Correctional Officer, Juvenile

The Department of Community Corrections and Rehabilitation (DOCCR) is seeking Juvenile Correctional Officer candidates to help promote their mission of community safety, community restoration, and reduce risk of re-offense.

This posting will be used to fill current and future full-time, permanent, and limited duration (temporary) benefit earning and non-benefit earning Juvenile Correctional Officer vacancies over the next several months. Positions require working various shifts which include nights, weekends, and evenings.

Current vacancies are at the Hennepin County Juvenile Detention Center (JDC), located at 510 Park Avenue in Minneapolis, MN. The Juvenile Detention Center is a short-term secure residential facility for juveniles pending disposition of their court cases.

The primary duties and responsibilities of these positions include:

• Act as a role model and a residential counselor for juvenile residents
• Partner with co-workers to plan, organize, administer, and supervise resident daily activities, such as recreation, school and volunteer programs, and leisure activities
• Collaborate with multidisciplinary teams of professionals which may include supervisors, program directors, other juvenile correctional officers, social workers, and probation officers
• Enforce resident rules; document resident behaviors and activities in appropriate logs and reports
• Ensure the facilities staff and residents safety by building relationships, employing de-escalation techniques, and using verbal commands and force when necessary
• Orient residents to the facility
• Supervise and check in visitors on visiting days
• Receive and/or release juveniles from facility
• Transport residents to placement with county vehicle
• Establish healthy relationships with residents in the facility
• Acknowledge and respond appropriately to resident behavior
• Recognize and respect cultural differences and provide culturally appropriate services

Best Qualified Candidates must be at least 21 years of age and have:

• One of the following:
  • Bachelor’s degree or higher in corrections, law enforcement, sociology, psychology or related criminal justice or behavioral science field
  • 40 or more quarter (27 semester) credits in the above-cited fields
• and two or more years of full-time equivalent experience in a correctional, residential treatment or other comparable setting which involves the supervision and/or control of clients
  Four years or more of experience in a correctional, residential treatment, or other comparable setting which involves the supervision and/or control of clients
  A valid driver’s license and the ability to obtain a Hennepin County driver’s permit
• Experience serving the needs of at-risk youth in a residential or non-residential setting (teachers, group counselors, outreach workers, coach/mentor, etc.)
• Commitment and dedication to the needs of adolescent offenders and their families
• Knowledge of:
  • Individual and interpersonal behavior within a social system
  • The criminal justice system and its stakeholders
  • Hispanic, Asian, American Indian, African American, and/or new immigrant cultures
• Ability to:
  • Communicate effectively and professionally both verbally and in writing
  • Meet the physical demands required for this position: this position requires that you are able to stand, stoop, bend, reach, run, and walk both inside and outside
  • Work effectively with an increasingly diverse client population

Under facility licensing requirements, positions at the County Home School and/or Juvenile Detention Center are required to undergo a Department of Human Services Background Study (MS 245C.13). Convictions for certain crimes will have an effect on your ability to be hired according to the disqualification schedule listed in Minnesota Statute 245C.15. Individuals convicted for any level of Criminal Sexual Conduct are disqualified from being hired into any position within the DOCCR under the Prison Rape Elimination Act (PREA). Other past involvement with the criminal court system will not automatically disqualify you from working at the DOCCR; individual circumstances are reviewed and evaluated confidentially. If you do not know your exact conviction information, you can refer to your sentencing order or contact the county where you were convicted.

Invitations to interview will be based on an assessment of education and experience. Job offer will be contingent on passing a pre-employment physical, drug test, employment history/reference check, criminal background check including fingerprinting, and driver’s license check prior to employment. Under State of Minnesota law, certain criminal convictions disqualify persons from employment in this job classification.

Hennepin County envisions an organization where our commitment to diversity is fundamental in providing excellent service to our community.

If you need assistance to actively participate in the employment process, please email us at HR.ServiceCenter@hennepin.us or call us at 612.348.7855.

Hennepin County provides equal access to employment, programs and services without regard to race, color, creed, religion, age, sex (except when sex is a Bona Fide Occupational Qualification), disability, marital status, sexual orientation, public assistance or national origin. If you believe you have been discriminated against, contact the Human Resources Department, A-400 Government Center, Minneapolis, MN 55487, 612.348.7855