Community correction agencies

community corrections agencies

Identify the mission, goals, and objectives for your state’s community corrections agencies and compare them against national standards, such as the American Correctional Association and American Probation and Parole Association. Additionally, consider the issues of probation in your post:

How many offenders are sentenced to probation in your jurisdiction?
What are the average caseload sizes?
How does this compare to national averages, standards, and recommendations?

Community correctional provides an alternative punishment for nonviolent offenders through parole and probation and other alternative sanctions. This helps in reduction of overcrowding in prison and also reduces costs compared to prison. Clouston (2009) says Saline county correctional facility mission is ensuring the safety of community and the criminal offender wellbeing through the use of the most current risk management tools and research in identification of abnormal behaviors and also assist in lifelong behavior change development. Their goal is the reduction of adult and juvenile offenders numbers committed to state prisons through their placement in the local correctional programs (Clouston, 2009).

This follows the principle that local level action of certain offenders is a cheaper option and is more effective is it does jeopardizing the safety of the public. This enables the state prisons to be restricted to serious juvenile and adult offenders. Saline’s adult and juvenile programs involve intensive supervision, intervention enforcement and surveillance with the supervisors overseeing the compliance of the offenders with the conditions and holding them responsible for their actions (Lutze, Johnson, Clear, Latessa, & Slate, 2012).

Saline County receives an average of 416 probationers who include 130 juveniles and 286 adults. The correction facility has 21 employees under it and the program is funded by Kansas department of correction and Saline county commission gives it direct full authority to operate. The juvenile caseloads in the state of Illinois have seen a decline from 28,921disposed cases in the year 2006 to 24,581 in 2010. Also those filed were 30,602 in 2010 compared to a figure of 26,454 in the year 2006. These figures are a bit lower compared to other state that shows an increase in the caseloads of juvenile cases (Clouston, 2009).

The community correctional programs continue to reduce the congestion problems of state prisons in many states and offer an immediate solution. However, many counties are forced to supplement the funding of these programs as the government continues to cut funding to these projects.
References

Clouston, D. (2009, Oct 14). Community corrections to work with consultant for at-risk youth programs. McClatchy €“ Tribune Business News. Retrieved from http://search.proquest.com/docview/462748942?accountid=45049; http://www.emeraldinsight.com?genre=article&sid=ProQ:&atitle=Community+corrections+to+work+with+consultant+for+at-risk+youth+programs&title=McClatchy+-+Tribune+Business+News&issn=&date=2009-10-14&volume=&issue=&spage=&author=Clouston%2C+David

Lutze, F. E., Johnson, W., Clear, T. R., Latessa, E. J., & Slate, R. N. (2012). The Future of Community Corrections Is Now: Stop Dreaming and Take Action. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 28(1), 42-59. doi:10.1177/1043986211432193