The NEUSTART Concept of Probation Service

Please also read the information on volunteer work at NEUSTART.


The number of probation cases per full-time probation officer is about the same in Baden-Württemberg as in all the other federal states – just under 100 clients per full-time probation officer. Under these circumstances we can certainly not speak of an adequate situation where the work is done with the desired intensity. Every reform of probation services must therefore first and foremost focus on the reduction of the number of cases worked on by each individual probation officer since if their work is not oriented by the needs of the offenders, it remains illusory. The primary concern and the declared objective of NEUSTART is it to reduce the number of cases worked on by the probation officers from 100 to 60 in the coming years.

The NEUSTART concept is based on the principle to collect the data for every case which provide information about the psychosocial and economic situation of the client. On the basis of these data it will then be decided on the form of probation service – whether it will be provided by a full-time or by a volunteer probation officer -, on the intensity with which the client has to be supervised and on which probation officer seems to be particularly suitable for each individual client with regard to qualification and practical experience.

Only after having collected these first data, the case is finally assigned by taking the case-related and regional aspects into account and not just on the basis of a purely formal catalogue of criteria. The necessary intensity of the work is established by means of a permanent reflexion and analysis of the situation of the client, by analysing the seriousness and the extent of identified problem areas of the client.

There are numerous intervention possibilities ranging from intensive (elementary problems, 2.5 face-to-face contacts per month) to a purely formal contact (no elementary problems, face-to-face contacts only upon request of the client or of the court). This differentiated approach is consistently continued by assessing in a standardised and continuous manner from the social worker’s point of view whether further work by a probation officer is still necessary and legitimate and if yes, to what extent. If it seems advisable to terminate the work with the offender because the client has made a decisive progress, the probation officer recommends taking corresponding measures to the competent judge.

After more than half of the probation period, the relation between an offensive behaviour and the socially and personally problematic situation is analysed, and it is determined whether the probation officer can terminate his/her work. If all the objectives of probation service have been reached and if the client does not need further help, it is recommended to terminate the work.

Continuity and interconnectedness are the indispensable prerequisites and necessities of a successful social work in the field of probation service. The logical consequence is that NEUSTART probation officers are highly interested in closely cooperating with other social institutions, associations and organisation and to create and maintain the contact with social workers of the judicial bodies in order to prevent the client from reoffending.

In the past, numerous factors caused the problem that persons needing the help of a probation officer immediately after being released from prison had to wait for quite some time until they could be supported adequately. In many cases, probation officers were only provided with insufficient information about the anamnesis of the clients such as their social situation, their personal circumstances and details on their case. This fact is particularly delicate as the risk of reoffending is never higher than during the transition period from imprisonment to leading a “conventional life” again. This deplorable situation is caused by the fact that the regulations are still insufficient and that the manner for forwarding information to the concerned bodies and authorities would often need to be optimised.

In order to remedy this grievance as soon as possible, NEUSTART has developed a concept which will considerably improve the current situation. The defined aim and the central intention of the package of measures submitted by NEUSTART are the quick creation of contact between the clients and their respective probation officer: the client is to get the possibility of meeting his/her probation officer not later than one week after being released from prison. Moreover, the probation officer should already dispose of all information relating to the period of imprisonment which is relevant for working with the offender in order to ensure an adequate support taking the person of the client into account right from the beginning. This would not only significantly reduce of the time which is necessary for the collecting data for each case but the probation officers could also start earlier with working with the clients.

The administrative provisions of Baden-Württemberg applying to probation service, court assistance and judicial social services also stipulate that all judicial social workers involved in proceedings exchange their knowledge, their understandings and their findings with each other.

Against this backdrop it also becomes clear why the basic concept of the general agreement concluded between NEUSTART and the federal state of Baden-Württemberg provides for a fundamental revision and new conception of the preparation for release which both guarantee an early exchange about forthcoming releases as well as a timely initial collection of information.

Download our Brochure on Probation Service