The Berks
County Juvenile Probation Internship Program is designed to provide a
“hands-on” learning experience for students working towards a bachelor’s or master’s
degree in the fields of criminal justice or social services. Participants
will be exposed to many different aspects of the juvenile justice system
including but not limited to, utilization of evidence-based practices, interactions with various law enforcement agencies, counseling agencies, and
corrections professionals, observation of the court system, current
technologies, and the core competencies involved in with working with offenders.
The Berks
County Juvenile Probation Department is an arm of the 23rd Judicial
District of Pennsylvania. At any given time, on average, the Juvenile
Probation Department supervises approximately 450 juveniles countywide. The Department is responsible to hold offenders accountable by monitoring and
enforcing Court orders, as well as elicit positive offender behavior change, through the use of evidence-based practices.
Probation
officers work with offenders by performing risk assessments, targeting criminogenic (crime-producing) needs and
coordinating/delivering services designed to lower their risk to
recidivate. The department works closely with a wide variety of agencies
and providers in an effort to accomplish this goal. A probation officer
must possess and utilize many skills including: Motivational Interviewing
techniques, a comprehension of cognitive behavioral therapy, the ability to
develop a professional alliance with youth under supervision and their families, a thorough
understanding of the organizational culture of the juvenile court, juvenile
law, and use of force training (including firearms, oleoresin capsicum
spray, handcuffing/restraints, etc.).
A prospective intern should
click the link: Getting started with a Berks County JPO Internship. The information contained in the link lists the eligibility and document requirements. For your convenience, a link to the County of Berks Employment Application is provided, as it is one of the required documents. Please list the position applied for on the application as "Unpaid Intern".
Intern
candidates will apply to the Berks County Juvenile Probation Office by completing the
required documents/clearances and submitting them to Assistant Chief Probation Officer, Travis Johnson. Candidates
that meet the requirements will be reviewed, and prospective interns will be
interviewed. The department will accept two interns each semester and two
in the summer.
If there are any questions, please contact Assistant Chief Probation Officer, Travis Johnson.