The Philosophy of Community-Based Correctional Programs – Assignment Instructions
Community Corrections primary function and mission is to protect the community by supervising offenders and reporting non-compliance to the sentencing or releasing authority. The standard conditions of supervision stipulated by state statute as well as special conditions imposed by the court or sentencing authority including victim restitution substance abuse and/or mental health treatment programs and other sanctions or restrictions. Offenders are monitored through field contacts at their residences employment sites and other locations in the community. A probation officer conducts investigations including pre-sentence investigations other state investigations and violation reports.
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For this weeks Assignment you will write a report outlining appropriate referrals which will assist the belowoffender Larry Greene with available resources. Consider the following offender profile.
Mr. Greene has little motivation to accomplish many things in life. At 20 years old he has completed some courses at the local community college and maintained a 2.85 GPA. Mr. Greens parents are very supportive of him always providing parental guidance and love needed to progress through life. Mr. Green is unmotivated to achieve much in life and likes to spend his days with his friends that are equally unmotivated.
Write a 3 page expository essay on discussing the philosophy of community-based corrections programs based on Larry Greenes profile. Your paper should address the following elements:
- Describe at least three goals of community corrections.
- Identify at least three types of community corrections that would benefit Mr. Greene.
- Discuss how Mr. Greene can engage with community correction programs.
- Discuss a minimum of four benefits of community corrections for Mr. Greene.
- Identify the intended outcomes of Mr. Greene participating in the programs you identified.
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Community Corrections Recommendations for Larry Greene – Expository Essay
The probation officer on request of the court must prepare a Presentence Investigation (PSI) report. According to (Alarid, 2017) the PSI refers to a document prepared by the probation officer to assist the court judges in making decision about an offender who has violated probation and is due for incarceration or for use against persons facing felony judges. The main purpose of PSI is to assist judges in making rational decisions rather than changing their minds about a specific case. In order to have a comprehensive PSI, the document must describe the nature of the case, the characteristics of the offender, loss to the victim, the criminal history of the offender and provide recommendations. In the case of Larry Greene, it is recommended that the offender be placed under the community-based program.
A number of elements in the case of Larry Greene qualify him to be placed under the community-based program. The first element is that his lack of motivation that can be attributed to association with his peers of similar behavior. Placing Greene under the supervision of a community-based program will seclude him from his peers and offer him an opportunity to learn through the program services such as counseling, training and possible job placement.
The other element that makes Larry Greene to qualify for community-based program is his training and qualifications. Greene has maintained an average of 2.85 GPA with qualifications from local community college. Placing him under the community-based program will ensure he gets appropriate skills on how to maintain a job employment. In addition to getting employment skills from the program, the extra motivation provided to him during the program period will ensure he is able to maintain his job and have extra motivation to achieve more an possibly progress in his job.
Moreover, the fact that he is young, only 20, offers an opportunity for him to be trained on life skills rather than be placed in incarceration. An according to (Stohr, Walsh & Hemmens, 2013) community program offers an opportunity of monitoring offender behavior, preventing them from coming in contact with chronic criminals. Since he is young, Larry Greene can be rehabilitated effectively through community-based program, whereas incarcerating him would aggravate rather than attenuate his behavior.
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A number of community program options available for rehabilitation of Larry Greene. One option which is recommended to be used in the case of the offender is probation. Elrod & Ryder (2011) asserts that probation offers an unconditional release of an offender into the community under the court’s supervision. The option will ensure Greene is released into his family but he must observe certain conditions while serving under probation. These conditions include following home rules, be home every day by certain time specified by the court, meet with the probation officer when requested, avoidance of unmotivated friends, and abiding by all state and federal rules.
The second option is day treatment program, which is designed to equip offender with certain skills. According to (Elrod & Ryder, 2011) day treatment programs provide services or treatment to the offenders during the day, releasing them during at night. The day treatment services such as job preparation, job placement, academic remediation, job skills training, counseling, and social skills training are invaluable to Larry Greene. These the array of these services, Larry can increase his motivation and success in the workplace, thus reducing the chances of associating with unmotivated peers.
The other community-based program options that are available for Larry Greene are the group home or half-way houses. These are community placements, which will be used as half-way in programs for Larry Greene. In these programs, intermediate sanctions and more impersonal and less family-like environment will be provided for the offender. The goal is to provide a rehabilitation framework that is provided by other personnel different from those from his parents. Also, it is suitable since Larry is about to attain emotional detachment from his parents.
The success of community-based program options in the rehabilitation of Larry Greene will partly depend on the community sanctions that would be provided to him. These sanctions define the code of behavior or actions that should be displayed by the offender. The community sanctions include abiding by the laws and rules, non-association with unmotivated peers, reporting to the probation officer or program personnel on daily basis or as requested, respecting home rules, and be home always at the determined day.
The recommended community-based corrections program for Larry Greene is probation. In this correction program, the offender will be required to meet certain sanctions. One of the sanctions is to obey the house rules that would come from his parents. In the case file, it is stated that Greene’s parents have been supportive of him, so ensuring the offender obeys all the house rules will ensure he gets the best from the desire of his parents to ensure he succeeds in life. The second sanction is to avoid coming in contact with unmotivated peers. The rationale is to ensure any actions to motivate Greene are not subject to negative influence from his unmotivated peers. It would be a waste of time to motivate the offender if he continues to associate with unmotivated peers since any progress made would be negated by his peers. The third sanction is that Larry must always report home at designated time. This will be aimed at instilling self-discipline and reducing the likelihood of coming in contact with negative influence. In addition, the offender must meet the probation officer when requested. This is to ensure the probation officers checks on his rehabilitation progress and address any issues that may have come up. The sanction will also allow the probation officer to determine whether the correction option is working and if not, to determine alterative option to be implemented or seek for more sanctions to be imposed on the offender.
The probation officers often face conflicts in their duties, which arise mainly from the enforcement of law and assisting the offender (Clear, Cole, Reisig & Turpin-Petrosino, 2014). However, the presence of good management plan ensures that such a conflict is reduced and that the offender is assisted to change their behavior. The management of Greene’s case will begin with the comprehensive performance of the offender background to determine the offender risks and needs. The offender will then be placed in a local treatment center to assist the offender overcome his lack of motivation. In addition, a source of employment should be provided for him. The probation officer should then supervise the progress of the offender under the treatment and job placement to monitor his progress.
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The effectiveness of the offender case management is dependent of the response of the offender towards supervision. Clear, Cole, Reisig & Turpin-Petrosino (2014) asserts that some offenders are resistant to supervision, whereas other go along well with probation officers and respond to probation in a favorable manner. In the case of Larry Greene, the probation officer should exercise close supervision. This will ensure the offender completely attends the support services (counseling programs) and follows the sanctions provided. Larry is a highly risky offender and any laxity from the probation officer could result in ineffective probation program since the offender is young and can be subject of easy influence from his peers.
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