Juvenile Detention Officer - Middlesex County

Under general direction of a supervisory employee during an
assigned tour of duty, controls the general conduct and behavior
of juvenile residents, the maintenance of discipline, and
custodial, recreational,  transportation, and housekeeping
functions; 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.

EXAMPLES OF WORK:

Transports juvenile residents to various locations outside the
institution using a van/car to assist them in obtaining needed
treatments, attend court, and so forth.

Supervises and/or participates in various programs/activities
with juvenile residents to stimulate interest in and cooperation
with various social/education programs.

Provides advice to individual juvenile residents on personal
problems they encounter while in the institution such as peer
pressure, adapting to the surroundings, and so forth by
presenting a positive role model and using common sense to
relieve 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 of
the whereabouts of juvenile residents.

Uses appropriate techniques to calm disruptive juvenile residents
in a potentially dangerous situation and may physically restrain
them to prevent them from endangering their health/safety or
others.

Observes unusual physical appearance/behavior of juvenile
residents to uncover violations of institutional rules and
protect the health, security, safety, and welfare of juvenile
residents.

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 noise
level,  calls  for help, cries of fire, arguments among  juvenile
residents,  scraping  of  metal, and so  forth  to  maintain  the
security, safety, and welfare of the juvenile residents,  and  to
react  in accord with established policies/regulations/procedures
in crisis situations.

Learns the names and recognizes juvenile residents under
immediate charge and maintains a constructive personal
relationship with them to control their general conduct/behavior
and to identify potential problems.

Patrols various locations within the institution for the purpose
of checking safety/security hazards such as fire, smoke, broken
pipes, 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 in
housekeeping 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 detect
possible security problems such as planning of  escapes and
so forth, and reports such information in accord with established
policies, regulations, and procedures.

Writes comprehensive, factual, incident reports and/or fills out
short forms such as head counts and safety reports to give
routine, detailed information.

Will  be required to learn to utilize various types of electronic
and/or manual recording and information systems used by the
agency, 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 disconnects
including all necessary set-up and termination with the
monitoring 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 juveniles
in detention, receiving and communicating Court requirements
to the contract facility and reporting to the Court as needed
on progress or difficulties of the juveniles placed by the court
in 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 these
matters 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.

EDUCATION:

Graduation from high school or vocational school or possession of
an approved high school equivalency certificate.

TRAINING:

Appointees will be required to successfully complete a training
program approved by the New Jersey Police Training Commission
within the time period prescribed by  law or  the New Jersey Police
Training Commission.

CITIZENSHIP

Applicants must be citizens of the United States.

LICENSE:

Appointees will be required to possess a driver's license
valid in New Jersey only if the operation of a vehicle, rather
than employee mobility, is necessary to perform essential
duties of the position.

KNOWLEDGE AND ABILITIES:

Ability to cope with crisis situations that occur in a juvenile
detention facility.

Ability to apply knowledge and use of sound judgment in critical
situations.

Ability to empathize with juveniles from different backgrounds.

Ability to write concise, accurate reports.

Ability to utilize various types of electronic and/or manual
recording 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 professionals
e.g., Judges, Court personnel, law enforcement, social service
Personnel, program participants, their families and so forth.

Ability to read, write, speak, understand, and communicate in
English 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.