Hamilton County is closing its probation substations in Price Hill, Avondale, Over-the-Rhine and Madisonville, the Court of Common Pleas General Division announced in a release.
The court said the 11 field officers currently working at substations will now operate out of the Hamilton County Court Administration building at 800 Broadway, with six officers focusing exclusively on field work without supervision responsibilities.
This restructuring, the court said, is the final phase of an effort to create a new model for probation officers based on data, best practices and the state-mandated Ohio Risk Assessment System. Under this new model, probation officers will specialize in one of the following areas:
- Elevated Supervision Unit (which ranges from Low-Moderate Risk Supervision, High-Very High Risk Supervision and Specialty Courts)
- Field Unit
- Administrative and Low-Risk Unit
- Intake Unit (which includes Pre-Sentence Investigation and ORAS Assessments)
“It doesn’t make sense,” said Betsy Sunderman, a current Domestic Relations Court judge…