D C S
Q & A
with District 6 Court Specialist Tabatha Wread
GETTING TO KNOW A DCS COURT SPECIALIST
Q : How does your role make community supervision efficient ?
A : The role that a Court Specialist takes is critical to the success of DCS . We are essentially responsible for all administrative and clerical duties . Court Specialists are the “ face ” of DCS from the start where the public is concerned . Efficient court operations helps to create positive public impressions about DCS . We are managing the progression of criminal cases from opening to final disposition . The Court Specialist prepares , enters and serves all necessary court orders and proceedings to the offender accurately and on time . By handling all court proceedings , DCS officers are able to focus on their caseload and not the dynamics of a court proceeding . Probation requires that the offender comply with certain court-ordered rules and conditions . It is our responsibility to ensure that those conditions are clearly defined , entered and noted on all Dispositions .
We perform quality control on court data submissions to ensure the information meets the standards of the court and DCS . In order for our officers to know what court ordered or special conditions apply to an offender , the information that is compiled prior to and during court has to be accurate . It is imperative that the information we gather and process is correct . This would have a huge impact on whether or not someone is in violation of a condition if it is not clearly defined on the front end .
Q : Please describe some of the rewarding aspects of your role .
A : I would say that the rewarding aspects of this role would include the professional relationships and opportunities in working in a team environment ( i . e . clerk ’ s office , District Attorney ’ s , Public Defenders and Private attorney ’ s ). We currently cover 4 counties for court : Pike , Spalding , Upson and Fayette and we work hard to maintain positive relationships with all of the departments .
By doing so , it has given me the opportunity to learn and grow from a wide range of individuals with diverse backgrounds . It is rewarding to work with others who motivate and challenge you .
Q : What have been some challenges you have had to overcome in this role ?
A : Some of the challenges that I personally had to overcome was learning about the court process and definitely the court terminology . Although I had 30 plus years of working experience , I had never worked in this type of industry before . But , I did embrace the challenge since I am someone who actively seeks new challenges in order to develop my skills and gain knowledge . At the time , training was at a minimum so you basically had to take a lot of notes , study them and then ask a ton of questions . I observed every aspect of the proceedings . It even took studying on my part . I can ’ t speak or do something if I don ’ t understand what it is . I took my notes , reviewed how things were being done and then created a training document for myself . Continued on next )