Question
Research possible programmatic solutions by benchmarking best practices. Your program goals and objectives must be based on industry best practices.
Write a 1,400 word proposal for a program that solves the problem identified in the case study you selected in Week One. Address the following:
Identify two or three goals of your program.
Describe outcome objectives for each goal.
Determine the resources needed to implement the program.
Identify how you plan to elicit stakeholder participation.
Include terminology and concepts identified through the assigned readings.
Format your proposal consistent with APA guidelines.
Answer
Juvenile Justice Correctional Facilities
Contents
Goals of the Proposed Program.. 3
Expected Outcome from These Objectives. 4
Resources Needed to Implement the Program.. 5
Soliciting the Involvement of Stakeholders. 6
Introduction
The juvenile justice system in the USA is in desperate need of reform, and federal systems should take up the mantle of leadership in this undertaking. It is no doubt that the number of juvenile delinquents has declined steadily over the years because of the stern actions adopted by the government to curb drug trafficking and abuse which were the main drivers of the crime wave among the youth. However, empirical research points toa trend where numerous young people are being exposed to negative encounters with the juvenile system. Incarcerated youth are susceptible to victimization and abuse by peers, staff and other older inmates. The situation is further fueled by the fact that the US initiated the practice of imposing life sentences on youths who committed crimes while under the age of 18 without the possibility of parole. According to Sickmund and Puzzanchera (2014), researchers have not amassed adequate evidence that shows that in deed these facilities improve the welfare of offenders. If anything, the current juvenile practices have the tendency to disregard the youth’s pliability to rehabilitation leading to long-term consequences for the youth and a significant waste of tax-payers money. These facilities lack sound health and educational services, competent personnel and are marred with racial and ethnic disparities which render the entire system useless in terms of rehabilitation (Chesney-Lind and Shelden, 2013). These problems facing the juvenile facilities are systemic.
This paper will focus on proposing a coherent and all-encompassing program that will address the principal areas of education and vocational training, health services, especially for minors with heightened needs and security concerns at the facilities. A foundational understanding of this proposed framework will help to shape and restructure the current policies surrounding the juvenile justice system. Furthermore, it will provide a practical strategy to help improve the lives of juveniles in a positive light even after they have served their sentences.
Goals of the Proposed Program
This program will be centered on three objectives. Firstly, it will seek to overhaul education in the juvenile facilities by introducing new reforms. The education level provided in these centers is often substandard. This is because there is no accurate assessment of individual needs of minors enteringthese facilities and there is inconsistency in the curricula used by the teaching fraternity. Much to it, the teaching methods used are outdated and inappropriate. As such, many detainees do not perform well from an educational standpoint and very few manage to make meaningful transitions when they earn their freedom.
Secondly, this scheme will advocate for incorporating highly-trained and well-informed facility administrators. Most of the juvenile facilities implore the services of incompetent personnel who fail to match written policies with the actual actions required to deal with minors.It is crucial that administrators possess excellent knowledge of the daily happenings in their respective detention centers. Their presence and supervision is imperative to ensuring the security of the juveniles.
Finally, the program will aim at changing the attitude and behavior of key players. This model is an all-inclusive one whose success depends on stakeholders such as the government, charitable organizations, parents, learning institutions, health consultants and the community at large. It is evident that supervisors alone cannot champion for institutional change by themselves. As such, soliciting help from these factions will go a long way in improving the overall state o these institutions. For instance, the government and other NGOs can contribute by providing adequate funding to improve the various sectors of the facilities, say nutrition and accommodation.Additionally, the funds can be used to train the staff to improve their skills and become more confident when dealing with situations. Learning institutions on the other hand, can provide teachers and other learning material that is up-to-date and concurs with the state academic, career and technical educationstandards. The input from these units is fundamental to ensuring that the overall state of these facilities is improved, ultimately leading to better rehabilitation of the detainees (Quinn et al 2005).
Expected Outcome from These Objectives
Improving the quality of education provided to the juveniles will useful information and resources to plan for their future after serving their times in the facilities. This move will go a long way in reducing instances of recidivism among the youth. The government should implement a reform program that will ensure the credits earned from correctional facilities are transferrable to community schools at local, state, and federal levels. This will guarantee the continuity of educational opportunities for convicts to meet their individual goals after they are released (Juvenile Law Center, 2014). Subsequently, having competent administrators and supervisors will not only improve security by preventing the occurrence of dangerous acts, but will also enable the youth to feel more relaxed and at ease while in these institutions. This will also allow the staff to better handle people with emotional and behavioral problems effectively.
Finally, changing the attitudes of the different key players will ensure that each stakeholder has a different perception regarding these youth. Having a rigid attitude coupled with poor perceptibility often serves as a barrier to treating the youth with respect and identifying with their individual needs. This program will expectedly bridge this gap by emancipating these groups on the importance of understanding the needs of these youth. For instance, those with disabilities and special needs account for up to 70% and should be treated differently to identify their various needs so as to extend the required services to them (Teplin et al., 2005). On a different note, this program will allow the community to transition from a prejudiced one to a more tolerant one. This proposed model will enlighten the community on the importance of warmly welcoming rehabilitated individual back into society instead of alienating then due to their previous criminal records. This will reduce recidivism tremendously because these people will be assimilated into the various employment sectors to better their skills while at the same time earning a decent living.
Resources Needed to Implement the Program
To begin with, this program will require funding to start it off. The funds will be allocated appropriately towards the introduction of new leaning curricula, purchasing necessary equipment, employing more staff and other relevant sectors. The learning and health segments will be required to provide teachers and health practitioners respectively to cater to the educational and health needs of the inmates. Finally, the community and parents are the central element of this program. Their involvement is crucial to ensuring that the rehabilitated individuals are assimilated back into society and are provided access to resources just like other citizens. As such, re-entry support services are equally important since they accord the youth the much-needed opportunities to rejoin the society (Lowenkamp et al., 2006).
Soliciting the Involvement of Stakeholders
The media will serve as the primary tool for disseminating the information to various stakeholders. I will draft a simple document that will contain the major aspects of this program and dispatch it to the various media houses within the area to share it.This will help get word out on the benefits of the proposed program as well as get feedback from different parties regarding the same issue. Secondly, I will write a letter of inquiry to potential NGOs to pitch this idea to them and to determine whether they are interested in forging forward. This letter will be pivotal since it will allow the potential funding agencies to become well acquainted with the proposal. It will also highlight the expected budget for the commencement and finalization of the project. Finally, letters will also be sent to the medical and learning institutions within the area to request them to set aside willing parties to volunteer their services in the correctional facilities.
Conclusion
The problems faced by juvenile correctional facilities are purely systemic and can be addressed to improve their standards. The program at hand will address all the key areas from education and health all the way to security concerns. Juvenile delinquents should not be looked at as the scourge that society wants to rid itself off but rather should be treated with fairness while serving their sentences. They should be given equal chances to educational opportunities and other vocational training programs to equip them with the required skills to plan for their future.Education is the key to ensuring long-term re-entry success in the field of industrial employment(Federal Interagency Reentry Council, 2012; Juvenile Law Center, 2014).
References
Chesney-Lind, M. & Shelden, R. G. (2013). Girls, delinquency, and juvenile justice. London: John Wiley & Sons.
Federal Interagency Reentry Council. (2012). Reentry Myth Buster: On Youth Access to Education upon Reentry. New York, NY: Federal Interagency Reentry Council.
Juvenile Law Center. (2014). Recommendations to Improve Correctional and Reentry Education for Young People. New York, NY: Federal Interagency Reentry Council.
Lowenkamp, C. T., Latessa, E. J., & Smith, P. (2006). Does correctional program quality really matter? The impact of adhering to the principles of effective intervention. Criminology & Public Policy, 5(3), 575-594.
Quinn, M. M., Rutherford, R. B., Leone, P. E., Osher, D. M., & Poirier, J. M. (2005). Youth with disabilities in juvenile corrections: A national survey. Exceptional children, 71(3), 339-345.
Sickmund, M., & Puzzanchera, C. (2014). Juvenile offenders and victims: 2014 national report.
Teplin, L. A., Abram, K. M., McClelland, G. M., Washburn, J. J., & Pikus, A. K. (2005). Detecting mental disorder in juvenile detainees: who receives services. American Journal of Public Health, 95(10), 1773-1780.
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