Pretrial, Probation and Parole Supervision Week

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Change Agent­—What an inspiring job title!

It is a name sometimes used to describe community corrections professionals.

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The slogan or theme for Pretrial, Probation and Parole Supervision Week (PPPSW), which starts this Sunday, is “Be the CHANGE in your community”.

From July 13-19, 2014, the American Probation and Parole Association (APPA) encourages community corrections professionals, and everyone nationally and internationally, to honor the valuable work of change agents. The APPA’s PPPSW2014 site states, “APPA hopes you take some time now and especially during the week of July 13-19 to feel proud of the profession you’ve chosen and celebrate your accomplishments.”

Honor a Community Corrections Professional You Know

If you are a pretrial services, probation or parole employer, association or organization there is still time to come up with small but significant ways to honor your employees or members. “When correctional agencies celebrate this week, they help to increase employee morale and retention, as well as inspire potential recruits to consider community corrections as a career.”

Just some ideas include:

  • Hold a pot-luck, order in a catered meal or pizza, or organize a coffee break with special baked good treats.
  • Have a fun ceremony presenting awards to employees to recognize their unique qualities, years of service and other performance features. You can also take that time to remember past employees who have passed away.
  • Together as a group do a community service project. If it’s too late to organize something like a fundraising drive or service at a soup kitchen, you can still do a clean-up of a local park or a funny-themed auction among staff to raise money for a charity of your choice.
  • Take the time to recognize employees/members (individually if possible) over Facebook, Twitter, in a newsletter or in a personal letter or card.
  • Host a daily draw, where the winner gets a prize, such as gift certificate to a local business or membership dues to a professional association like the APPA, ICCA or ACA.
  • If you can swing it, talk to instructors at a local college who teach criminal justice, corrections or another relevant program and see if you can start a mentorship program between students and interested staff/members.
  • You could do what the Sacramento County Probation Department is doing: make “appreciation grams”—little goodie bags—for each staff member.

Perhaps you have a friend, family member or loved one who is a pretrial services, probation or parole officer.

  • You could volunteer to babysit their kids or run some errands so they can have a night out or a break.
  • You could make a donation to their favorite charity in their name.
  • You could pay for membership dues to a professional association like the APPA, ICCA or ACA or even treat them to an APPA professional development course.

For more ideas on how to recognize a community corrections professional, visit the APPA’s PPPSW page: www.appa-net.org/eweb/Resources/PPPSW_2014/index.htm

The Whole Community Can Say Thanks!

The whole community, from businesses and government officials to media and other criminal justice agencies can say THANKS to community corrections professionals during Pretrial, Probation and Parole Supervision Week!

A number of county and state government websites are already displaying the PPPSW proclamation provided by the APPA website, which has numerous resources like posters, press releases, web banners and more that can be displayed. (You can access them here: www.appa-net.org/eweb/Resources/PPPSW_2014/index.htm).

Whether you show the words“We recognize the value of community corrections professionals during Pretrial, Probation and Parole Supervision Week—July 13-19 and always” on your billboard outside, or offer a discount to community corrections officers at your local restaurant, there are a number of ways to show your appreciation!

Learn More About Community Corrections Careers

“There are few professions in which you can make real changes in someone’s life,” states the APPA. “Working in community corrections means you care about others, your community as well as the well-being of your clients’ families.”

If you don’t know much about the work pretrial services, probation or parole officers do, you can take this time to learn more. Who knows? Maybe it will inspire you to pursue a career in community corrections!

You can learn more about these professions, by visiting such sources as:

  • www.appa-net.org
  • discovercorrections.com
  • community.nicic.gov/wikis/cccn/default.aspx

You can also visit our CriminalJusticeSchoolInfo.com education and career pages to learn about community corrections and other criminal justice careers.

If you are a parole, probation or pretrial services officer, we’d like to take this opportunity to thank YOU for all you do. We hope that during PPPSW2014, and on an ongoing basis, you take the time to realize the positive impact you make on the lives of your clients and the whole community!