DEPUTY PROBATION OFFICER II - TREATMENT AND COUNSELING

Position/Program Information

COUNTY OF LOS ANGELES PROBATION DEPARTMENT

Exam Number

F8609T-TC

Filing period

Th e application filing period will begin on June 9, 2026, at 8:00 a.m. (PT) - Continuous. We will keep accepting applications until the position is filled. The application window may close unexpectedly once we have enough qualified candidates.

Who Can Apply?

We welcome applications from anyone

Why Work for Us?

The Los Angeles County Probation Department is leading the way in rebuilding lives and making our communities healthier and safer. Working hand in hand with the Board of Supervisors and partner agencies, our goal is to promote rehabilitation and reduce recidivism through a "Care First, Jails Last" approach.

Are you looking for a place to make a difference in people's lives? Are you passionate about helping and guiding youth? Are you a respected and creative member of the community?

The Probation Department seeks highly motivated individuals who can assist and advise youth in redirecting their behavior into pro-social channels, while supporting them through coaching, counseling, and acknowledging pro-social behavior. Do you see yourself making a difference in the organization's mission and strengthening the community? If so, we encourage you to join our team.

Check Out Our Outstanding Benefits

Los Angeles County offers one of the strongest public-sector benefits packages in the nation: https://hr.lacounty.gov/benefits/

Benefits include a rich selection of health care options and robust retirement plans, including:

• Medical and Dental coverage
• Group life insurance
• Health care and subsidized dependent care spending accounts
• Long-term disability health insurance

ABOUT THE ROLE:

Deputy Probation Officer II - Treatment and Counseling positions are employed at the Probation Department's Residential Treatment, Detention Services, and Secure Youth Treatment facilities throughout the County of Los Angeles. Positions supervise probation youth within these facilities and provide on-site treatment services. Duties also include serving as team leaders, planning and implementing treatment programs utilizing accepted casework skills and techniques, preparing reports and recommendations for use by the Probation Department and the courts, and running small group sessions utilizing evidence-based cognitive intervention on an as-needed basis.

Essential Job Functions

• Conducts individual therapy to address issues including stress, substance abuse, and family dynamics, in accordance with established treatment plans, for the purpose of modifying behavior and improving pro-social and vocational skills.
• Conducts daily group therapy using evidence-based practices, including cognitive behavioral interventions, to improve the psychosocial functioning of youth.
• Conducts family therapy in accordance with treatment plans to enhance communication and promote positive family dynamics.
• Provides crisis intervention counseling to de-escalate potentially harmful situations and/or high-risk behaviors.
• Motivates and encourages youth to engage in scheduled activities and schoolwork, utilizing motivational interviewing techniques.
• Evaluates the effectiveness of counseling and treatment plans, as well as the accuracy and completeness of diagnoses, to modify plans and diagnoses as necessary.
• Consults with other professionals regarding therapies, treatments, counseling resources, and techniques to ensure the effectiveness of each youth’s treatment plan.
• Serves as the treatment team leader and facilitates weekly team meetings.
• Ensures youths’ health, hygiene, and personal needs are met in consultation with nursing staff, physicians, and housing unit staff.
• Records services in accordance with the Department of Mental Health’s standards for behavioral health services within the Integrated Behavioral Health Information System.
• Develops individual and family treatment plans.
• Writes and maintains progress notes and session documentation.
• Transports youth to court or other locations on an as-needed basis.
• Operates a single vehicle with a Gross Vehicle Weight Rating (GVWR) of more than 26,000 pounds, as needed

Requirements

SPECIALTY REQUIREMENTS:

A master's degree from an accredited college or university in a mental health or behavioral science field related to the core business function of the department*. Programs should meet the appropriate professional California accreditation standards for their discipline (e.g., Council on Social Work Education (CSWE), Council for Accreditation of Counseling and Related Educational Programs (CACREP), Commission on Accreditation for Marriage and Family Therapy Education (COAMFTE), Western Association of Schools and Colleges (WASC), American Psychological Association (APA), etc.). Out-of-state programs will also be considered if they are accredited by a recognized regional accrediting body and/or a national professional accrediting organization and are determined to be equivalent to California accreditation and education requirements for the discipline.

* Related degrees include:

• Social Work (MSW)
  
• Psychology (Clinical, Counseling, Forensic)
  
• Counseling
  
• Marriage & Family Therapy
  
• Behavioral Science
  
• Mental Health Counseling
  

Candidates must meet the qualifications for designation as a Peace Officer within the Probation Department, including, but not limited to:

1) No Felony Convictions
2) Work Requirement - Peace Officer must be legally authorized to work under federal law.
3) At least 21 years of age at the time of appointment. **

Appointees will be required to meet State-mandated CORE training requirements as defined by Standards for Training in Corrections (STC) within one (1) year of appointment, per STC guidelines.

Positions in this class will be required to possess a certificate of completion for a 40-hour introductory training course on the laws of arrest under Penal Code Section 832 and Commission on Peace Officer Standards and Training (POST).

LICENSE:
A valid California Class C Driver License at time of appointment. Some positions may require a California Class B Driver License and/or specialized endorsement.

PHYSICAL CLASS 4 - ARDOUS
This class involves frequent heavy lifting over 25 pounds, often combined with bending, twisting, or working above ground on irregular surfaces. It includes those positions that occasionally demand extraordinary physical activity such as those in Safety positions.

OTHER REQUIREMENT:
Applicants must be in good general physical condition, free from any medical condition that would interfere with the satisfactory performance of the essential duties of this classification.

SPECIAL REQUIREMENT INFORMATION:

*To receive credit for your education, include a legible copy of your official diploma, official transcript, or letter/certificate from an accredited institution within seven (7) days of filing your application. The document should show the date the degree was conferred and be in English. If not in English, then translation is required. International degrees must be evaluated for equivalency to U.S. standards if not listed in the International Handbook of Universities or World Higher Education Database. For more information on our standards for educational documents, please visit: https://file.lacounty.gov/SDSInter/dhr/070812_PPG123.pdf (Download PDF reader)

We do not accept password-protected documents. Ensure documents are unlocked before attaching to your application or sending to the exam analyst.
**Applicants must be 20-1/2 years of age at the time of filing.

VETERAN'S CREDIT

If you are a veteran, you may be eligible for veteran's credit, which is an additional 10% of the total points added to a passing score. We will need a copy of your form DD214 to review, so please include that with your application as soon as possible or email it to the exam analyst at warangkana.suos@probation.lacounty.gov

WITHHOLD INFORMATION
No withhold will be allowed. Required education must be fully met at the time of filing and clearly indicated on the application.

WORK CONDITIONS
California Penal Code 830.5 states that Probation Officers are peace officers whose authority extends to any place in the state while engaged in the performance of the duties of their respective employment and for the purpose of carrying out the primary function of their employment or as required under Sections 8597, 8598, and 8617 of the Government Code. The authority and expectations of probation officers extend to:

To conditions of parole, probation, mandatory supervision, or post release community supervision by any person in this state on parole, probation, mandatory supervision, or post release community supervision. To the escape of any inmate or ward from a state or local institution. To the transportation of people on parole, probation, mandatory supervision, or post release community supervision. To violations of any penal provisions of law which are discovered while performing the usual or authorized duties of the officer’s employment.To the rendering of mutual aid to any other law enforcement agency.

As peace officers, under the authority cited above, sworn Probation staff may need to address an escape, maintain supervision needs or quell illegal activity. Such duties may involve physical use of force, including restraining youth and/or adults. Therefore, any Probation peace officer position duties must include the ability to perform physical restraints on any person under probation, mandatory supervision, or post release

community supervision (i.e., Field or Institutions).

For more information regarding California Penal Code Section 830.5 please click Here

BACKGROUND INVESTIGATION
A thorough background investigation will be conducted, which may include, but is not limited to, the following:

1) Live Scan and Criminal Records Check
2) Polygraph Examination or Computer Voice Stress Analyzer Test.
3) Psychological Examination
4) Medical and Drug Screening Examination
5) Credit Check
6) Physical Agility Examination

Candidates who are found unsuitable for employment will be removed from the eligible list pursuant to Civil Service Rule 6.04, including but not limited to the following:

• Who is addicted to the use of intoxicating liquors or narcotics or habit-forming drugs;
• Who is guilty of conduct not compatible with County employment, whether or not it amounts to a crime;
• Who has been dismissed or has resigned in lieu of discharge from any position, public or private, for any cause which would be a cause for dismissal from County service; or whose record of employment has not been satisfactory in the County service, or with any other agency or firm;
• Who has abandoned any position in County service or been absent from duty without leave of absence duly granted;
• Who has a made material false statement or who has attempted any deception or fraud in connection with this or any other civil service examinations;
• Who refuses to execute the oath as prescribed by law;
• Who refuses to be fingerprinted;
• Who refuses to take or fails to pass the prescribed medical examination.

Additional Information

EXAMINATION CONTENT
This examination process will consist of a multiple choice and/or simulation assessment(s) weighted 100% assessing:

• Written English
• Following Instructions
• Numerical Calculation
• Achievement
• Professional Potential
• Responsibility
• Teamwork

Applicants must meet the specialty requirements and receive a passing score of 70% or higher in order to be placed on the eligible list.

MULTIPLE-CHOICE AND SIMULATION ASSESSMENTS ARE NOT REVIEWABLE BY CANDIDATES PER CIVIL SERVICE RULE 7.19.

TRANSFER OF TEST COMPONENTS
Applicants who have taken identical components recently for other exams may have their responses automatically transferred to this examination.

This examination contains test components that may be used in the future for new examinations and your test responses may be transferred.

TEST PREPARATION
Study guides and other test preparation resources are available to help candidates prepare for employment tests. An interactive Online Test Preparation System for taking practice tests may be accessed on the Department of Human Resources website at http://hr.lacounty.gov/ . Please click on "Find A Job" and then "Job Search Toolkit." Test preparation information is located under the "Employment Test Assistance" section.

You can also access test preparation for the computerized portion of the test by going to https://www.shldirect.com/en-us/practice-tests/ . While the guides will help you prepare for the test, we advise you to review all related materials that you deem necessary.

NOTE: All notifications, including invitation letters, will be sent electronically to the email address provided on your application. Please add the email addresses below to your email address book and list of approved senders to prevent email notifications from being filtered as spam/junk/clutter mail.

• warangkana.suos@probation.lacounty.gov
• vsanchez@hr.lacounty.gov
• info@governmentjobs.com
• talentcentral@shl.com
• donot-reply@amcatmail.com

It is your responsibility to take the above steps to view correspondence. Los Angeles County will not consider claims of not viewing or receiving notification to be a valid reason for late test administration or rescheduling of a test component.

ELIGIBILITY AND VACANCY INFORMATION
Applicants who passed the assessment(s) are placed on a list in the order of their score group for a period of twelve (12) months. Applications will be processed as they are received and added to the list accordingly. We will use this list to fill vacancies in the Probation Department as they occur.
No person may compete in this examination more than once every twelve (12) months.

AVAILABLE SHIFT
Any

APPLICATION AND FILING INFORMATION

We only accept applications filed online. Applications submitted by U.S. mail, fax, or in person are not accepted. Apply online by clicking on the "Apply" green button at the top right of this posting. This website can also be used to get application status updates.

Please fill out the application completely. We may verify information included in the application at any point during the examination and hiring process, including after an appointment has been made. Falsification of information could result in refusal of application or rescission of appointment.

We will send notifications to the email address provided on the application, so it is important that you provide a valid email address. If you choose to unsubscribe or opt out from receiving our emails, it is possible to view notices by logging into governmentjobs.com and checking the profile inbox. It is every applicant's responsibility to take steps to view correspondence, and we will not consider claims of missing notices to be a valid reason for re-scheduling an exam part.

Register the below domains as approved senders to prevent email notifications from being filtered as spam/junk mail.

• info@governmentjobs.com
• vsanchez@hr.lacounty.gov
• warangkana.suos@probation.lacounty.gov
• talentcentral@shl.com
• noreply@proctoru.com
• donot-reply@amcatmail.com

New email addresses need to be verified. This only needs to be done once per email address and can be done at any time by logging in to governmentjobs.com and following the prompts. This is to enhance the security of the online application and to prevent incorrectly entered email addresses.

Federal law requires that all employed persons have a Social Security Number, so include yours when applying.
For those who do not have access to a computer or the internet, access to complete an application is available at public libraries throughout the county.

All applicants must file their application online using their own user ID and password. Using a family member's or friend's login information may erase a candidate's original application record.

Anti-Racism, Diversity, and Inclusion (ARDI)
The County of Los Angeles recognizes and affirms that all people are created equal and are entitled to all rights afforded by the Constitution of the United States. We are committed to promoting Anti-Racism, Diversity, and Inclusion efforts to address the inequalities and disparities amongst races. We support the ARDI Strategic Plan and its goals by improving equality, diversity, and inclusion in recruitment, selection, and employment practices.

Testing Accommodation
If you require an accommodation to fairly compete in any part of the assessment process, contact the Testing Accommodations Coordinator at TestingAccommodation@hr.lacounty.gov . We require a completed "Request for Reasonable Accommodation" form as well as supporting documentation from a qualified professional justifying the request.

Department Contact Name: Probation Examinations & Recruitment Unit, Sworn Exams
Department Contact Number: (562) 940-2659
Department Contact Email: examinations@probation.lacounty.gov

Testing Accommodations Coordinator Email: TestingAccommodations@hr.lacounty.gov
Testing Accommodations Coordinator Phone: (213) 441-3150
Teletype Phone: (800) 735-2929
California Relay Services Phone: (800) 735-2922

For detailed information, please click here

• 

• Los Angeles County

• (800) 970-5478

Show more