Probation

Abstract With nearly five million adults on probation in the United States, the probation sentence affects the trajectory of individuals with legal involvement. Success on probation can address factors that affect engagement in offending, while failure can result in further penetration into the legal system (including incarceration). The work of probation is like a swinging pendulum—it has embraced social work principles in some eras, while other eras have been devoted to “get tough” policies. Contemporary probation work acknowledges the importance of client-centered approaches and offers a more humane punishment scheme. Working alliance is a key concept to advancing probation services. Social workers can play a role in transforming the probation sanction to be meaningful, including preventing and treating client issues that affect offending behavior. The role of probation should be to facilitate behavior change as a means to prevent future offending.