Can I be a probation officer with a deferred felony?

If someone is placed on deferred ajudication for a state felony, where may they get a job at?

• I have a friend that is on deferred ajudication for a state felony. She was told by her probation officer and everyone in power that when applying for a job she should check NO when asked if she has been convicted for any felonies. She has come across several job offers but turned down because of this showing up on her background checks. Where is a place that you may know of where she may be employed? Or may have a good chance. I know there has to be a staffing company out there that will work with her but so far have found nothing. PLEASE HELP! has plenty of good references and experience in the clerical/customer service field.

• Answer:

  In all 50 states, a "deferred adjudication" is still a felony conviction for all intents and purposes. Employers do not have to be an attorney to see this as a negative situation. My guess is your friend, if asked, may be tempted to justify by saying, "yeah but it's not a real conviction. It's a stay of adjudication!" All the employer is going to care about are the facts about the prospective employee. That certainly includes what sort of "person" the employee is. Is he/she an upstanding citizen? If there is anything on their criminal record, the answer is "no." They will be considered by most employers to be disqualified for employment, especially if that person has checked "NO" no the question asking about the felony conviction. Companies that do background checks provide more information than what the general public is aware. They not only provide the list of felonies and misdemeanors, but they list arrests, details of the crimes, information on conviction or disposition, supervision status and dates, and times/dates served in correctional facilities & jails, often along with the names of the institutions, arresting officers, and supervision agents. This is a problem that is often compounded when an employer reads a report. He/she should try to get a copy of their background check to see what problems may be lurking within. One felony conviction on a complete report may appear to the employer as six or eight felonies because of the redundancies in records, and similarities in state laws. For example: The offense of DWI may mean "Diving Without Instruction" in one state and "Delivering Waterslides Irresponsibly" in another. The report, depending on where it came from, may list both. This gives the appearance of additional crimes. There is a big difference in meaning of crimes. One more example is "CSC," which in some states means Controlled Substance Crime, and in others carries the pariah-making definition of Criminal Sexual Conduct (the single most employment-disqualifying offense possible). Your friend really needs to get a copy of that report and see what's on it, disputing false or misleading information. In spite of the stay, he/she has still been convicted of a felony, and they need to deal with their situation accordingly. Above all, your friend has unfortunately joined the ranks of the other 20,000,000 convicted felons in the U.S., which automatically disqualifies him/her from over 90% of the job market. Your friend made a mistake. The best thing he/she can do is avoid the customer service and focus more on the clerical. Employers don't like placing convicted felon employees face-to-face (or phone-to-phone) with customers or the general public. He or she should be honest, but not too honest. Be sincere and don't hide this from prospective employers. They will find the infraction. He or she should take responsibility for their actions, own up to the crime, be sincere and remorseful, and admit to the employer that they made a terrible mistake. Then focus on the positive and really sell his or herself to that employer, based on positive traits, skills, experience, etc. If rejected by a hundred employers, try again with another. Someone hopefully will give him or her a break and your friend will have the chance to prove himself/herself. I wish your friend the best of luck and hope he or she will never again break the law, and will be a decent, productive, law-abiding, tax-paying citizen, just as the Constitution allows for those who have made mistakes in the past. Best wishes! I hope this helped.