What is a Court Services Officer?
Court Services (Probation) Definition
Each circuit has a staff of court services officers trained to provide a wide variety of assistance to judges, offenders, and the community at large.
Court services officers conduct predispositional reports, presentence investigations and recommends to the sentencing Judge plans for dealing with juvenile and adult offenders who may be placed on probation. In preparing these plans, the court services officer takes into account public safety, victim and community restoration, and identifies ways to increase an offender's skills so that they can be productive citizens. The officers also provide in-state probation supervision, interstate compact supervision; counseling and/or community referral services to those placed on probation. Working with various government and private providers, court services is able to offer intensive probation and community based services as an alternative to committing individuals to the Department of Corrections.
THEIR CLIENTS
Court services officers provide a myriad of services to a variety of clients. Who their clients are depends upon which services are being offered. Alleged delinquent children and children in need of supervision (CHIN's) and their family members can become clients during the preadjudication phase if they are referred to the Court Services Department by the state's attorney for diversion services. Whenever adjudications as delinquent children or children in need of supervision occur, the children and their families become clients until their services are terminated by the court. Adult offenders usually become clients as a result of a conviction of a misdemeanor or felony.
Public agencies, such as the Department of Social Services, schools, community mental health centers the Department of Human Services, Department of Education and Cultural Affairs and law enforcement agencies become "client organizations" when services are shared and referrals are made to better serve clients and their families. Likewise, private organizations become clients while in a joint service relationship with court services officers. Victims become clients by receiving personal and social support as well as financial restitution collected from the perpetrators of their crimes.
THEIR SERVICES
Court services officers are authorized, and restricted, to provide services primarily to two classifications of juveniles: (1) "Delinquent child," as defined by SDCL 26-8C-2 and (2) "Child in need of supervision," as defined by SDCL 26-8B-2.
Informal adjustment diversion services may be offered to families as an alternative to adjudication and further penetration into the juvenile justice system. These services, however, must be authorized by a state's attorney pursuant to SDCL 26-7A-10 or by a circuit judge in accordance with SDCL 26-7A-89.
Prehearing social case studies authorized by SDCL 26-7A-88 is prepared by court services officers and presented t the court. The purpose of the studies prepared for the court was to assess the children and their families to ensure that the judges had pertinent and reliable information to consider during the children's dispositional hearings.
SDCL 26-8B-6 and 26-8C-7 provide the statutory basis for dispositional services provided to delinquent children and children in need of supervision. Juvenile probationers and their families receive probation services consisting of counseling, referrals to community-based services and self-discipline assistance. Court services officers provide juveniles with home-based services. As part of a program to assist juvenile offenders to respect individuals and their communities, as well as enhance their self-esteem, court services officers worked with the juvenile offenders to repay financial restitution to their victims. Additionally, juvenile offenders contribute community service hours of work to their communities.
Another part of court services officer duties is directed toward adult offenders, the offenders' families and their victims. A presentence investigation is completed and presented to the sentencing judge upon the offender's conviction of a misdemeanor or felony. Guidance, surveillance, supervision of conditions of probation and referrals for other community-based services are the primary objectives of probation services to adult offenders. Additionally, misdemeanant probationers receive case service monitoring (short-term probation) services. Court services officers collect and return restitution to victims who suffered a loss from adult offenders. Moreover, adult offenders provided their communities with hours of community service.
The administration and service function of the interstate compact for adult probationers is the responsibility of the Unified Judicial System from the Board of Charities and Corrections. Thus, court services officers began to provide their services to additional 361 adult offenders.
INTENSIVE PROBATION SERVICES
The Intensive Probation Supervision Program is a community-based sentencing option for seriously at risk offenders with high needs who have received a suspended commitment to the Department of Corrections. Clients are those who can safely be managed in the community but who are too high risk/high need for traditional probation. The Intensive Officer will provide intensive intervention, surveillance, and enforcement to offenders and their families in an effort to promote Restorative Justice within the community.