York County Adult Probation and Parole Department

York County Judicial Center

45 North George Street, 2^nd floor

 York, PA 17401
Telephone: (717) 771-9602
Fax: (717) 771-9846

Hanover Sub-Office
Mc'allister Hotel
11 York Street, Suite 102,
Hanover, PA 17331
Telephone: (717) 630-8034

Fax: (717) 630-0965

Dillsburg Sub-Office
130 West Church Street, 2^nd floor
Dillsburg, PA 17019
Telephone: (717) 432-3165

Fax: (717) 432-0842

Day Reporting Center

164 South Pine Street

York, PA 17403

Telephone: (717) 771-2491

Fax: (717) 771-2495

Drug Treatment Court

45 North George Street, 2^nd floor

York, PA 17401

Telephone: (717) 771-9602 ext. 226

Fax: (717) 771-9775

CHIEF

DEPUTY CHIEF

ADULT SUPERVISORS

TREATMENT COURT ADMINISTRATOR

OFFICE ADMINISTRATOR

Auspices         

The statutory base for probation service is found in the Act of August 6, 1963, No. 277, C.S. Section 6301, et. seq.

Purpose          

To provide information to the Court to aid in the determination of appropriate dispositions for criminal offenders; to provide supervision of offenders in the community; to provide case planning, counseling, and referral services to offenders; to arrange special programming for offenders, directly or by purchase of service, in pursuit of determined case goals and objectives; to provide drug testing and monitoring to specialized caseloads; and to provide pre-trial supervision services.

 Staff               

The staff consists of the Chief, Deputy Chief, eight (8) Supervisors, four (4) Assistant Supervisors, one (1) Office Manager, sixty-four (64) Probation Officers, seventeen (17) Clerical Staff, and two (2) part-time Crew Supervisors.

The department is administered by a Chief Probation Officer appointed by the President Judge and responsible to him/her and the Court Administrator for the operation of the department. The Deputy Chief and supervisors assist in the management of the operation.  Assistant Supervisors train new Probation Officers, coordinate ongoing staff development, fill-in during the absence of Supervisors and maintain standard caseloads.

Probation Officers investigate, advise, counsel, and monitor individuals on probation and parole to foster their personal, social and economic adjustment in the community. Work involves the counseling and supervision of individuals on probation or parole, completion of pre-sentence investigations, violation reports and pre-parole plans. This also includes a wide variety of contacts with agencies, employers, friends and families in securing information regarding offenders, and assisting in developing useful and effective rehabilitation plans. Although the required work is regulated by law and well defined procedures, the employee is required to make decisions in emergency situations directly affecting the public safety and personal liberties of individuals.

Probation Officers are required to have a Bachelor's Degree, preferably in the behavior sciences. Upon employment, each officer receives extensive training specifically related to his/her duties.

Services 

Pre-sentence Investigations

Staff completes over 600 pre-sentence investigations annually, including criminal and social history, as well as offense and victim information for the Court to aid in the determination of dispositions.

Probation and Parole Services

Supervision, counseling and casework are provided to adult offenders placed on probation and parole by the Court.  Services include case planning, monitoring, and referral to other agencies, where appropriate.  Offenders are expected to comply with Court ordered conditions and are returned to Court by staff for violation of conditions when necessary.

Intensive Probation

This is an alternative to jail program that diverts high‑need, non‑violent offenders from prison under intensive supervision.  Includes drug testing and high accountability monitoring.

Victim Services

Our department is committed to provide services to victims of crime.  Victims are empowered as active participants in the criminal justice system through impact statements and sentencing recommendations.  Restitution is aggressively monitored.  The Probation Department also conducts monthly impact of crime sessions for offenders owing restitution.

Domestic Violence Services

The Men In Recovery Domestic Violence Program was created in January, 1996.  The program promotes safety and support to victims of domestic violence by providing batterer’s intervention services to men on probation/parole.

Life Skills Services

On September 1, 1998, the “Phoenix” Life Skills Program was implemented to provide competency development educational opportunities to male and female offenders.

ERP

ERP (Employment Readiness Program) is a program to provide resources for clients to overcome barriers of finding and retaining employment.

ERP was developed to give clients an overview of the job search process.  The program begins with helping clients to assess their own interests and job preferences and then develop reasonable employment goals to guide them through their search.  Clients then brainstorm to determine where to look for a job and the best ways to go about looking for a job.  During the program, clients will have an opportunity to fill out a job application and construct their own resumes.  To prepare clients for the interview process, a discussion of human resource issues, particularly regarding criminal history, is held.  Clients are provided with a list of potential interview questions and are instructed on proper attire and deportment for the interview.  The last day of the program is spent at Martin Memorial Library learning about the many resources available there for job search.

Community Service Work

Offenders ordered by the Court to perform volunteer work in the community are placed in over 200 community agencies where their performance and completion of hours are monitored by a department coordinator.

ALPHA Program

Created in 1988, a unit of probation staff that works exclusively with female offenders, focusing on the provision of gender-specific resources.

Sex Offender Program

Created in 1998, a unit of the probation staff that works with all offenders convicted of sex-related crimes.  Services include supervision of the offenders in the community, referrals and monitoring of sex offender counseling, verification of Megan’s Law compliance and facilitation of DNA testing procedures.

Mental Health Program

Created in 1999, a unit of probation staff that works with offenders diagnosed with mental illness/mental retardation issues.

Day Reporting Center Program

This initiative is an Intermediate Punishment program that is an alternative to incarceration.  It targets non-violent offenders who would normally receive a long county jail sentence to a short state prison sentence.  In order to be eligible an offender may not have a current conviction or a conviction for a violent offense in the last 10 years, they must meet DSM-IV criteria for dependency and they must fall within levels 3 or 4 according to the Pennsylvania State Sentencing Guidelines.  The Day Reporting Center (DRC) provides high accountability through daily reporting, drug screening, curfews, electronic monitoring and employment/community service coupled with appropriate levels of required substance abuse treatment and counseling.

Emergency Services

After-hours services are provided immediately in emergency situations through an on-call system.

Pre-Trial Supervision

Supervision and monitoring are provided to defendants on nominal or reduced bail while awaiting case disposition.

Intermediate Punishment Programs

The adult division operates or contracts for the following alternative sentencing options:

X                   Community Service Work Crews

X                   Drug Testing

X                   Electronic Monitoring ‑ House Arrest

X                   In‑patient Drug and Alcohol Treatment

X                   Intensive Supervision

X                   Outpatient Drug and Alcohol – TASC

X                   Day Reporting Center

The Intermediate Punishment unit consists of eight (8) probation officers whose work is two-fold. First, convicted offenders enter the IP unit for completion of a pre-sentence investigation. Three (3) officers are dedicated toward interviewing offenders as to their social and family histories, researching a defendant’s prior criminal record, and gathering victim’s statements and restitution figures all of which is reported to the Court to help fashion an appropriate sentence. In 2006, the Probation Department completed 566 pre-sentence reports. Many of those defendants identified by the pre-sentence investigation as non-violent offenders and clinically diagnosed substance abusers were sentenced to a term of Intermediate Punishment.    This particular type of offender, without the benefit of an IP sentence faces a lengthy period of incarceration and upon release, has less access to rehabilitative treatment and employment options and therefore is at risk to re-offend. 

The second function of the IP unit is the direct supervision of the offender handled by the remaining five (5) officers in the unit.  Our services are restrictive, yet rehabilitative in nature through home confinement/electronic monitoring, daily reporting to a probation officer, and intensive drug and alcohol treatment.  Offenders are funded through monies in accordance with The Commonwealth of Pennsylvania’s County Intermediate Punishment Act of 1990 (Act 1990-193). Should the probationer fail to abide the terms of the Intermediate Punishment sentence, he/she is immediately incarcerated pending a revocation hearing that may result in a modest to long-term jail sentence.

As of January 1, 2007, 514 offenders were involved in Restrictive Intermediate Punishment programs. By June 30, 2007, the IP sentencing alternative saved 12,197 days in jail. At an estimated cost of $55 per day to be housed in the York County Prison, Restrictive Intermediate Punishment Programs saved York County taxpayers $670,835 in the first six (6) months of 2007. These figures demonstrate that the Probation Department’s Intermediate Punishment plan keeps non-violent offenders out of jail with the mandate of strict supervision coupled with rigorous treatment endeavors thereby promoting a healthier family unit for the participant, a reduction in recidivism within our community and of course, saving taxpayer dollars.

Drug Treatment Court

An intensive program which includes direct judicial supervision through weekly court appearances in addition to appropriate counseling, random urinalysis and community service.  Supervision is monitored by the Drug Treatment Court Team which is comprised of the Presiding Drug Treatment Court Judge, a representative from the District Attorney’s office, a representative from the Public Defender’s office, the Drug Court Administrator, the Supervising Probation Officer and the Drug/Alcohol Care Manager.

YORK COUNTY ADULT PROBATION AND PAROLE CASELOAD HISTORY INFORMATION