CLASS SPECIFICATION

CORRECTIONAL SPECIALIST V

DEFINITION OF CLASS:

The primary work of this class is day-to-day management of one or more correction and rehabilitation programs and ongoing supervision of its operations and personnel in Pre-Trial Services, Detention Services or Pre-Release Services. Contacts for employees in this class are with subordinates to assign and evaluate work, and discuss/resolve unique issues and cases; representatives/employees of the same and other criminal justice agencies, to discuss cases of mutual interest, and coordinate intra/inter-agency actions and mutual support for each other; advisory board and commission members, both to make recommendations to them and receive their work guidance; and community leaders/representatives and the general public, to make presentations about community corrections and answer their questions. For the majority of positions in this class, contacts are experienced with offenders, their legal counsel and/or family members, work site supervisors, and others providing services to offenders, to assess and respond to offender progress and problems, sometimes including crisis intervention, and otherwise coordinate their placement and/or services received. Contacts at this level require an employee to have well-developed communication skills to facilitate accomplishment of program goals and objectives. The contact which employees have with an offender population, their family, advocates and others may be unscheduled and secondary to the supervisory and program manager roles of positions in this class.

An employee in this class is responsible for day-to-day supervision of a major correctional unit or one-of-a-kind correction and rehabilitation program, which either indirectly facilitates or directly provides for the screening, security, treatment and/or support services of an offender population, and which helps inmates attain successful reintegration into the community at large. Employees achieve previously approved program goals and objectives by developing work strategies and devoting the majority of their time to directly supervising the work of their subordinates. Completed work is evaluated for appropriateness of actions taken/decisions made, and conformity to procedures and standards. Work planning tailored to the mission of the program supervised, and the needs of the inmate or offender population served, is characteristic of this class of work. Guidelines are available for the large majority of work carried out in each of the program areas, yet there are situations and issues not specifically covered, thereby requiring an employee to use judgment and discretion and/or request assistance or guidance when unusual situations are presented. Individualized program standard operating procedures, policies and practices are developed and modified by employees in this class, subject to review and approval by their supervisor. The complexity of this class of work is marked by supervision of employees who work with a generally uncooperative, undependable group of offenders who usually do not seek behavioral changes; striving to meet the demands and expectations of other criminal justice agencies and units which occasionally conflict with an employee's program goals; researching new work methods and procedures; evaluating the safety needs of County citizens against the risks of releasing an offender into the community and/or the costs of incarcerating an individual; reconciling gaps and conflicts in offender history; and providing, through others, individualized services to inmates within a program of limited resources. Properly performed work results in the timely delivery of services to an offender population; protection of the community at large, by ensuring that only selected offenders participate in offender diversion programs; and reduction of the number of offenders incarcerated. The work of this class is primarily sedentary, with some occasional discomforts and unpleasantness and some potential for abusive, aggressive or unpredictable behavior of the offenders.

EXAMPLES OF DUTIES: (Illustrative only)

Provides supervision to subordinate employees and oversight of outside contractors, and guidance/direction to employers and representatives of the same and other criminal justice agencies regarding screening, treatment, supervision and/or support services provided to offenders.
Reviews and acts upon inmate behavioral contracts, financial accounts/requests, behavior adjustment reports and actions, employment performance and revocation reports, as well as routine correspondence.
Ensures inmate accountability.
Sporadically provides crisis intervention counseling to inmates.
May conduct orientation session with new offender upon transfer into a specific program.
Informs supervisor of potentially dangerous, controversial situations.
Screens/evaluates employment applications and provides selection recommendations to immediate supervisor.
Periodically receives State mandated training and ensures subordinate employees meet State training requirements.
Develops/revises standard operating procedures for approval by higher authority; and ensures staff/offender compliance with policies, procedures, regulations and laws.
Ensures proper maintenance of offender records.
Provides Operating and/or Capital Improvement Program Budget recommendations.
Performs related duties as required.

MINIMUM QUALIFICATIONS:

Experience: Four (4) years of experience in community-based corrections or in other human services work emphasizing treatment/counseling, at least three of which must be equivalent to that of a Correctional Specialist II.
Education: Possession of a Bachelor's degree from an accredited college or university.
Equivalency: Excess education may be substituted for required experience, but excess experience may not be substituted for the Bachelor's degree, as the educational requirement is stipulated by the Maryland State Training Commission.
Knowledge, Skills and Abilities:
Considerable knowledge of the principles and concepts, trends, and practices in the correctional and behavioral sciences, and of the methods and techniques of interviewing and counseling as they pertain to the field of correction and rehabilitation.
Considerable knowledge of one or more significant factors contributing to criminality, such as substance abuse or mental health disorders; and of the methods of treatment and techniques to speed recovery, prevent relapse and facilitate rehabilitation.
Considerable knowledge of the practical operations of the criminal justice system.
Knowledge of the theories, principles, and practices of parole and probation, and of the conceptual and overt behavior patterns of offenders.
Skill in problem solving to identify and analyze issues and make effective recommendations for, or decisions on, individualized treatment programs.
Skill in oral communication to express information verbally (including facts, concepts and principles) so that others will understand, and to understand the verbal information of others. This includes skill in encouraging oral communication by others.
Skill in written communication to express information in writing (including facts, concepts and principles) so that others will understand, and to read and comprehend the written information of others.
Skill in human relations to supervise work with persons of demonstrated antisocial behavior, including persons charged with or convicted of serious crimes.
Well-developed interpersonal skills to interact effectively with personal contacts.
Skill in using a computer, modern office suites and program-specific computer systems to enter, use and exchange information.
Ability to manage program operations and to supervise employees.
Ability to attend meetings or perform other assignments at locations outside the office.

CITIZENSHIP AND AGE:

Individuals appointed to this position must be at least 21 years of age on the date of appointment, and be either a citizen of the United States or resident alien.

PROBATIONARY PERIOD:

Individuals appointed or promoted to this class will be required to serve a probationary period of twelve months, during which time performance will be carefully evaluated. Continuation in this class will be contingent upon successful completion of the probationary period.

MEDICAL PROTOCOL: Core Exam and Drug/Alcohol Screen

Class Established: February, 1992
Revised: October, 1994
September, 2003 (M)
May, 2004