CLEARFIELD – The creation of two new adult probation officer positions was approved by the Clearfield County Salary Board on Tuesday.
These positions will add an ARD and institutional officer, with the court to fund both salaries through its Probation Supervision Fund. Salaries will amount to $85,000 per year for four years, with the county to cover associated health insurance costs.
Director of Adult/Juvenile Probation Shawn Burkhart explained the need for both positions, first addressing the ARD position.
Currently he said the adult probation supervisor bears the load of 109 ARD probation cases, in addition to all the duties of a supervisor. This includes supervision of eight adult probation officers, plus clerical staff.
“It’s difficult to properly supervise staff with a caseload of 109 individuals,” Burkhart said, explaining how the idea is to split that apart from the supervisory duties, and allow more focus on administrative work and training.
Additionally he said the office has an intensive probation officer who also supervises those on supervised bail, which they would like to become another duty of the ARD officer.
He said it would permit the office to take on more supervised bail cases and there would be better supervision of those cases. It would also mean fewer jail days and lower jail costs.
On top of his many duties as probation director, Burkhart currently handles all home plans, paroles, etc., which he would make the duty of the institutional officer who would manage inmate turnover at the jail and allow him to focus on office administration.
Commissioner Dave Glass indicated that the county has had interest in an institutional officer for some time now, and he believed the deputy wardens would also find it very beneficial.
President Judge Fredric J. Ammerman noted that they did attempt to hire a full-time institutional probation officer some years ago, but no one was interested as the position was going to be based at the jail so he couldn’t guarantee that this officer would be at the jail on a full-time basis.
Glass said if that became an issue again, this officer could always perform the work and “coordinate” daily with the jail’s administration, but that ultimately this would be a decision for the court.
If it made for an easier hiring, Ammerman said the position could be based in the Probation Department at the Courthouse Annex building and the officer could just spend a “significant” amount of time at the jail.
Ammerman also noted his plans to retire at the end of the year, so Judge Paul E. Cherry will become president judge in January 2026, and that he also supports both additions to the Probation Department.
