§ 256 — Local probation departments

§ 256. Local probation departments. 1. Each county shall maintain or\nprovide for a probation agency or agencies to perform probation services\ntherein, including intake, investigation, pre-sentence reports,\nsupervision, conciliation, social treatment and such other functions as\nare assigned to probation agencies pursuant to law.\n 2. The board of supervisors or county legislatures of a county may\nestablish a county probation department in which there may be merged and\nconsolidated the responsibility for carrying out the probation work for\nall matters under the jurisdiction of the family court, the superior\ncourts and the local criminal courts in and for the county. In any\ncounty where the board of supervisors or county legislatures does not\nestablish a probation department to perform all probation work in the\ncounty, as hereinabove provided, separate probation departments to carry\nout the probation work for matters under the jurisdiction of particular\ncourts may be established and there may be merged and consolidated\ntherein the probation work for matters under the jurisdiction of two or\nmore courts. Any probation department that does not perform all\nprobation work in the county shall be known as the probation department\nfor the court or courts it is to serve.\n 3. Two or more counties may by agreement between the local governing\nbodies thereof provide for the establishment, operation and maintenance\nof a joint county probation department. Any probation department so\nestablished shall have charge of all probation work in and for all the\ncourts in said counties. If any such county or court therein included in\nthe agreement shall already have a probation service, such agreement\nshall provide that all officers and employees in such service shall\nretain their civil service status and be transferred to the joint county\nprobation service without further examination or qualification, provided\nhowever that, subject to the civil service law, such agreement may\nprovide for the abolition of existing unnecessary offices or positions\nand the transfer of officers and employees to comparable positions. Any\nsuch agreement shall provide for the proportionate cost, including but\nnot limited to salaries and employer's retirement contributions, of such\njoint county probation service to be borne by each county and may\nprovide that the treasurer of one county participating in such agreement\nshall be the custodian of the moneys made available for expenditure for\nthe purposes of such joint county probation service and that such\ntreasurer may make payments from such moneys for such purposes upon\naudit of the appropriate auditing officer or body of such county. Such\nagreement may provide for such other matters as are necessary and proper\nto effectuate the purposes of this subdivision.\n 4. A probation department established pursuant to this section shall\nconsist of a director of probation and such deputies, supervisors,\nprobation officers and other employees as may be appointed pursuant to\nthe provisions of this section and the provisions of section two hundred\nfifty-seven of this chapter.\n 5. The director of each probation department, other than a joint\ncounty department, shall be appointed by the chief executive officer of\nthe county. The director of a joint county probation department shall be\nappointed by agreement between the chief executive officers of the\ncounties participating in such agreement or a majority of them and in\nthe event of a deadlock the director of the office of probation and\ncorrectional alternatives shall participate in the making of the\ndecision. Where a county has no chief executive officer, the appointment\nof, or agreement to appoint, the director shall be made by the chairman\nof the board of supervisors or county legislatures. The director of a\nprobation department shall have the power to appoint all deputies,\nsupervisors, probation officers and other employees in such department\nwithin appropriations made available therefor by the board of\nsupervisors or county legislatures. The board of supervisors or county\nlegislatures shall fix the salaries of all personnel in the department\nand make the necessary appropriations therefor as well as for the\nexpenses actually and necessarily incurred by such officers and\nemployees in the performance of their duties. In the case of a joint\ncounty department the salaries of personnel and the amounts of other\nexpenditures to be made available for operation of the department shall\nbe set forth in the agreement between the counties, and the boards of\nsupervisors or county legislatures shall make the appropriations\nrequired for the respective proportionate costs thereof.\n 6. (a) Each probation agency or department and state operated\nprobation services shall provide for intake, investigation, supervision\nand conciliation services relating to custody, visitation and paternity\nproceedings and may provide for such services in support proceedings\nunder the provisions of articles four, five, five-A and six of the\nfamily court act. For purposes of this subdivision, intake services: (i)\nrelating to support proceedings under article four and relating to\npaternity proceedings under articles five and five-A of the family court\nact, shall include referral to the office of temporary and disability\nassistance's child support enforcement unit in cases where a person is\napplying for or receiving public assistance or where a person chooses to\nutilize the services of such unit; (ii) relating to support proceedings\nunder article four of the family court act, shall include services\nrendered to the payors of support orders seeking to modify such orders.\n (b) Each probation agency or department is authorized to enter into a\ncontract with the appropriate local social services district for the\nperformance of the functions of the support collection unit, in\naccordance with the provisions of section one hundred eleven-h of the\nsocial services law.\n 7. The provisions of this section shall not apply to any county that\nis located wholly within a city; provided, however, that the provisions\nof subdivision six of this section shall apply in like manner to any\ncounty that is located wholly within a city.\n