On Friday, Ron Goethals bid farewell to his career with the Community Supervision and Corrections Department in Dallas County, Texas, where he worked for over 30 years.  Since 1990, Goethals has served at director of the department, a position he found to be both rewarding and challenging.

In his retirement, Goethals hopes to find time to relax and unwind from the decades he dedicated to the community corrections field.  But first, he has been called on by many of his colleagues to serve as an educator, consultant and speaker at various engagements, including next month's American Probation and Parole Association's 2005 Winter Training Institute, where he will deliver an address during the opening session.

Recently, The Corrections Connection talked with Goethals as he reflected on his lengthy community corrections career, his achievements and his future plans. 

Q: What drew you to the community corrections field?

Goethals: When I was in college, I used to work part-time with the Dallas County Sheriff's Department as a relief person in the summer for their jail staff, so I began to meet people in the criminal justice family.  After I taught [school] for a while, I continued working for the sheriff's department in the summer to supplement my income.  The [community corrections] department received a federal grant at that time, which meant a big expansion for them and that was [when I began working for them in January of 1973].

I [started] as an assistant probation officer.  I think there were some similarities [to the education field] in that some of the people we supervised as probationers some of their cognitive skills were probably not much greater than a ninth grade level. 

When I first started, I wasn't sure that this was going to be a career or whether this was a temporary stop along the way.  It was something that grabbed me very quickly.  It was fulfilling - something I enjoyed.  I went back to school at Sam Houston State University, got a master's in criminology and corrections.  In the interim, I had satisfied the requirements to become a full-fledged probation officer.  Within the first year - probably because of my educational pursuits, etc - I became an assistant supervisor.

Then - probably around 1980 - I was made supervisor. I kind of surveyed the profession and looked at what I thought the deficiencies were - what skills we were lacking as a profession.  I noted that there were very few professional money managers, so I went back to school at North Texas State and obtained an MBA in finance.  That facilitated a lot of advancement.  It usually took a lot of different forms.  Over a period of four or five years I had various titles, but they ranged in terms of areas from being over all caseload supervision in the field to being over the preparation and administration of the budget or finances for the department and over training and personnel.

I've always been fascinated by money and I have always enjoyed managing the money.  I think it really gives you some insight into the operation of the organization when you see how your resources are allocated.

In 1990, the director at the time retired and I was made director in December of 1990. 

Q: Did you have any mentors along the way?

Goethals: My very first supervisor was a man [named] Don Stiles.  Don went on to have an illustrious career.  He left Dallas County and was on the probation commission in Texas.  He became the first director of the Texas Adult Probation Commission. Then he became Chief Probation Officer in Pima County, Arizona and retired from there back probably about four or five years ago.  Don was just one of these individuals that never seemed to tire.  When he wasn't contributing in his paid position, invariably, he was spending his time mentoring and educating and doing consulting for other departments.  He just really led by example.

Q:  What do you believe some of your greatest accomplishments have been throughout your career?

Goethals: There are several that come to mind in different directions.  We were [one of the] first departments to have telecommuting for caseload carrying officers. Our officers work from home several days a week.  We developed an accountability tool ensuring quality throughout the organization that has been kind-of adopted by departments throughout the United States and even in some foreign countries.  I am really proud of our pursuit into the evidence-based practices - using research and research findings as a guiding light for program development and officer/probationer interaction.  I am proud of our financial management.  We are one of the few probation departments that have avoided some real economic distress over the last 15 years.

Q:  What did you like best about your job?

Goethals: I think - and I am not sure how to capture this in words - envisioning the future, the planning, looking at what could be and how to get there. 

Q: What was the most difficult aspect of your position?

Goethals: I think, when you manage a large organization, personnel issues are the most difficult.  Keeping a large workforce motivated and dealing with discipline problems [is tough].  At one time, we had over 700 employees and now we are probably at 650.  I think, consistently, one of the things that we all face is scarce resources.  The fact that ours is a profession that is kind of cyclical - when prisons are overcrowded, all of a sudden we end up in grace again, but as soon as things stabilize, then we very quickly become forgotten.

Q:  In looking back as you retire, what have you gained from your career?

Goethals:  There's [nothing] like seeing someone turn their life around.  It is the greatest high that I can imagine.  To deal with 53,000 offenders and see occurrences like that - it's just [amazing].  You don't have to ask yourself if what you have done in life is meaningful.

Q: What advice do you have for those entering the profession?

Goethals: I think my advice is if you don't truly believe that people can change, this is not the profession for you.  But again, the reward is in watching people change.  It is a very fulfilling job.

Q: What are your plans for the future?

Goethals: It's one of those things where I really did want to retire [and play golf and fish].  [But], as you go through this business, you make a lot of friends and there are some people I just can't say no to.  I am a lot busier than I thought I was going to be.  I am doing some teaching and consulting and some speaking.  On one end, it's really flattering.  It's nice there is an opportunity [for me] to do that.  On the other hand, I am still looking for the period of time to decompress.