Correctional Education Association

National Needs Assessment Conducted to Determine Juvenile Justice Training and ServiceNeedsAuthor(s): Dianne CarterSource: Journal of Correctional Education, Vol. 42, No. 3 (September, 1991), pp. 146-147Published by: Correctional Education AssociationStable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/41970885 .

Accessed: 25/06/2014 01:23

Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at .http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp

.JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range ofcontent in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new formsof scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

.

Correctional Education Association is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access toJournal of Correctional Education.

http://www.jstor.org

This content downloaded from 195.78.108.107 on Wed, 25 Jun 2014 01:23:47 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

JOURNAL OF CORRECTIONAL EDUCATION VOLUME 42, ISSUE 3, SEPTEMBER 1991

I

1

National Needs Assessment

Conducted to Determine

Juvenile Justice Training

and Service Needs

I Dianne Carter

In January 1991 the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) and the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) entered into an interagency agreement to initiate training and services for juvenile justice profes- sionals through the National Academy of Corrections. As part of this interagency effort, the National Academy of Corrections hosted a National Needs Assessment Forum in Longmont, Colorado on May 6-8, 1991. Thirty- three leaders in juvenile corrections representing detention, community corrections, state secure facilities, and juvenile professional organizations attended. They represented twenty-seven states and the District of Columbia and over 751 years of correctional experience.

The major goal for the Forum was to identify current and emerging training and service needs for the juvenile justice community. This information will be utilized by NIC and OJJDP to guide current and future interagency agreement activities. Participants were also asked to prioritize major need areas to assist NIC and OJJDP in planning. The participants identified over 200 issues and needs, which after careful review, were clustered and categorized under 8 major headings. In order of priority, they are:

1 . Leadership/Management 2. Strategic Planning 3. Programs 4. Human Resources 5. Public /Community Relations 6. What's New and Working 7. Legal Issues 8. Funding/Budget

In the area identified as the top priority, Leadership/ Management, participants established 2 objectives:

• Development of a skilled management workforce in juvenile corrections with the capability to provide dynamic leadership and direction in a changing environment.

• Development and enhancement of professional lead- ership for juvenile corrections.

Targeted groups for training and services include new and current chief executive officers, deputy directors, and mid- level managers. Delivery strategies include training semi- nars, technical assistance, audioconferences, publications, and regional and conference workshops. Uniform consen- sus supported the need to host a National Forum to develop a shared vision of the critical issues in juvenile corrections

and strategies for addressing them. The second priority area focused on Strategic

Management and includes objectives such as: • Promotion of strategic planning within the juvenile

justice and juvenile corrections system. • Development of skills in facilitating the strategic

planning process. • Development and instruction on the value and skills

of the strategic planning process utilizing actual models and problems.

• Development and sharing of model programs. • Promotion of a common language within the j uvenile

justice community. Targeted groups for services include executives, directors and human resource staff, among others. Delivery strate- gies include training seminars and modules, publications, audioconferences, and curriculum packages.

The third priority area was Juvenile Justice Programs. Objectives in this area include:

• Development of programs to treat and control seri- ous and violent offenders.

• Development of culturally competent programs that sensitize juvenile corrections staff to the culturally diverse population and the impact of that diversity on managing, treating, and supervising.

• Provision of training for juvenile justice profession- als in methods of treating, educating, and managing mentally retarded and mentally ill juvenile offenders.

• Development of programming to ensure the connec- tion of youth to community and family as they enter and exit the juvenile justice system.

• Development of appropriate educational systems and methods for youth in the juvenile justice system.

• Influence on the juvenile justice systems that results in the inclusion of family-based treatment in the array of services provided.

Targeted groups for services include a broad spectrum of juvenile professionals with specialties in the identified topi- cal areas. Delivery strategies include training seminars, publications, research, technical assistance, and work- shops at national conferences.

The fourth priority area focused on Human Resource issues. Objectives in this area include:

• Development and retention of a culturally diverse workforce.

• Development of a human resource plan that recog- nizes and visualizes Workforce 2000 and the envi- ronment it represents.

• Development of competency-based standards for juvenile justice practitioners.

The targeted group to receive these services, again, was very diverse. Delivery strategies include technical assistance, training seminars, curriculum packages, access to the NIC Information Center, and workshops at national confer- ences.

i 1 146

This content downloaded from 195.78.108.107 on Wed, 25 Jun 2014 01:23:47 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions

VOLUME 42, ISSUE 3, SEPTEMBER 1991 JOURNAL OF CORRECTIONAL EDUCATION

I

1

Public/Community Relations was the fifth priority area identified by the Forum participant. Objectives include:

• Development of a historical, current, and futures perspective on juvenile justice.

• Development and implementation of an ongoing process for juvenile justice policy creation.

• Recognition of how the juvenile justice is impacted by its environment and how it, in turn, can influence that environment.

• Development of proactive management, collabora- tion, and dialogue with boundary agencies.

• Implementation of a proactive, reliable, and credible relationship with the media, branches of govern- ment, public, and families of youth.

The targeted audience includes juvenile administrators and managers who are required to interact with groups and individuals outside the juvenile justice system. Strategies for delivery include publications, videos, curriculum pack- ages, press kits, training seminars, and workshops at regional, state, and national conferences.

The sixth area of priority addressed What's New and Working in juvenile justice. Objectives include:

• Provision of information about state-of-the-art tech- nology for contemporary juvenile justice issues.

• Creation of a national resource and information center for the accumulation and dissemination of the latest model programs, creative ideas, education components, resource development, technology, training curriculum packages, etc.

The targeted audience would include trainers, agency and facility administrators, policy makers, and other profes- sionals in the field. Delivery strategies include research, technical assistance, and publications.

Legal Issues was the seventh priority area selected by the Forum participants. The major objective for this area is:

• To ensure, through the development of proactive legal training initiatives, those principles that pro- mote sound management practices, minimize and/ or reduce operational risks and enhance the quality of life for children, youth, family, and practitioners.

The targeted groups for services include administrators of juvenile programs, legal counsels, mid-level managers, judges, and other appropriate professionals. Strategies for delivery include training seminars and models on legal issues, audioconferences, videos, and publications.

The final priority area identified was Funding/Budget. The objective in this area is

• To expand the skills and capacities for juvenile correctional administrators to access diversified funding sources to subsidize existing, new, and expanded programs.

Service in this area was primarily targeted toward adminis- trators of juvenile correctional programs and the delivery strategy identified focused on workshops held in conjunc- tion with existing juvenile justice conferences.

As previously indicated, this information will be used to assist in guiding and developing future training and services for juvenile justice professionals. For more information about the National Needs Assessment Forum write the National Academy of Corrections, 1790 30th Street, Suite 430, Boulder, Colorado 80301 or call (303) 939-8855.

Biographical Sketch Dr. Dianne Carter is the President of the National

Academy of Corrections, National Institute of Correc- tions, U.S. Department of Justice.

INDEXING SERVICES The Journal of Correctional Education is currently indexed by:

University Microfilms International ERIC 300 North Zeeb Road Clearinghouse on Adult, Career Dept. P. R. and Vocational Education Ann Arbor, MI 48106 1960 Kenny Road

Columbus, Ohio 43210 Criminal Justice Abstracts P.O. Box 249 ERIC Monsey, NY 10952 Clearinghouse on Handicapped

and Gifted Children Criminology and Penology Abstracts The Council for Exceptional C/O Kugler Publications Children P.O. Box 516 1920 Association Drive 1 1 80 AM Amstelveen Reston, VA 2209 1-1 589 The Netherlands

147

This content downloaded from 195.78.108.107 on Wed, 25 Jun 2014 01:23:47 AMAll use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions