Following policies and procedures of the department, probationers and parolees are managed by trained parole and probation officers who have post-secondary degrees, usually in criminal justice or related fields. Some agents supervise parolees (those who have been released from prison after serving their sentence); some supervise probationers (offenders whose sentences are served in the community); and some agents supervise all types of offenders.

There are agents, too, who supervise probationers who have completed Phase I of the department's Special Alternative Incarceration (SAI) or boot camp program and who are returned to the community (in Phases II and III) for the balance of their sentences.

Agents monitor offender behavior through a variety of techniques including visiting an offender's home, contacting employers, requiring documentation of attendance at school or in required programs, substance-abuse testing and contact with law enforcement agencies to check on arrests.

All offenders in community settings must comply with rules, or "orders," based on both standard and special conditions set by a court, in the case of probationers, and by the Michigan Parole Board, in the case of parolees.

In some jurisdictions, agents specialize in managing certain types of offenders, such as sex offenders, females, or offenders with mental illness or histories of substance abuse. Specialization allows an agent to become more expert - and therefore more efficient - in dealing with specific types of offenders.