Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction Adult Parole Authority - Field Services

The mission of the Adult Parole Authority is to "aid in the reentry of offenders by partnering with community stakeholders and law enforcement agencies to preserve public safety by holding offenders accountable through diverse supervision strategies and technology." The philosophy of supervision statement for the Field Services section of the APA is to "effectively supervise and provide opportunity for offenders to reenter into law abiding citizenship and to reward, encourage, and promote positive behavior, while holding offenders accountable for negative behavior."

Duties

The Field Services Section of the Adult Parole Authority (APA) supervises approximately 37,000 offenders under probation, parole, and other types of community supervision. The State of Ohio is divided into seven regions for supervision purposes. APA also provides probation and community control services in part or in full to 52 of Ohio's 88 counties. A regional administrator, unit supervisors, senior officers, parole/probation officers, and support staff work in each region. Field staff in each of the regions are responsible for the following:

• Promoting public safety
• Monitoring offender behavior
• Linking offenders with appropriate services
• Preparing pre-sentence investigation reports
• Preparing Parole Board investigation reports
• Conducting investigations of supervision violations
• Networking in the local community
• Promoting sensitivity to victims’ issues and concerns
• Offender services network
• Seeking fugitives/offenders who abscond supervision
• Field Services Offices
• APA Monthly Statistics

Caseloads

Present caseloads are approximately 75 offenders per officer. Caseloads may consist of probationers, parolees, post release control cases, transitional control, and community control cases. Most parole officers are multi-functional in that they supervise a variety of cases as well as prepare pre-sentence and Parole Board investigation reports.

Supervision Types

• Probationer: A convicted offender whose sentence to an institution is suspended by the court and who is under supervision in the community for a maximum of five years.
• Parolee: An offender who has served a term of incarceration as a felon and has been released to the community under parole supervision.
• Post Release Control: A period of community supervision, defined by Senate Bill 2, the "truth in sentencing" legislation, served by offenders after their release from prison. Senate Bill 2 applies to offenders who committed crimes on or after July 1, 1996.
• Transitional Control: Senate Bill 111 revised legislation and replaced what was formerly known as furlough, conditional release and electronically monitored early release program with a single option for inmates who are at the end of their prison term.
• Community Control: A sanction that is not a prison term. Community Control (CC) replaces the term probation and applies to all offenders given non-prison sanctions for felony offenses committed after July 1, 1996. CC offenders are sentenced directly to sanctions without a prison sentence being imposed and suspended. The maximum period of CC is five years.
• Compact: Offenders who are under parole or probation supervision in Ohio as transfer cases from other states.
• Judicial Release: A form of release pursuant to ORC 2929.20 and effective July 1, 1996.  Judicial Release replaces Shock Probation.  The offender must be serving a sentence of 5 years or less to be eligible for this type of release.
• Intervention in Lieu of Conviction: A period of supervision, as if the offender was subject to a community control sanction imposed under 2929.15 through 2929.18 of the Ohio Revised Code.

Fugitives

The Adult Parole Authority created a "Wanted" poster. This poster, displaying pictures of violators at large, is placed in law enforcement agencies, parole and probation offices, and social service agencies. Some counties publish their own local "wanted" lists with the help of local media.

 A direct line of communication exists between the fugitive units and the Office of Victim Services. The Office of Victim Services receives notification of all offenders who are declared violators at large. The office is also notified when offenders are apprehended and placed in custody. This allows them to keep victims informed of an offender’s status.

Working with Local Government

The Adult Parole Authority works in partnership with local law enforcement agencies, county prosecutors, courts, and social service/mental agencies. The Adult Parole Authority shares information with local agencies to ensure consistency and continuity in the supervision of offenders with the community. In addition, the APA works closely with these agencies in conducting investigations when violations of supervision occur.

Services to Counties

The APA also provides full, partial, or supplementary probation services to several Courts of Common Pleas across the State. These services include, but are not limited to, pre-sentence investigations and supervision of probationers. APA officers also provide assistance to clerks of courts and child support enforcement agencies in the collection of court costs, support payments, etc. Technical assistance, speakers, consultants and training are provided to probation departments as requested.

Counties with All APA Supervision Services

Counties with Partial APA Supervision Services

Counties with No APA Supervision Services