Rule 503-1-.27 - Training and Staff DevelopmentThe primary objective of the council's training curriculum is to insure that administrative employees, probation officers, and operators, receive sufficient training to enable them to provide probation services that are professional, competent and efficient. The curriculum consists of forty hours of initial training and twenty hours of annual in-service training
(a) Initial Orientation Training. 1.Private probation entities. All private probation entities providing probation services will provide 40 hours of initial orientation training to all private probation officers who were: (1) initially employed after January 1, 1996, or (2) employed for less than six months as of July 1, 1996. Private probation officers with evidence of satisfactorily completing a probation or parole officer basic course of training certified by the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council are exempt from the 40-hour initial orientation training requirement. Initial training of new probation officers shall be completed within the first six months of employment.2.Government probation entities. All government probation entities providing probation services will provide 40 hours of initial orientation training to all probation officers. Probation officers with evidence of satisfactorily completing a probation or parole officer basic course of training certified by the Georgia Peace Officer Standards and Training Council, and any probation officer who has been employed by a county, municipality, or consolidated government as of March 1, 2006, are exempt from the 40-hour initial orientation training requirement. Initial training of new probation officers shall be completed within the first six months of employment.(b) Annual In-Service Training. All probation entities providing probation services will provide 20 hours of annual in-service training to all employed probation officers or employees responsible for the supervision of probationers. In-service training shall be completed on a calendar year basis. The initial orientation training hours completed during the first calendar year of employment shall also count towards satisfying the annual in-service training requirements for that same period.(c) Probation Officer Training Curriculum. 1. Initial Orientation Training shall include: i. A 5-hour block of instruction covering General Probation Overview and consisting of: The History of Probation, Ethics and Professionalism, Probation Officer Liabilities and Responsibilities, Constitutional Law, and Probation Law;ii. A 20-hour block of instruction covering Offender Management and consisting of: Confidentiality, Intake, Preparation and Maintenance of Files, Case Documentation, Interviewing and Communication Skills, Available Sentencing Options, Financial Collections, Community Service, Alcohol and Substance Abuse, and Personal Welfare and Safety; and iii. A 15-hour block of instruction covering Legal Procedures and Reports and consisting of: General Report Writing Techniques, Violations, Delinquency Reports and Warrants, Courtroom Protocol, Testimony and Revocation Proceedings, First Offender Act, Case Termination Reports, Domestic Violence, and Statutory Changes and Updates.2. Annual In-Service Training shall be on topics that relate to the criminal justice system and the operation of the probation entity.(d) Training Responsibilities. Probation entities providing probation services are responsible for developing, presenting, or referring all employed probation officers to a training program consistent with the approved curriculum. The progress and completion of initial orientation and in-service training will be documented and maintained in probation entity files utilizing the forms approved by the council.(e) Training Resources. Probation entities providing probation services may obtain training resource information from public libraries, local law enforcement agencies, local colleges and schools, and national professional associations such as the American Probation and Parole Association and the American Correctional Association. In developing probation entity training plans, it is recognized that dissimilarities in entity policies, procedures and contracted services will result in a variation of emphasis placed on some curriculum topics.(f) Trainer Requirement. Trainers will have expertise in the area of training. A college degree or POST certification is preferred. Probation entities shall maintain a description of the course and the contact information of the trainer on file. Training provided by professional training services shall be accepted so long as a description of the course and the trainer's contact information is maintained on file. These records shall be maintained for a period of not less than two years.Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 503-1-.27
O.C.G.A. Sec. 42-8-101.
Original Rule entitled "Training and Staff Development" adopted. F. Jan. 17, 2001; eff. Feb. 6, 2001.Repealed: New Rule of same title adopted. F. Jan. 25, 2005; eff. Feb. 14, 2005.Repealed: New Rule of same title adopted. F. July 21, 2006; eff. August 10, 2006.Repealed: New Rule of same title adopted. F. Nov. 30, 2007; eff. Dec. 20, 2007.Repealed: New Rule of same title adopted. F. Dec. 8, 2008; eff. Dec. 28, 2008.Repealed: New Rule of same title adopted. F. May 26, 2009; eff. June 15, 2009.Repealed: New Rule of same title adopted. F. Jun. 15, 2011; eff. July 5, 2011.