Budget shortfalls facing pleasant county

Reference no: EM133616348

Charles is chief probation officer in Pleasant County, a position he has held for 10 years. Prior to becoming chief, he served as a middle manager in the same department for 6 years and as a probation officer for 10 years. The county has 4,500 probationers total, of which 1,500 are on probation for a felony and 3,000 are misdemeanants. Of the 1,500 felons, 275 are specialized cases. Of the 3,000 misdemeanants, 1,500 are Class A, and the other half are Class B and Class C.

If all positions are full, the county can support a total of 30 probation officers (15 for felony and 15 for misdemeanors), 2 middle managers (1 supervising felony cases and 1 for misdemeanors), and a chief probation officer. All probation officers currently conduct PSI and write reports on a rotating basis. Right now cases are assigned based only on whether they are a felony or a misdemeanor, and a new client is given to the officer handling the least amount of cases.

There is currently a hiring freeze due to economic difficulties and budget shortfalls facing Pleasant County for at least two more years, but this could last longer. As a result, if a probation officer leaves, there is no replacement, and clients on his or her caseload are divided among existing officers. Currently, Charles has 2 middle managers, 13 misdemeanor officers, and 14 felony officers, so he is down by 3 positions. The morale in his department has been decreasing due to remaining officers doing more work for the same amount of pay, so Charles must act fast. He is considering a number of options:

1. Move four of the misdemeanor officers over to felony caseloads. All officers will rotate on the PSIs.

2. Move five of the misdemeanor officers over to felony caseloads. One of those felony officers will be assigned to write all felony PSI reports and not do any supervision.

3. Keep caseload numbers the same and geographically separate offenders by zip code so it is easier for an office to visit clients.

4. Have smaller felony caseload sizes for specialized types like sex offenders, offenders with mental illnesses.

5. Allow Class B and Class C misdemeanant's electronic check-in and mail-on options (this affects 1,500 offenders), so only one officer has to supervise Class B and Class C, while seven officers supervise Class A misdemeanants at 214 offenders each.

Which options should Charles select and why? You may choose as many as you think are cumulatively effective. Is there another option, without hiring new staff?

Reference no: EM133616348

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