersey Police Training Commissionwithin the time period prescribed by  law or  the New Jersey PoliceTraining Commission.CITIZENSHIPApplicants must be citizens of the United States.LICENSE:Appointees will be required to possess a driver's licensevalid in New Jersey only if the operation of a vehicle, ratherthan employee mobility, is necessary to perform essential duties of the position.KNOWLEDGE AND ABILITIES:Ability to cope with crisis situations that occur in a juveniledetention facility.Ability to apply knowledge and use of sound judgment in criticalsituations.Ability to empathize with juveniles from different backgrounds.Ability to write concise, accurate reports.Ability to utilize various types of electronic and/or manualrecording and information systems used by the agency, office, or related units.FOR POSITIONS ASSIGNED TO PROVIDE MANAGEMENT OF A HOME DETENTION PROGRAM:Ability to learn to use electronic monitoring equipment.Ability to function under difficult or stressful conditions both in the field and before the Courts.Ability to utilize program assessment tools to  efficiently and correctly evaluate program applicants as well as their living situations for suitability in the Home Detention Program.Ability to interact and communicate with various professionalse.g., Judges, Court personnel, law enforcement, social service Personnel, program participants, their families and so forth.Ability to read, write, speak, understand, and communicate inEnglish sufficiently to perform duties of this position.  American Sign Language or Braille may also be considered as acceptable forms of  communication.Persons with mental or physical disabilities are eligible as long as they can perform essential functions of the job with or without reasonable accommodation.  If the accommodation cannot be made because it would cause the employer undue hardship, such persons may not be eligible.