The responsibilities of the Israeli probation officer include a presentence investigation report on a delinquent and execution of the court's probation order. The court and the law, however, leave the plan of the rehabilitation program to the discretion of the probation officer. The trend toward the current treatment orientation developed in three stages: (1) the heilpaedagogic stage, or beginning stage, in which the probation officer's investigations and therapy emphasized traumatic early childhood experiences as causes of delinquent behavior, with few contacts made with the home, courts, or other social agencies; (2) the casework in an authoritarian setting stage, which added environmental considerations to the psychoanalytical concepts and interpreted criminal behavior as an expression of want and deprivation, with intervention by family, court, and social agencies when deemed necessary; and (3) the community stage, which gives more attention to cultural factors. This last and current stage allows the probation officer to treat a broader diagnostic group who are generally older than those who were treated in the previous stages. Home is frequently used as a treatment setting through both planned and sporadic visits. Supervisors may have closer, more cooperative contacts with probation officers. Because environment and individual factors are seen as equally important to the rehabilitation process, the other social services in the community are viewed as equal members in achieving a common goal. Footnotes and four references are provided.