Job Details for Special Offender Specialist
| Court Name/Organization | New York Western Probation and Pretrial Services |
| Overview of the Position | The U.S. Probation & Pretrial Services Office for the Western District of New York encompasses 17 counties and consists of two offices. There are four district court judges, five senior judges, and seven magistrate judges. The probation office is headquartered in Buffalo and has one division office in Rochester. The vacant position is available in the Rochester office. |
| Location | Rochester, NY |
| Opening and Closing Dates | 02/11/2025 - 02/25/2025 |
| Appointment Type | Permanent |
| Classification Level/Grade | CL 29 |
| Salary | $84,875 - $137,992 |
| Announcement Number | 25-01 |
Position Description
A Special Offender Specialist performs duties and responsibilities such as, but not limited to, the following:
- Perform investigative and supervision responsibilities for a caseload of high-risk and/or specialized needs offenders to maximize adherence to imposed conditions, reduce risk to the community and to provide correctional treatment. These high-risk and/or specialized cases include but are not limited to offenders having severe substance abuse, mental health and/or re-entry concerns. This caseload will include sex offenders and location monitoring.
- Responsible for coordinating and assisting in the development of outcome driven strategies identifying risks, needs, treatment, and implementing specific interventions that have demonstrated success in reducing recidivism.
- Enforce court-ordered supervision components and implement supervision strategies. Maintain personal contact with offenders through office, home, and community contacts to monitor general compliance with release conditions. Investigate employment, sources of income, financial documents, lifestyle, and associates to assess risk and compliance. Address substance abuse, mental health, domestic violence, and similar problems and implement the necessary treatment or violation proceedings, through assessment, monitoring, and counseling. Interview victim(s) and provide victim impact statements to the court.
- Analyze and resolve disputed issues involving offenders and present unresolved issues to the Court for resolution. Assess offenders’ level of risk and develop a blend of risk management strategies for controlling and correcting risk. Stay abreast of most recently developed evidenced based practices (EBPs) and use consistently in supervision strategies. Train line officers in EBPs and encourage their use.
- Installation and monitoring of applications to investigate all activity on the computer, automated services, or connected devices owned or operated by offenders. Schedule and conduct drug use detection tests and DNA collection of offenders, following established procedures and protocols. Conduct surveillance and/or search and seizure as deemed appropriate per policy. Responsible for enforcement of location monitoring conditions ordered by the court.
- Conduct investigations, prepare written reports, and make recommendations for the court in high-risk and/or specialized cases by interviewing offenders and their families and collecting background data from various sources. An integral part of this process is the interpretation and application of policies and procedures, statutes, Federal Rules of Criminal Procedures, and may include U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Procedures Manuals, and relevant case law in the area of specialization.
- Communicate with other organizations and persons (such as the U.S. Parole Commission, Bureau of Prisons, law enforcement, treatment agencies, and attorneys) concerning offenders’ behavior and conditions of supervision. Identify and investigate violations and implement appropriate alternatives and sanctions. Report violations to the appropriate authorities. Testify at court or parole hearings. Conduct Parole Commission preliminary interviews.
- Serve as a resource and expert to the court, line officers, and staff in high-risk and/or specialized cases. Guide, advise, train, and make recommendations to other officers, the court, and other individuals regarding issues relating to the area of specialization. Train line officers on identification and treatment of offenders with high-risk and/or specialized needs.
- Participate in on-going training and educational opportunities to further develop and/or enhance techniques and skills relating to investigation and supervision practices of offenders in area of specialization. Track developments in the law. Provide the court, management and staff with ongoing updates related to changes with this offender population. Assist in developing policies to provide needed services. Provide proposals/recommendations for updates or amendments to conditions of supervision for this special offender population.
- Perform administrative duties regarding area of specialty.
Qualifications
Applicants must be a citizen of the United States. Completion of a bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university in a field of academic study, such as criminal justice, criminology, psychology, sociology, human relations, or business or public administration, which provides evidence of the capacity to understand and apply the legal requirements and human relations skills involved in the position. In addition to the educational requirement, applicants must have three years specialized experience, including at least one year as a probation/pretrial services officer in the U.S. courts. An evaluation of quality of experience may provide placement at salary levels above Step 1 up to and including Step 25 of CL 29 if the selectee possesses more than one year of specialized experience.
Background Investigation, Drug Screening And Medical Standards
The selectee will be subject to ongoing random drug screening, updated background investigations every five years and may be subject to subsequent fitness-for-duty evaluations as deemed necessary by the Chief U.S. Probation Officer for reasonable cause at any time. Employees are required to adhere to the Code of Conduct for Judicial Employees which is available for review upon request.
Specialized Experience
Progressively responsible experience in such fields as probation, pretrial services, parole, corrections, criminal investigations, or work in substance/addiction treatment, public administration, human relations, social work, psychology, or mental health. Experience as a police, custodial, or security officer, other than any criminal investigative experience, is not creditable.
Miscellaneous
A Special Offender Specialist performs duties and responsibilities such as, but not limited to, the following:
- Perform investigative and supervision responsibilities for a caseload of high-risk and/or specialized needs offenders to maximize adherence to imposed conditions, reduce risk to the community and to provide correctional treatment. These high-risk and/or specialized cases include but are not limited to offenders having severe substance abuse, mental health and/or re-entry concerns. This caseload will include sex offenders and location monitoring.
- Responsible for coordinating and assisting in the development of outcome driven strategies identifying risks, needs, treatment, and implementing specific interventions that have demonstrated success in reducing recidivism.
- Enforce court-ordered supervision components and implement supervision strategies. Maintain personal contact with offenders through office, home, and community contacts to monitor general compliance with release conditions. Investigate employment, sources of income, financial documents, lifestyle, and associates to assess risk and compliance. Address substance abuse, mental health, domestic violence, and similar problems and implement the necessary treatment or violation proceedings, through assessment, monitoring, and counseling. Interview victim(s) and provide victim impact statements to the court.
- Analyze and resolve disputed issues involving offenders and present unresolved issues to the Court for resolution. Assess offenders’ level of risk and develop a blend of risk management strategies for controlling and correcting risk. Stay abreast of most recently developed evidenced based practices (EBPs) and use consistently in supervision strategies. Train line officers in EBPs and encourage their use.
- Installation and monitoring of applications to investigate all activity on the computer, automated services, or connected devices owned or operated by offenders. Schedule and conduct drug use detection tests and DNA collection of offenders, following established procedures and protocols. Conduct surveillance and/or search and seizure as deemed appropriate per policy. Responsible for enforcement of location monitoring conditions ordered by the court.
- Conduct investigations, prepare written reports, and make recommendations for the court in high-risk and/or specialized cases by interviewing offenders and their families and collecting background data from various sources. An integral part of this process is the interpretation and application of policies and procedures, statutes, Federal Rules of Criminal Procedures, and may include U.S. Sentencing Guidelines, Procedures Manuals, and relevant case law in the area of specialization.
- Communicate with other organizations and persons (such as the U.S. Parole Commission, Bureau of Prisons, law enforcement, treatment agencies, and attorneys) concerning offenders’ behavior and conditions of supervision. Identify and investigate violations and implement appropriate alternatives and sanctions. Report violations to the appropriate authorities. Testify at court or parole hearings. Conduct Parole Commission preliminary interviews.
- Serve as a resource and expert to the court, line officers, and staff in high-risk and/or specialized cases. Guide, advise, train, and make recommendations to other officers, the court, and other individuals regarding issues relating to the area of specialization. Train line officers on identification and treatment of offenders with high-risk and/or specialized needs.
- Participate in on-going training and educational opportunities to further develop and/or enhance techniques and skills relating to investigation and supervision practices of offenders in area of specialization. Track developments in the law. Provide the court, management and staff with ongoing updates related to changes with this offender population. Assist in developing policies to provide needed services. Provide proposals/recommendations for updates or amendments to conditions of supervision for this special offender population.
- Perform administrative duties regarding area of specialty.
Application Info
Individuals interested in being considered for the position are invited to submit a written memorandum of interest accompanied by an updated resume and response to the question listed below as part of the narrative statement to: Lisa M. Janca, Human Resources Administrator, lisa_janca@nywp.uscourts.gov, by the close of business at 5:00 p.m. ET on Feb. 25, 2025.
Discuss your specific interest in securing the Special Offender Specialist position in the post-sentence unit, and the qualities of a good supervision officer.
Job description and additional information can be located on our website at www.nywp.uscourts.gov.
Applicants must be U.S. citizens. The final candidate will be subject to a background investigation. This position is subject to mandatory Electronic Funds Transfer participation for payment of net pay. Due to the volume of applications received, the U.S. Probation Office will contact only the most qualified applicants who will be invited for interview. Only qualified applicants will be considered for this position. The U.S. Probation Office has the right to modify the conditions of this job announcement, withdraw the announcement or fill the position at any time before the closing date, any of which may occur without prior notice.
The federal Judiciary is an Equal Employment Opportunity employer.