Press Release - November 3, 1999
Office of the Commissioner of Probation

BRISTOL COUNTY PROBATE AND FAMILY COURT PROBATION
DEPARTMENT EARNS RECERTIFICATION

The Probation Department of the Bristol Division, Probate and Family Court recently marked its recertification in a private ceremony at the New Bedford Courthouse. The recertification process, which is conducted every three years, measures the effectiveness of probation officers and their ability to monitor and maintain comprehensive records on the county-wide caseload serviced by the department.

Recertification is conducted by two regional supervisors who spend a day in the court, auditing randomly selected files from each probation officer's case load. Each probation officer is graded on case documentation in various types of cases, such as custody investigations, dispute intervention, Seek-Work assignments, drug testing and other specific assignments from court-related to domestic relations issues, as well as civil matters on the probate side of the court.

The court gets recertified if it scores an 85 percent or better. The Bristol Division Probation Department received a score of 93.8 percent. The recertification is effective through October 2002.

"We have a small, but highly trained and well-motivated staff. A special mention must be given to the support staff for their tremendous effort and dedication. This staff ranks at the very top state-wide."

Bristol County Probate and Family Court's Probation Department includes Chief Probation Officer James A. Casey, Assistant Chief Probation Officer Carl J. Cruz, nine probation officers as well as support staff.

The Massachusetts Probation Service is a department of the Massachusetts Trial Court. There are 12 Probate and Family Court, 12 Superior Court and 70 District Court probation offices statewide. The Office of the Commissioner of Probation serves as the central administrative office for the state Probation Service.