Florida Office of Community Corrections Article   Term Paper ID:40061 Click to get this paper

Essay Subject: Analyzes an Internet article "How we've survived three years of budget cuts."... More...

3 Pages / 675 Words 2 sources, 8 Citations, APA Format $12.00 Return to List of Papers

Paper Abstract: Analyzes an Internet article on the Florida Office of Community Corrections and its efforts to deal with budget cuts. Paper Introduction: Article Critique Community Corrections in FloridaIntroduction Under Florida law the Office of Community Corrections is chargedwith supervising offenders placed on community supervision programs including pre-trial intervention probation community control drugoffender probation sex offender probation and post-release supervision Florida Department of Corrections Like other organizations oragencies subsumed within the criminal justice system Florida\'s CommunityCorrections system has been challenged by budgetary constraints andshortfalls It is this issue as described by Hieteenthia Hayes Assistant Secretary for the Florida Department of Corrections that will beinvestigated herein Text of the Paper: The entire text of the paper is shown below. However, the text is somewhat scrambled. We want to give you as much information as we possibly can about our papers and essays, but we cannot give them away for free. In the text below you will find that while disordered, many of the phrases are essentially intact. From this text you will be able to get a solid sense of the writing style, the concepts addressed, and the sources used in the research paper. (2 7). Given the emphasis on community corrections, these programsshould receive more rather than less funding. Like other organizations oragencies subsumed within the criminal justice system, Florida's CommunityCorrections system has been challenged by budgetary constraints andshortfalls. Article Critique: Community Corrections in FloridaIntroduction Under Florida law, the Office of Community Corrections is chargedwith supervising offenders placed on community supervision programs,including pre-trial intervention, probation, community control, drugoffender probation, sex offender probation, and post-release supervision(Florida Department of Corrections, 2 7). Available at www.oppaga.state.fl.us /profiles/1 52.Hayes, H. Available at www.nkic.org/pubs/2 2/period229.pdf. Hayes(2 2) also recognizes that agencies such as the Office of CommunityCorrections must become proactive advocates for their own activities.While it is difficult to generate sufficient legislative and public supportfor increasing budgets via increased taxes, it is an unfortunate realty ofcontemporary public service that must be addressed. At the same time, Hayes (2 2) states that the system is strained inthat there are statutory limits on caseload ratios along with collectivebargaining rules that make it difficult to increase caseloads despitestaffing shortages. It is this issue as described by Hieteenthia Hayes (2 2),Assistant Secretary for the Florida Department of Corrections, that will beinvestigated herein.Discussion Hayes (2 2) reported that from 1999 to 2 2, the Florida Departmentof Corrections' Office of Community Corrections endured budgetary cutsdespite increased caseloads resulting in responsibility for almost 153, offenders on community supervision. Consequently, it becomes challenging at best for administratorsto cope with budgetary cuts, particularly in light of public demand forcareful monitoring of certain classes of offenders such as sex offenders. Hayes (2 2) said thatpublic agencies are funded by public funds and tax revenues are the primarysource of such funding.Conclusion Based upon the discussion provided by Hayes (2 2), it can beconcluded that there are very real limits to the use of innovativestrategies for offsetting budgetary cuts in criminal justice systemagencies. Community Corrections. ReferencesFlorida Department of Corrections. Hayes (2 2) noted that budgetary cutsand shortfalls resulted in a number of cost reduction strategies such asconsolidating staff in a limited number of offices, placing certifiedofficers in the field rather than courtrooms, reducing equipment purchases,and eliminating a number of requirements for supervision and investigationthat had formerly been in place. Florida's Community Corrections: How we've survived three years of budget cuts. It is certainly true that electronic monitoring technologies canreduce dependence on human supervision, but it is equally true thatmaintaining viable staff-to-client ratios is needed to ensure thatsupervision will be sufficient to prevent recidivism and assist offendersin developing viable lifestyles and obtaining needed services. Topics in Community Corrections. The articleis interesting in that it demonstrates how careful deployment of resources,the use of electronic monitoring programs as opposed to caseworkersupervision, and a focus on the most dangerous probationers helps theagency to remain functional and to meet its goals and objectives. (2 2). This is necessary tomaintain public safety. Based on Hayes' (2 2) discussion, this writer's recommendation isthat care should be taken when considering reducing Community Correctionsbudgets. Hayes (2 2) concludes that a major strategy for offsetting budgetarycuts consists of a combination of training staff for cross-functional work,team activities, and the use of cutting edge electronic monitoring. It is also difficult, said Hayes (2 2), to shiftcertain funds in the Community Corrections budget from one category toanother because funding for specific classes of offenders is legislativelymandated. Correctionsis one area in which it is ultimately foolhardy to place too much emphasison cost savings. The main idea advanced by Hayes (2 2) isthat despite the loss of 29 certified correctional probation officerpositions and a budgetary reduction of several million dollars, a leanerand more efficient Community Corrections system has emerged. If this paper is not what you are looking for, you can search again: Search for: or Click here to request an essay written just for you.