Effect of contracted treatment referrals on probation officer role

The Texas Department of Criminal Justice's Community Justice Assistance Division (CJAD) requested a task analysis to validate its probation officer certification examination. Survey data from 361 community supervision officers and 91 agency directors was used to aid in identifying the frequency and criticality of tasks performed on a statewide basis. Data provided insight regarding the role of community supervision officers. The key finding is that the individual officer's role is dominated by monitoring/control/enforcement, while structured counseling is out-sourced to contracted social development organizations. Contracted services are best characterized as an agency rather than officer function.