The U.S. Probation Office is a division of the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Pennsylvania. It is also part of a network of federal probation offices in 94 federal judicial districts, including districts in each state, the District of Columbia, and Puerto Rico.
The federal court in the Middle District of Pennsylvania has offices in Scranton, Harrisburg, Williamsport, and Wilkes-Barre. District court and magistrate judges preside at each location. The U.S. Probation Office in the Middle District of Pennsylvania covers 33 counties and employs approximately 40 probation officers and 20 support staff. Over seventy percent of the officers have graduate degrees. Officers supervise nearly 1,000 individuals and furnish the Court with more than 500 pretrial reports and more than 500 post-conviction reports annually.
Student Intern Program
The student intern program offers a unique hands-on opportunity for students who can commit to at least one semester term and who have maintained at least a 3.0 overall grade point average. Applicants should have an educational background in social work, counseling, criminal justice, pre-law, law, government, psychology, or a related field. Only college junior and seniors, graduate students, and law students will be accepted, and the internship must be in conjunction with their school’s curriculum.
Interns will gain an understanding of the federal criminal justice system and become acquainted with the operations of court-related offices, federal law enforcement agencies, and community based social service agencies.
Student interns may:
- Accompany a probation officer when conducting investigations, and other field contacts.
- Assist a probation officer in the supervision of defendants and offenders under the direction of a probation officer.
- Attend court proceedings with a probation officer.
Student interns are prohibited from:
- Possessing firearms or cap-stun devices
- Operating government vehicles
- Releasing confidential information
- Submitting to interviews by the media
- Participating in any task which may compromise their safety
- Collecting drug screens
Application Procedure
1) Complete the Internship Application;
2) Submit the following:
- application,
- resume,
- two educational letters of recommendation,
- one personal letter of recommendation,
- high school transcripts, and
- college transcripts
to the Scranton office (Scranton internship), the Harrisburg office (Harrisburg internship) or the Wilkes-Barre office (Wilkes-Barre or Williamsport internship). The addresses are listed on the application and are also availble by clicking the cooresponding office location on the left margin of this page. The materials should be received in the probation office at least 60 days before the anticipated start date.
3) If, after reviewing the application materials, the probation office determines that the applicant is an appropriate candidate, an interview will be scheduled in the office in which the applicant anticipates interning. Prospective interns will undergo a background investigation conducted by the probation office.