Chief Justice of the Trial Court Court Administrator

Paula M. Carey Harry Spence Chief Justice of the Trial Court Court Administrator

September 9, 2015

To All Employees of the Massachusetts Probation Service,

After consultation with the Commissioner of Probation and our testing expert (I/O Solutions), the Office of Court Management (“OCM”) has made several decisions about how to continue to implement the promotional process at the Massachusetts Probation Service following the recently-administered multiple choice exams and writing assessments (“essays”).

OCM has decided that the scores on the writing assessment will be considered during the interview/investigation process as required by G.L. c. 276, § 83(i). Therefore, all test-takers who achieved a passing score on the multiple choice exams (adult criminal, juvenile and Probate and Family) are in the pool of potential applicants. Essay results will not be a bar to application, but will be utilized in an objective fashion during the candidate’s assessment. In further explanation, attached is a working outline of the major steps in the promotional process following these decisions. Please keep in mind that conversations with the testing expert are ongoing and that elements of this process could change pursuant to feedback.

OCM believes that this process is consistent with the Court Reform Act of 2011 requirement that a writing assessment be part of a candidate’s overall assessment following a promotional exam. This decision was reached after considering a number of factors, including the statutory requirements and a desire to broaden the diversity and size of the applicant pool, thereby expanding opportunities for the Probation workforce.

OCM knows this is a point of serious and direct concern for a number of you and is also mindful of the importance of this process for the future of the Massachusetts Probation Service. I would like to thank all of our employees for their patience during this process. This communication supersedes all prior communications about these promotional opportunities. If you have questions, feel free to contact the OCM Human Resources Department at (617) 742-8575.

Sincerely,

Harry Spence Court Administrator ATTACHMENT Working Outline of Probation Promotional Process

As referenced in the September 9, 2015 communication, the following is a working outline of the major steps in the promotional process. Please keep in mind that the conversations with the testing expert are ongoing and that elements of this process may change pursuant to feedback.

1. Pool of Potential Applicants for Promotional Opportunities: We are pleased to announce that we have completed the first step of the Probation promotional process by establishing a pool of potential applicants who have met the minimum criteria for promotional opportunities. G.L. c. 276, § 83(g). All test-takers who achieved a passing score or greater on the multiple choice exams (adult criminal, juvenile and Probate and Family) are in the pool of potential applicants. All potential applicants in the pool are eligible to proceed to the next steps in the promotional process, as described below. Those test-takers who did not achieve the passing score on the multiple choice exam were previously notified, are not in the pool, and are not eligible for promotion opportunities at this time. These employees, however, may sit for future promotional exams. All test-takers will have their status confirmed in writing shortly.

2. Writing Assessment (essay): The writing assessment scores will be considered during the interview/investigation process which is required by G.L. c. 276, § 83(i) and is outlined in more detail below. We believe that this process is consistent with the statute.

3. Job Postings: We anticipate in September 2015 we will begin to post vacancies for Assistant Chief Probation Officers (ACPOs) and Chief Probation Officers (CPOs) on the Trial Court’s website. Potential applicants in the pool are eligible to apply for as many of the promotional opportunities as interest them for the position(s) in the court department that corresponds with the promotional multiple choice exam passed. For example, if you are interested in an ACPO or CPO job in Juvenile Court, you would have had to have taken and passed, respectively, the ACPO or CPO Juvenile Court Probation promotional multiple choice exam.

4. Components of the Investigative and Interview Process: Following the posting of positions, receipt and screening of applications, the next step is an investigative and interview process. As required by statute, G.L. c. 276, §83(i), this process includes:

a. Review of applicant’s education, prior work history and other accomplishments to ensure the applicant is well suited for the culture of the organization and will further the organization’s stated goals; b. Behaviorally-based interviews; and c. Candidate Assessment including case study, presentation, and writing assessments focused on the core competencies of the position for which a candidate applied.

5. Interview Process: A panel of three or four interviewers will conduct promotional interviews in each courthouse that has a posted vacancy. The ACPO panels likely will consist of the First Justice (or Regional Administrative Justice (RAJ) as appropriate), the Chief Probation Officer for the court, and the appropriate Probation Regional or Statewide Supervisor. The CPO panels likely will consist of the First Justice for the court (or RAJ as appropriate), a second judge designated by the Departmental Chief Justice, the Probation Deputy Commissioner for Field Services or designee, and the appropriate Probation Regional or Statewide Supervisor. The panel will conduct behaviorally-based interviews and, when completing the scoring, will consider the applicant’s answers to the interview questions, which will include case study question(s), and overall interview performance. The panel will use uniform scoring values on uniform scoring sheets to ensure fairness, which will be completed and submitted together to the Probation Personnel Unit.

6. Investigative Process: The investigative process, as required by statute, has two components: review of the applicant’s background and a candidate assessment.

a. Background Review: The interview panel will complete the first component by evaluating the applicant’s background using a uniform background process encompassing education, work history, and other accomplishments, to ensure the applicant’s suitability for the position based on education, training, skills, abilities, and experience. The panel will complete the background evaluation and submit it together with the Interview Score sheets to the Probation Personnel Unit.

b. Writing Assessment (essay): The second component of the investigative process, as required by statute, is a candidate assessment. The case study part of the candidate assessment will be addressed in the interviews. The writing assessment part of the candidate assessment will use the applicant’s score from the recently-administered writing assessment.

7. Composite Scores: Each candidate’s interview score, background evaluation score, and writing assessment (essay) score will be appropriately weighted, based on core competencies addressed, and added together to create a composite score.

8. Probate and Family Court Writing Assessments: Due to the inadvertent destruction of a number of Probate and Family Court promotional writing assessment booklets, a new set of writing assessment questions is being prepared and is expected to be administered in October 2015. The location and time will be announced shortly and no registration fee will be charged. All those in the applicant pool, by virtue of passing the multiple choice test for the Probate and Family Court Department, who are interested in applying for a promotional opportunity in Probate and Family Court must register to take the new writing assessment. Even if you took the Probate and Family Court writing assessment earlier this spring, you need to register and retake the writing assessment to be considered for a promotional opportunity in Probate and Family Court. No one in the pool of potential applicants who is interested in Probate and Family Court positions will have to retake the multiple choice exam.

9. Selection of a Final Candidate for ACPO/CPO Vacancies: The First Justice (or RAJ as appropriate) will receive the names and scores of applicants with the top composite scores. The First Justice will review this information and designate to the Commissioner a single final candidate for the position. The Commissioner and the Court Administrator retain the authority to approve or disapprove any designations.

10. Provisional ACPOs: Prior to the recent Probation promotional exams, there were approximately 43 employees provisionally in the position of ACPO. Any provisional ACPO who did not achieve the passing score on the multiple choice exams has been or will be notified of his/her ineligibility to continue in the provisional position and will be reverted to his/her original position. Those provisional ACPOs who achieved a passing score on the multiple choice exams have (a) met the minimum criteria for promotion to the ACPO position, and (b) completed the interview portion of the process. The provisional ACPOs, however, have not completed the statutorily required investigative part of the process. We have established a method to complete the promotional process for the provisional ACPOs in a manner consistent with statutory requirements, G.L. c. 276, §83(g-m):

For those provisional ACPOs who achieved a passing score on the multiple choice exams, the Probation Personnel Unit will evaluate the provisional ACPO’s background, including the provisional ACPO’s education, work history prior to the provisional position, length of time in the provisional position, and other accomplishments, as required. Scoring for this evaluation will use the same background process used for other potential applicants. Source material for this evaluation will include but not be limited to the interview packets from the provisional ACPO’s interview, which includes the provisional ACPO’s resume, application, and Interview Score sheets.

The Probation Personnel Unit will combine the scores from each element of the statutorily required promotional process (provisional interview score, background evaluation score, and writing assessment score) to reach a composite score/ranking for each provisional ACPO. The First Justice (or RAJ as appropriate) will receive that composite score for the provisional ACPO and, based on this, will recommend to the Court Administrator and Commissioner whether the provisional ACPO should be made permanent in the ACPO position. Based on information learned through the promotional process, OCM and Probation may develop trainings or other opportunities for professional development as needed.