Assignment 2: Challenges in the Administration of Juvenile Detention

Here's What Happened . . .

You are the superintendent of the Centervale Juvenile Detention Center. Centervale's mayor has been discussing juvenile justice policy with several advisors and has now requested your input. Specifically, the mayor is interested in your thoughts on the various justifications for correction, challenges associated with running a detention center, and steps that might be taken to address those challenges.

Here Is What You Need To Do . . .

Part I

Using the memo template, prepare a memo to the mayor that examines the following:

• The mayor is aware that different rationales for the correction of juveniles exist. Identify the strengths and weaknesses of the four primary models of corrections and make an argument for the one that should be utilized at the Centervale Juvenile Detention Center. Indicate which primary model will represent the best interests for the youth and the Centervale community. Compare the selected model to the other three models of corrections, identifying the pros and cons of each. Use examples from empirical research as foundational support for your case.
• The mayor has been advised at different points on a number of challenges currently facing juvenile corrections, particularly juvenile detention. Based on your knowledge of detention facilities, identify the single greatest challenge to successfully administering the Centervale Juvenile Detention Center. As superintendent, you have unique insight into the struggles of the administration, staff, and detained youths. Describe and analyze the various challenges and point out one that is the most critical. Using empirical research to identify three or four other challenges, examine and explain the significance of these challenges as they relate to successfully administering the Centervale Juvenile Detention Center.

Click here to download the template.

Part II

As the detention center superintendent, you are responsible for choosing from a wide variety of programs and services for implementation within your facility, each with its own goals, processes, and methods. Based on the challenges you outlined in Part I, which program, policies, or initiatives would you select for your detention center? Remember, advocates from multiple programs and initiatives that claim to address the various ills of the justice system routinely approach the mayor touting a particular course of action. As the superintendent, it's your job to educate the mayor on which program best fits the unique challenges of your community.

Using empirical research, identify and analyze several possible initiatives that would best fit the Centervale Juvenile Detention Center, making sure to point out the strengths and weaknesses of each along with your recommendations. Remember, too, that your recommendations must fit within the general tenets of the correctional rationale you selected in Part I for utilization at the detention center. Also, remember to point out how the programs you recommend might affect the community as well as the youths being housed in the detention center.

Submission Details:

1. Save the document as M3_A2_Lastname_Firstname.doc.
2. By Wednesday, May 11, 2016, submit your document to the M3: Assignment 2 Dropbox.

LASA 1 Grading Criteria and Rubric

All LASAs in this course will be graded using a rubric. This assignment is worth 200 points. Download the rubric and carefully read it to understand the expectations.

Assignment 2 Grading Criteria	Maximum Points
Correctly identified and analyzed the four primary models of corrections using reasoning, logic, and examples. Used examples to show how each model will address the current practices for the Centervale Juvenile Detention Center.	16
Selected the philosophy that best represents the way the detention center superintendent would run the facility in Centervale and compared it with the other three philosophies, discussing strengths and weaknesses of each.	16
Identified and examined three or four challenges currently facing Centervale Juvenile Detention Center and explained the implications of each challenge using examples and reasoning consistent with the detention center superintendent's selected philosophy supported by empirical research.	16
Examined and distinguished the single most significant challenge facing Centervale Juvenile Detention Center using examples and reasoning.	28
Compared several possible programs and initiatives that could address the single most significant challenge facing Centervale Juvenile Detention Center. Used examples and reasoning consistent with a detention center superintendent's philosophy.	28
Examined policies, programs, or initiatives chosen and analyzed and explained in concrete terms how these would directly benefit the community and Centervale Juvenile Detention Center. Applied logic and reasoning to explain why the program, policy, or initiative chosen will benefit the detention center in contrast with other programs, policies, or initiatives that could reasonably be deemed ineffective.	32
Writing Components: Organization (16) Usage and mechanics (16) APA elements (24) Style (8)	64
Total:	200