A new minor in criminal justice at Pennsylvania College of Technology will help to prepare students who may enter careers working in conjunction with the law-enforcement system.
The minor, available this fall, focuses primarily on students in the college's applied human services major but is available to any student pursuing a bachelor's degree at the college (except legal assistant-paralegal studies).
Employees in the human services sector often interact with law-enforcement agencies. Some graduates of the applied human services major become probation and parole officers, while others might work as social services caseworkers, child protective services workers, drug and alcohol counselors, youth development coordinators or shelter workers, among others.
Probation and parole officers are an important link in criminal justice and reintegrating people who have been adjudicated in the criminal justice system back into "real life." They cross the line between police and human service caseworker.
"Unfortunately, law enforcement is often the first point of contact for providing care for a problem," said Clifford P. Coppersmith, dean of integrated studies.
