Questions
Write a 1,750-word proposal focusing on program implementation that includes the following:
Identify sources of funding for your program.
Determine the criteria that will be used to evaluate the success of your program.
Determine the data collection methods that will be used to determine the success of your program.
Describe the way to collect and respond to feedback and implementation concerns.
Answer
Juvenile Justice Correctional Facilities
Contents
Juvenile Justice Correctional Facilities. 1
Criteria for Evaluating The Success of The Program.. 5
Responding to Feedback and Implementation Concerns. 8
Introduction
My program is centered on three key areas: provision of standard education, better healthcare services, and overall safety of the convicts. Education has proven to be quite an important tool since it has led to a tremendous reduction of delinquency as well as recidivism. As such, it is highly imperative that all juvenile correctional centers realign their focus on providing the juveniles with appropriate edification based on a coherent curriculum to improve the state of correctional education as delegated by the No Child Left Behind Act (NCLBA) of 2001 (Twomey, 2008). However, in most states including California, all detention centers are faced with the problem of lack of coordination between the public schools and those in the correctional centers. This has often led to the creation of a huge divide between the correctional education programs and the public education systems at large. Consequently, this thwarts out the benefits derived from such programs simply because they are incompatible with those required by standard pubic institutions.
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The same case applies to the quality of healthcare services extended to the inmates. The facilities are ill-equipped to deal with cases of mental and physical disabilities. For instance, a study conducted revealed that approximately 30% to 50% of juvenile delinquents have mental and physical incapacities as compared to only 13% of the populace (Alltucker, 2006; Krezmien, Mulcahy & Leone, 2008). The situation is worsened by the fact that these needs are not met effectively by the current educational and healthcare programs that are in play. This begs the question; why have we deserted these youth and exposed them to counterproductive programs?
The answer behind that question is simply inadequate funding. Most states are either faced with budgetary constraints or are just reluctant to fund such programs simply because they fail to produce the expected results. However, having the right program could overturn the tables and prompt one to get funds from various organizations and the government. It should be noted that delinquency is directly congruent to education, thus it can only be reduced by funding of programs at early stages to mitigate future expenses and negative implications (Wilson, 2014). My program is an all-inclusive one in the sense that it provides a new strategy forcombating the issues faced by juveniles while in rehabilitation centers. As such, I have identified several organizations that would be willing to fund the program, both in the short and long term, to ensure its sustainability and efficiency. Planning and accounting for sustainability of a program, especially where funding is involved, is crucial because it accords one ample time to pinpoint looming obstacles and formulate strategies for addressing them during the implementation process.
Sources of Funding
Funding for this program will be fragmented because some of the agencies are serving other different juvenile institutions. Moreover, these organizations do not coordinate funding for services in these facilities. The state and federal government will be the primary funders whereas the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention(CDC) and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) will come in as subsidiary donors.
To begin with, the state will advance funds through the State General Fund. This scheme provides about 24.2% of funding for all state level juvenile facilities (General Service Administration, 2001).This will cover the costs of recruiting training and new staff and facility administrators. Additionally, it will allow us to purchase the necessary equipment such as books, clinical material among others. The federal government, on the other hand, will provide funding via the Byrne Formula Grant Program, the Juvenile Accountability Incentive Block Grants and the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (JJDP). All these sectors have a history of donating millions of dollars towards community-based programs that aim at engaging the youth in constructive activities. For instance, the JJDP awarded close to $76.5 million in the financial year 2000 to stimulate the development of youth-driven initiatives to curb crime rates (General Service Administration, 2000). The funds accrued from these programs will be used for prevention purposes by starting mentorship initiatives, both in the correctional facilities and in the community, to emancipate the youth on the dangers of crime and gang indulgence. Doing so will reduce the numbers of incarcerated youth substantially as this is one of the goals of my proposed program.
The Department of Justice will also be a secondary funder for my project, through the OJJDP. It will sponsor and support my program advancing grants for stimulating the creation of healthy and effective community programs that will be geared towards crime and gang prevention. Finally, the CDC will award funds that will be directed towards promoting health and the overall improvement of the quality of life for juveniles by preventing and controlling illnesses and disabilities. This organization will also provide proper screening material to be used to distinguish the mentally and physically challenged inmates so as to dispenseto them the appropriate medical care within the various institutions. Furthermore, this system will be used to determine the special educational needs of the detainees under this category to ensure that they are well met.
Criteria for Evaluating The Success of The Program
For any program implemented, several groups including key stakeholders always want to know whether or not the program is making any difference towards the lives of those it is directly involved with (Center for Accountability and Performance, 2001). Much to it, the increasing problem of financial constraints warrants government agencies and other funding sources to know whether the programs they fund deliver on what they had promised at the onset. This is the primary reason why outcome evaluations are necessary. As for my program, data collection and statistical comparisons will be the main performance indicators. Firstly, a reliable data collection system and analysis mechanism will be set up to monitor components such as community-based crime prevention and other aspects of criminal justice. Data collection will be steered by well-defined data elements, open communication patterns with all parties charged with collecting the data and adequate training of the groups involved.
Subsequently, monitoring the cases of the employment status of ex-convicts as well as their resistance to substance abuse will be relevant in determining whether the educational programs offered at the correctional institutions are yielding success. The main goal here is to assess the effectiveness of the program in reducing recidivism and rehabilitating detainees to become respectable citizens after serving their sentences. In line with this, reports will be compiled on the number of juveniles going through the court system, the number of street gangs, the range of misdemeanors committed and the general characteristics of those incarcerated.Determining the percentage of juveniles who had been incarcerated and have not been arrested in the years following the intervention will also be vital. This will be imperative in determiningif, at all, the rate of crime is declining as a result of the programs being offered in the correctional facilities or amendments are necessary.
Statistical comparisons of different facilities across different time frames say quarterly, will be made from the data collected. Periodic comparison of current results with previous one is a powerful tool for monitoring systemic performance of a program. This will help determine the underlying relative conditions which may be influencing the rate of crime reduction in some areas while others still remain unchanged. Furthermore, it will provide sufficient information required to monitor and evaluate the results of the program. This will give the program a sense of direction and identify the areas which need to be reformed or reinforced to produce the much-needed results of a balanced and restorative justice system.
Finally, public opinion surveys will be used to measure the success of this program. Thesepolls will address concerns such as the impact of the initiative on juvenile crime (say how many juveniles are arrested in every 1000 citizens), the average number of children involved in criminal activities among others. Gauging the level of support for the program will help identify the strengths and weaknesses of the program as well as the opportunities available to improve it. the areas of weakness will be restructured and amended to strengthen them to produce the expected results as per the objectives and expectations of society at large.
Data Collection Methods
In planning for the evaluation of outcomes, it is crucial to identify the various methods of data collection that will be used to collect the useful information. I will use the two types of data collection techniques to assess the success of my program. These are qualitative and quantitative methods.
The former will encompass personal and group-based interviews that will be designed in such a way that they require opinionated responses rather than yes or no answers. The advantage of conducting such interviews is that one is able to get the honest opinions from the youth and community regarding certain aspects of the program. Much to it, they accord people the chance to share their experiences in the program if they have interacted with it. some of the questions that will be featured in the interviews will be; were you satisfied with the program? What aspects of the program were you drawn to? What changes would you want to see made to improve the program? among others. tailoring the questions in such a manner will enable me to obtain sufficient information regarding how fruitful or well-received the program was.
The latter, on the other hand, will involve the analysis of existing records, directing surveys and requesting for ratings. There are numerous programs that have been developed and implemented in juvenile correctional facilities that match mine, to some extent. Therefore, analyzing data collected from such programs will enable me to assess the expected outcomes, thus saving time and energy in the long-term. Such records will give a rough idea about the challenges to expect while implementing the program and how to mitigate them. They will also help to estimate the probability of achieving success with the integration of my program by using some of the variables from similar programs and manipulating them to get some results. Surveys will be used to collect information on the attitudes, beliefs and behavior of people towards the program. The questions here will be majorly open-ended and multiple choice with numerical values. Ratings will be used as a basis of gathering information about the effectiveness of the program from the perspective of another individual. In this case, a random sample of people will be selected to provide information regarding the changes in behavior and attitude of the target population that has been exposed to the program.
Responding to Feedback and Implementation Concerns
As stated earlier on, social media will play a vital role in the implementation of this program. From a practical standpoint, digital media platforms have taken the world by storm and have revolutionized the communication patterns by providing harmonized forums. As such, myprogram will have its social media sites set up from Facebook all the way to Twitter. The accounts created here will include comment sections whereby people can post their suggestions, queries, opinions and concerns regarding the program. In addition to this, the sites will be updated regularly to keep people at par with what is currently happening as far as the program is concerned. However, sensitive information such as funding sources, juvenile cases among others will not be shared here. The comments will be analyzed by experts and aspects such as percentages, trend values and averages will be drawn to determine what course of action will be undertaken. Interactive sessions and debates that are relevant to the program will also be conducted through these sites and opinion polls will be used for purposes of decision-making as well.
References
Alltucker, K. W., Bullis, M., Close, D., & Yovanoff, P. (2006). Different pathways to juvenile delinquency: Characteristics of early and late starters in a sample of previously incarcerated youth. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 15(4), 475-488.
Center for Accountability and Performance (2001). Performance Measurement: Concepts and Techniques, Third Edition. Washington, DC: American Society for Public Administration.
General Services Administration (2001). Catalog of Federal Domestic Assistance. Accessed June 2001.
Krezmien, M. P., Mulcahy, C. A., & Leone, P. E. (2008). Detained and committed youth: Examining differences in achievement, mental health needs, and special education status. Education and Treatment of Children, 31(4), 445-464.
Twomey, K. (2008). The right to education in juvenile detention under state constitutions. Virginia Law Review, 2,765-811.
Wilson, H. (2014). Turning off the school-to-prison pipeline. Reclaiming Children and Youth, 23(1), 49.
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