Juvenile Officer I

A position with the Missouri Judiciary provides you the opportunity to work with a variety of exceptional, hardworking people and to gain a valuable and rewarding career. It takes many types of talent to advance the mission of the Missouri Judiciary and to keep operations running smoothly. Our positions offer competitive benefit programs, growth opportunities and the ability to work with people in your community.

We are recruiting to fill a Juvenile Officer I position which is entry-level professional work in the enforcement and administration of the Missouri juvenile justice system. An employee in this position is vested with the statutory authority of a juvenile officer to take charge of children who come under the jurisdiction of the juvenile or family court. This position is expected to exercise supervision over juveniles under the court's jurisdiction. Employees in this class are expected to work with some degree of independence. Close supervision is received from and work is reviewed by a higher-level Juvenile Officer.

Other key responsibilities include: (Any one position may not include all of the duties listed, nor do the examples cover all of the duties that may be performed.)

• Responds to on-call or daily referrals made by law enforcement agencies, schools or the Department of Social Services.

• Detains juveniles who may be charged with criminal offenses; provides and explains legal rights to the alleged offender.

• Places alleged and delinquent juveniles in local, regional or contracted detention centers.

• Assists legal counsel in the preparation of petitions, motions, and other legal documents for all juveniles on caseload.

• Prepares social summary investigations, process reports, assessment reports and all other reports as directed by the court for review and filing by legal counsel.

Desired skills and knowledge: (This job description does not include specific physical requirements necessary to perform the job, such as carrying, standing, and lifting. Such requirements vary from position to position and may be determined by the appointing authority.)

• Basic knowledge of juvenile courts and procedures.

• Basic knowledge of community resources.

• Basic knowledge of roles and responsibilities of child serving agencies.

• Basic awareness of local and national trends in juvenile justice and child welfare.

• Basic knowledge of statutes and laws regarding juvenile cases.

Minimum qualifications: (The following statement represents the minimum education and experience that will be used to determine qualifications of applicants, provided equivalent substitution will be permitted in case of deficiencies of either experience or education. Education above the minimum stated may be substituted on a year for year basis for the required general experience; experience above the minimum stated may be substituted on a year for year basis for the required education.)

Graduation from a four-year college or university with a degree in Criminal Justice Administration, Criminology, Psychology, Sociology, Social Work, or related field.

OR

Professional employment in a public or private agency involving substantial amount of time (over 50% time) in the delivery of protective services to families, adults, children, or the aged may be substituted on a year for year basis for the required education.

We are an Equal Opportunity Employer and have a strong commitment to diversity in all its forms. We are particularly interested in receiving applications from a broad spectrum of qualified people who will assist us in demonstrating our essential values of excellence, integrity, justice, stewardship, teamwork and partnership.