Pope County helped celebrate the 2023 Pretrial, Probation, and Parole Supervision Week in July. The theme was Stronger Together which highlights how community corrections professionals are working to create opportunities for probation agents at all levels to work together to find solutions to the challenges we face in our field.

Local probation professionals include Terry Jaworski, Director of Pope County Probation; Keri Powell, Career Probation Agent; and Amanda Erickson, Senior Probation Agent.

Each day, these community corrections professionals conduct demanding, but essential work to help change the trajectory of the lives of individuals entangled in the criminal justice system – both in the juvenile and adult sectors.  The public is urged to learn more about this amazing profession, thank these community corrections professionals that serve the community so diligently, and help support the community corrections profession.

Community corrections professionals oversee persons on pre- trial conditional release or those convicted of a crime and are outside of jail or prison. Community corrections is administered by agencies with the legal authority to enforce sanctions. Community corrections includes pre-trial supervision which is release from jail pending resolution of a criminal case, traditional probation which is correctional supervision within the community rather than jail or detention facility and parole which is a period of conditional supervised release from prison.

Community corrections professionals have helped drive significant, positive changes in the nation, by helping to provide the appropriate supervision and service to the right person at the right time.

Monitoring may take the form of home contacts, drug testing, making sure the offender attends counseling sessions and helping offenders to find suitable housing and employment.