Drug Court Programs in Florida, Capstone Project Example

Abstract

Do not indent the abstract. Do not exceed 120 words. Write the abstract during week 11 after you have your entire project assembled. You cannot write the abstract until you know what your entire paper is about. Research “writing an abstract” online before you write it so you understand what a graduate level abstract should read like.

Introduction to the Problem

The introduction to the problem section should achieve these three objectives: (a) introduce your reader to the problem, (b) explain concisely what the problem it, and (c) demonstrate why this problem is important to investigate and create proposed solutions. Highlight each section under the each heading and replace it with your text.

Background of the Problem

The background of the problem explains in detail the entire problem historically, etc., and this section accomplishes these objectives: identifies and discusses key components, elements, aspects, concepts of the problem, and provide your reader with an understanding of how the problem arose and the specific context within which the problem is occurring. The length of this section will depend on the complexity of the problem.

Ask yourself and answer in this section: What is already known about this problem? What solutions have already been proposed and did they work? What do the researchers recommend who publish literature on this topic?

Purpose of the Project

What is the purpose of your project?  Why is this important for society to review and consider implementing? In the previous section, you began to link your topic to all of the literature, in this section, discuss in this section all of the important reasons why your proposed policy or initiative is important.

Definitions of Terms

Criminal justice- A conventional term for the process by which criminal behavior which is  committed is researched, arrests are conducted, evidence collected, charges are rendered, defensive arguments are raised, sentences are given and the appropriate punishment is applied (Nolo, 2014).

Drug court- an innovative court which was conceived in the City of Miami, County of Dade in 1989. This category of court in the criminal justice system is designed to give appropriate treatment to narcotics related offenders and provide then with rehabilitation options from  drug abuse (Rosenthal, 2002)..

Assumptions and Limitations

There exist four conventional moral justifications for the administration of government inflicted punishment of narcotics related offenders. The primary assumption is the incapacitation of the offender in order to deter the offenders’ capacity of doing greater harm to members of the society. The second moral justification for the administration of government inflicted punishment of the narcotics related offenders is rehabilitation of the individual in order to facilitate the narcotics related offenders reinsertion into society. The rehabilitative theory delineates that the narcotics offender may not have had control of his person due to the attributes of being under the influences of narcotics. The rehabilitative theory is one of the foundational assumptions which caused the conception of the drug court concept (O’Hear, 2009; Rosenthal, 2002).

The third moral justification of the administration of government administrated punishment on the narcotics related offender is deterrence. In establishing a precedence of consequence for the behaviors which had been exhibited by the narcotics related offender prior to the interaction with the drug treatment courts, the aspect of deterrence serves as an admonishment for those who would model their future behavior on the narcotics offender’s previous behavior. The fourth moral justification for the administration of government inflicted punishment on the narcotics offenders in the drug courts are retribution. The narcotics offender must be mad e to provide restitution for the damages caused to the victims of the narcotics related crimes. The retribution is performed in order to demonstrate the condemnation that the society holds for the act which violated the law and to negate the advantage which had been gained by the narcosis offender in committing the criminal act. This perception is attributed with the idea of Lex talionis (Rosenthal, 2002)

The feasibility and the reasonableness of these justifications for the government inflicted punishment of narcotics related offenders are reliant upon three assumptions. These assumptions are the acknowledged theories on human nature, the availability and existence of information which either reinforces or contradicts the assumptions which are held and the capacity of the society in appropriately applying the information in order to administrate the punishment of the narcotics related offender. The processes which are applied in order to punish a narcotics related offender can only be rationalized if they completely concur with the theoretical basis of the human characteristics which are the foundations of the theories of punishment. In the circumstance that the theories which support the punishment of the narcotics related offender and the real evidence which is pertinent to the narcotics offender are not in alignment, the circumstance can derive an unfair, ineffective and incoherent implementation of punishment against the narcotics offender.  These types of circumstances require a review of the foundational logic which is the framework of the category of punishment (Rosenthal, 2002).

This section is much like a disclaimer in some ways. Here you want to highlight what you, as the writer, are assuming to be true about this topic. These assumptions cannot be unsubstantiated of course, but are necessary in order for your topic to flow.

Identify and discuss the limitations of your project. Discuss research limitations, available literature limitations, etc. here. Also discuss how any proposed policy or initiative could be limited and what those are and why.

Introduction to the Literature Review

The Florida system of drug courts is the most important innovation in the penal system. The Florida drug courts have been created as a direct reaction to the revolution with regards to severe sentencing in correctional policy. Consequently, the Florida drug courts have been an unpopular implementation to the war against drugs. The Florida drug courts introduce an energetic answer to the stagnant litigation and legislative perspectives which have been produced (Brocato, 2013; Desmarais et al. 2012; King & Pasquarella, 2009; Lilley, 2013; Miller, 2004; Schaffer, 2010; Taxman & Kilsantas, 2009; Taxman et al., 2012; Wittouck et al., 2013).

Theoretical Framework

As progresses in technology, have taken place, so has progress in the science of pharmaceuticals. The use of illicit pharmaceutical substances reached an apex in the late 1980s and the first drug court was formed.  The drug courts were formed out of the American criminological perspective. In the American criminological perspective, there are six primary aspects of legal reflection upon which the theories of criminal law are based. These six aspects are social strain theory, social functions, social framework theory, psychological theory, biological theory and classical theory. The Florida drug courts fall within the domain of the classical, psychological and biological criminological theories (Brown et al., 2010).

In the classical theory of criminology, individuals are responsible and accountable for their actions. The basic aspect of the classical theory is that individuals will seek to fulfill their own pleasure while calculating the benefits and the consequences of the risks involved. The purpose of the courts in the classical perspective is to require that the offender make amends for the wrongs which were committed against society. The psychological school of thought conveys the idea that mental deficiencies are the causal attribute of criminal activities. Many defendants have sought defense in the criminal justice system by means of insanity. This concept is rooted in the psychological theory of criminal justice (Brown et al., 2010).

The theoretical foundation of Florida’s drug court is based on the application of therapeutic justice. The significant development in the establishment of the drug treatment courts have been defined by means of the interdisciplinary characteristics. Conventionally, the area of therapeutic justice and therapeutic jurisprudence which are applied in the Florida drug courts review the traditionally overlooked application of the law on the emotional and psychological well-being of the drug offender.  It is acknowledged for those who are and those who are not in concurrence with the establishment of drug courts for therapeutic intervention for narcotics related offenses that the law is a social agent which exerts results on the psychological domains of the narcotics related offenders (Miller, 2009).

In addition, the theory of therapeutic jurisprudence and therapeutic justice review the participation of the law’s capacity as a therapeutic agency for the narcotics related offenders and the substantial potential that the legal system exercises in social reformation. The theory of therapeutic justice upon which the drug courts are founded examines the application of law, not as it is defined in textbooks; inasmuch as its application and effect on the narcotics related offenders, the victims and the society (Miller, 2009).

The Florida drug courts have been introduced in order to deter the influx of narcotics abusers into the criminal justice system (Reisig, 2002). Instead of directing attention to the implementation or the scope of the drug enforcement laws, the Florida drug courts endeavor at the level of the juridical procedures in order to establish the benefits of therapeutic justice (Brocato, 2013; Desmarais et al. 2012; King & Pasquarella, 2009; Lilley, 2013;  Miller, 2004; Reisig, 2002; Schaffer, 2010; Taxman & Kilsantas, 2009;  Taxman et al., 2012; Wittouck et al., 2013). As a result of the creation of the first drug court in the City of Miami, County of Dade in 1989, the movement in the drug court process has had the objective of reformulating court processes and practices. The objective of the drug court is to apply the sanctioning ability of the court system in order to provide treatment for the narcotics offender instead of directing the narcotics offenders toward incarceration (Brocato, 2013; Desmarais et al. 2012; King & Pasquarella, 2009; Lilley, 2013; Miller, 2004; Reisig, 2002; Shaffer, 2010; Taxman & Kilsantas, 2009; Taxman et al., 2012; Wittouck et al., 2013).

Consequently, the implementation of drug courts in the State of Florida is an opposing reaction to the liberals’ action toward the war against drugs. The implementation of drug courts is a response which is in opposition to the criminalization of drugs. The establishment of drug courts has the objective of concluding the unequal influence of the drug enforcement regulations on the minority populations (King & Pasquarella, 2009; Lilley, 2013; Miller, 2004; Schaffer, 2010; Wittouck et al., 2013).

Review of the Critical Literature

The Hispanic population is the largest growing minority segment in the U.S. The 2010 United States census estimated a population of almost fifty one million Hispanic individuals who reside in the United States.  The proportion of male adults in this population is thirty four percent (Brocato, 2013). Research has demonstrated that approximately two percent of the male Hispanic population is being detained in correctional facilities. Thirty seven percent of the Hispanic male population has received probationary supervision resulting from drug related offenses (Brocato, 2013).

Research has demonstrated that the standards of drug abuse apply to fifty eight percent of Hispanic offenders in the State of Florida. Notwithstanding, court ordered therapeutic justice is received by only 8.6% of the Hispanic drug offending population. The effectiveness of the model of therapeutic justice which has been exercised in the State of Florida has been proven to be effective (Brocato, 2013).

The Southern counties of the State of Florida have been detailed as being intensely populated with members of the Hispanic diaspora. The Hispanic diaspora in the State of Florida is composed of a diverse number of members with distinct national and cultural perspectives.  The Hispanics who are first generation Americans have demonstrated tendencies of having increased interactions with the drug courts in the State of Florida. The southern counties of the State of Florida are unique settings for the first generation Americans of Hispanic descent. The strategies of adapting to the culture are unique to the southern regions of the State of Florida (Desmarais et al., 2012).

The trend of Cuban immigration has formed a community which has been influenced by an extremely skilled class of Hispanic refugees. The community of Cuban refugees in Southern Florida has formed a pattern of education and economic attainment which has been difficult for Hispanics who arrived from other national and cultural perspectives to follow.  Many of the Cuban refugees who arrived in the counties of South Florida have become well established over time. Consequently, many of the recently arrived Hispanic refugees become involved with narcotics abuse in order to create economic opportunities (Desmarais et al., 2012).

Surveys which have been conducted by the post- adjudication drug courts have demonstrated that narcotics and alcohol abuse education were provided in 74% of the correctional facilities. This implies that educating the members of the community who are incarcerated and in rehabilitation programs is one of the subjects of  the therapeutic justice perspectives of the Florida drug courts. The educational programs are the most extensively applied intervention in the post- adjudication process. The survey had been conducted by means of the NCJTP (National Criminal Judicial Treatment Practices survey). The NCJTP is one of the implements used by  therapeutic justice personnel in the drug courts of the counties of South Florida (Taxman & Kilsantas, 2009; Taxman et al., 2012).

The therapeutic justice systems in the counties of Florida have implemented the START program for drug offenders. The START program is an acronym for short time assessment of risk and treatability. The START implementation is one of a kind program in the manner which it is directed. The START program is directed towards numerous mental health problems which have been manifested by the population who are drug related offenders. These mental health problems include: narcotics abuse, suicidal tendencies and violence. The implementation of the therapeutic justice system which has been exercised by the drug courts of the State of Florida have enabled the issues of drug abuse and mental health concerns to be reviewed over short term periods (Alarid & del Carmen, 2012; Bean, 2008; Desmarias et al., 2012; Lab, 2014;  OPPAGA, 2009).

A literature review explains the purpose of your proposed policy or initiative in relation to the theoretical framework that supports your topic and introduces your literature review topics while explaining why each article is significant. Explain the literature search process, such as the libraries you used, key words you searched online, etc.) so a reader can understand where your information came from.

Theoretical Framework

The theoretical framework ties your topic to a theory that you claim explains it. For example, Strain Theory might explain criminal behavior because…

Describe the theory that supports your topic. Organize your theory discussion by introducing the theory overall, who created it, where it came from, the historical background, etc. Then delve into each premise of the theory and tie it to your topic. Be sure to give your readers a clear picture of the theoretical framework (underlying foundation of the problem of your topic) for your proposed policy or initiative, and how the theory appropriately supports your ideas herein. It is not enough to simply state that strain theory supports why people commit crime for example. For this section, you must provide the concepts and expectations of your theory that apply to the problem and explain how the theory and the findings of coping skills literature form an interrelated framework to support the problem and proposed policy or initiative.

Review of the Critical Literature

The Review of the Critical Literature section includes three to five major themes or topics that are relevant to the problem you chose to address. All of the literature in this review is from scholarly journals, so everything in this section should be an article from a scholarly source. Be sure to begin this section with an introduction that explains what you are going to present here Identify your key themes and organize your literature review by theme including both the quantitative and qualitative information that corresponds with each theme under that theme. These level three headings do not and are not included in the table of contents. Simply add them here and do not edit the table of contents to reflect your thematic evaluations of each article in this section. This section is designed to offer structure and context to the proposed policy or initiative’s main problem.

Using Bloom’s Taxonomy as your framework for this section, organize, present, analyze, and evaluate the relevant research connected to your topic. Include three to five journal articles per theme to really flesh out the literature you researched. Definitely do not only offer one article per theme. Offer at least two, but three to five is really ideal. Analysis and evaluate means that you will break aspects of each study apart, study each piece, and reassemble as a newly understood whole while attributing credibility and meaningfulness to each one. This section will strengthen your argument for why new policy or solutions are necessary for this societal problem. Make this section very persuasive.

Conclude this section with a brief summary paragraph that ties all of the key pieces together for your reader in relation to your topic and proposed policy or initiative.

Policy or Initiative Design and Strategy

Briefly state if you are proposing a policy or initiative and what it would be called. Remember this entire paper is in THIRD PERSON, so you cannot use “I, we you, etc.” like first and second person.

This section should be much like the Introduction to the problem section. It should clearly and concisely explain to the reader the main idea of your proposed policy or initiative and then highlight the various items to be discussed in the following sections. I recommend writing this section after you compose the other sections of the policy because you cannot foresee all of what you will write beforehand. Best practice is to write your introductions and abstract after you have composed the majority of your paper.

Target Population

The relationship between narcotics abuse and participation in criminal activities in the State of Florida has been attributed to culture shock, discrimination and socio economic marginalization (Matsumoto et al., 2008; Matsumoto & Juang, 2012). The cultural adaptation approaches are distinct between the first generation immigrants and the first generation Hispanic Americans who are descended from the first generation Hispanic immigrants (Brocato, 2013; Gottfredson et al., 2007; Hepburn & Harvey, 2007; Matsumoto et al., 2008; Matsumoto & Juang, 2012). These perspectives will be reviewed from a cognitive, affective and remedial approach (Foreland, 2012).

Identify, describe, discuss, and analyze the target population using Bloom’s Taxonomy as a framework to guide your thinking and your writing towards verifying you are not skipping integral steps of the writing process. Who are the individuals and why do they need this policy or program? How did you come to identify them? Why do they meet the capstone project assigned objective of a criminal justice related issue or problem (i.e., gang violence). And yet again, same thing here, do not list any additional third level headings in the table of contents. It is already set up and formatted for you. All you will change in the TOC are the two items specified in the notes at the end of the TOC.

Objectives and Goals

The objectives of this section are to delineate the cognitive emotional and implementations for increasing the effectiveness of the rehabilitation program attendance and to decrease the aspects of recidivism (Brocato, 2013; Gottfredson et al., 2007; Hepburn & Harvey, 2007; Matsumoto et al., 2008; Matsumoto & Juang, 2012).

Identify, describe, discuss, and analyze the objectives and goals for your project. Be sure to clearly identify each objective/goal and define it first before discussing it or analyzing it. Again, use Bloom’s Taxonomy as a framework to guide your thinking and your writing towards verifying you are not skipping integral steps of the writing process. Then at the end, synthesize all of your objectives together, mesh them together in other words to demonstrate how they interrelate and argue why these objectives should be included instead of others that other people might propose. Convince your reader that you are on track. Again, same thing here, do not list any additional third level headings in the table of contents. It is already set up and formatted for you. All you will change in the TOC are the two items specified in the notes at the end of the TOC.

Do not forget to discuss your target population at length. Spend quite a bit of time discussing the group and how and why you selected this group for your target population.

Theoretical Support

The theoretical support is based on social strain theory and rehabilitation theory (Rosenthal, 2002). The conventional drug courts function upon the biological theories of criminology and in the domains which are incorporated in the social strain theories. The fundamental rational of the drug courts is to address the physical, psychological, and emotional state of someone who is addicted which caused the offender to commit criminal activities in order to fuel the addictions. The rational which is the foundation of the drug courts states that the most effect manner of diminishing recidivisms in neighborhoods is to provide a cure for the addicted individual. If the addiction can be addressed and cured, the individual would not need to commit criminal acts in order to feed a narcotics or alcohol habit (Brown et al., 2010).

This is a recap of your theoretical framework and integration of how the premises of your theory interrelate and support your objectives, goals, etc. Pull from your theoretical framework section in your lit review to flesh out this section. Do not forget, every section of your project should be researched for “how to” mechanical methods. The mechanics of your paper are critically important to its overall presentation. Research online how to do every piece of this paper before going it without any tools in your toolbox.

Literature Support

Theories which are correlated with cultural adaptation maintain that people will adopt distinct perspectives on becoming culturally adapted. Research has demonstrated that the aspect of being marginalized which is characterized as the lack of acceptance experienced by the second generation Hispanic immigrant in the context of the culture of their heritage and the host culture has the outcome of decreased socio- cultural adaptive abilities and decreased psychological health. In addition to these factors, the downward aggregation of the second generation Hispanic population causes them to become marginalized in the host country (Matsumoto et al., 2008; Matsumoto & Juang, 2012). Research has shown that the second generation Hispanic population members have more probability of being absorbed by the disadvantaged social and economic classes when they do not have the adequate community support or academic capital. Consequently, members of the second generation Hispanic population face marginalization by means of discrimination (Brocato, 2013; Gottfredson et al., 2007; Hepburn & Harvey, 2007).

This aspect of discrimination causes the second generation Hispanics to acquire a cultural identity which is stigmatized with criminal justice interaction stereotypes and narcotics abuse (Matsumoto et al., 2008; Matsumoto & Juang, 2012). These aspects deserve consideration with regards to the acculturation strategies which are adopted. Research has demonstrated that in the process of acquiring a new culture, many of those who are assimilated become narcotics abusers (Brocato, 2013; Matsumoto et al., 2008; Matsumoto & Juang, 2012). Evidence has demonstrated that the aspect of preferring to speak in English in addition to being U.S. nationals have been associated with increased levels of narcotics use in Florida’s Hispanic communities (Brocato, 2013; Matsumoto et al., 2008; Matsumoto & Juang, 2012). The recently arrived immigrants are more protected from the exposure to the stress of culture shock. Second generation Hispanic males who are U.S. nationals are very susceptible to the stressors which are related to cultural adaptation in the State of Florida.  Consequently, the susceptibility to stressors and the lack of protective factors (i.e. skill sets, cultural community support) result in greater indexes of interaction with the Florida drug court system (Brocato, 2013; Gottfredson et al., 2007; Hepburn & Harvey, 2007).

Research has shown that Florida’s male Hispanic population possesses less of a tendency to perceive that there is a need for their narcotics abuse rehabilitation. The Florida drug court narcotics related offenders who enter into the narcotics rehabilitation programs while receiving supervision from their communities, have shown the capacity of attending and fulfilling the requisites of the narcotics rehabilitation programs. Research has shown that when the community supervision ceased, the tendency of court ordered narcotics rehabilitation program subscribers was to fall into recidivism. Pressure from the legal system has been discovered to be a motivation for completing the narcotics rehabilitation programs. Notwithstanding, the long term ability of the narcotics abuse rehabilitation programs subscribers has been demonstrated to be affected by the degree to which the subscribers are intrinsically motivated in conducting the drug free behaviors which are associated with narcotics rehabilitation (Brocato, 2013; Gottfredson et al., 2007; Hepburn & Harvey, 2007).

The diverse process and contents of the reason for treatment motivation are required to be decoded into a comprehensive model which provides predictable outcomes. The participation of the court ordered subscribers into the narcotics rehabilitation programs is reliant upon a number of factors. These factors include the appropriateness of the treatment perspectives, the perceived psychological and material expenses, the anticipated program results, external community and legal pressure, problem severity and problem recognition. The acknowledgement of these factors is of great significance in comprehending the motivational aspects of the successful attendance and completion of the narcotics abuse rehabilitation programs (Brocato, 2013; Gottfredson et al., 2007; Hepburn & Harvey, 2007).

Again, tie your literature review to this section and introduce additional pieces that directly support your premises. Use journal articles, government articles, and other agencies’ proposed policy or initiative to support your idea. Flesh out this section by interrelating the literature with everything you have written so far. Analyze and apply critical thinking to the literature and synthesize the main points of the literature that support your idea.

Limitations of Policy or Initiative Design

The strategies which are applied by the Hispanic population in addressing the challenges of acculturation are not well comprehended and will be one of the limitations of this research. There are substantial gaps in the body of knowledge with respect to the motivational factors which encourage the participation of Florida’s Hispanic male population to subscribe to the court ordered treatment programs for narcotics abuse in comparison to other ethnic groups. Motivation is delineated as a concept which is categorized by the acceptance of rehabilitation narcotics abuse programs. One basic assumption which is mutually held by these models is that the deficiency in motivation is one of the factors of resistance in successful completion of the narcotics abuse rehabilitation programs. Research has demonstrated that motivation which has been acquired prior to treatment has the outcome of increased narcotics treatment program retention and assertive results. The narcotics related offenders  who are ordered by the Florida drug courts to subscribe to the narcotics rehabilitation programs, initiate treatment with lower levels of motivation with respect to modifying their proprietary narcotics abuse behaviors than clients who subscribe to narcotics abuse rehabilitation programs under other circumstances (Brocato, 2013; Gottfredson et al., 2007; Hepburn & Harvey, 2007).

There are substantial gaps in the body of knowledge with respect to the motivational factors which encourage the participation of Florida’s Hispanic male population to subscribe to the court ordered treatment programs for narcotics abuse in comparison to other ethnic groups. Motivation is delineated as a concept which is categorized by the acceptance of rehabilitation narcotics abuse programs. One basic assumption which is mutually held by these models is that the deficiency in motivation is one of the factors of resistance in successful completion of the narcotics abuse rehabilitation programs. Research has demonstrated that motivation which has been acquired prior to treatment has the outcome of increased narcotics treatment program retention and assertive results. The narcotics related offenders  who are ordered by the Florida drug courts to subscribe to the narcotics rehabilitation programs, initiate treatment with lower levels of motivation with respect to modifying their proprietary narcotics abuse behaviors than clients who subscribe to narcotics abuse rehabilitation programs under other circumstances (Brocato, 2013; Gottfredson et al., 2007; Hepburn & Harvey, 2007).

What issues limit your policy or initiative? Research limitations of other policies and initiatives that are similar to yours and begin to conceptualize what limitations your project has as well. Maybe your target group is smaller than you would like or you are only able to reach a specific demographic area. Set up this section to transition very well into the next section on implementation where you will spell out exactly how you will reconcile these limitations towards maximum application and potential. To note, this project can be used in a job interview towards demonstrating to future employers what you are able to build and design. Make them want to hire you by putting all of your effort into making this top notch. Do not forget to be consulting SmartThinking in every step so your work is professional, polished, and presented in the cleanest way possible.

Identify, describe, discuss, and analyze the limitations for your project. Be sure to clearly identify each limitation and define it first before discussing it or analyzing it. Again, use Bloom’s Taxonomy as a framework to guide your thinking and your writing towards verifying you are not skipping integral steps of the writing process. Again, same thing here, do not list any additional third level headings in the table of contents. It is already set up and formatted for you. All you will change in the TOC are the two items specified in the notes at the end of the TOC.

Implementation of the Proposed Policy or Initiative

Briefly state what how you will implement overall your proposed policy or initiative and restate what it would be called. Never assume your reader knows anything and stay away from using words like “it, that, this, these, those.” Always use “the proposed policy” or “the proposed initiative” will…instead of it, that, this, etc. Remember this entire paper is in THIRD PERSON, so you cannot use “I, we you, them etc.” like first and second person. Academic writing is traditionally written in third person.

Funding

Who is going to fund your project? This section discusses everything financial about your project. Research other ideas similar to yours first and draw on their ideas for who might fund your proposed project. Identify, describe, discuss, and analyze the issues related to funding for your project. Be sure to clearly identify each funding source and define it first before discussing it or analyzing it. Again, use Bloom’s Taxonomy as a framework to guide your thinking and your writing towards verifying you are not skipping integral steps of the writing process. Again, same thing here, do not list any additional third level headings in the table of contents. It is already set up and formatted for you. All you will change in the TOC are the two items specified in the notes at the end of the TOC.

Staffing

Who is going to staff your project? This section discusses everything about the staffing issues related to your project. Research other ideas similar to yours first and draw on their ideas for who might be appropriate to staff your proposed project. Identify, describe, discuss, and analyze the issues related to staffing for your project. Be sure to clearly identify the potential staffing idea before discussing it or analyzing it. Again, use Bloom’s Taxonomy as a framework to guide your thinking and your writing towards verifying you are not skipping integral steps of the writing process. Again, same thing here, do not list any additional third level headings in the table of contents. It is already set up and formatted for you. All you will change in the TOC are the two items specified in the notes at the end of the TOC.

Ethical Issues

Every project, policy, initiative has ethical issues that must be addressed. Special populations include prisons, children, elderly, and many more.  This section discusses all of the ethical issues related to your project. Research other ideas similar to yours first and draw on their ideas for who might be appropriate to staff your proposed project. Identify, describe, discuss, and analyze the ethical issues related to your project. Be sure to clearly identify the potential ethical issues, how you will identify any that could arise, what safeguards you are going to put in place to protect individuals, etc. Also, critically important, explain how you will address each of the ethical issues you identify here. Make sure you are supporting your ideas with literature and other programs like yours who have dealt with what you are identifying. Again, use Bloom’s Taxonomy as a framework to guide your thinking and your writing towards verifying you are not skipping integral steps of the writing process. Again, same thing here, do not list any additional third level headings in the table of contents. It is already set up and formatted for you. All you will change in the TOC are the two items specified in the notes at the end of the TOC.

Political Issues

Introduce your reader to the next section by transitioning easily from the previous section and by identifying briefly the political issues related to a public policy or community initiative of this nature.

Legislative Issues

This is a complex and very important section. The laws of the state you plan to implement this policy or initiative in are critical to its acceptance and success. You must research the laws of the proposed state first and identify any political obstacles that could arise along with any political support you might have for this as well. Explain the legal issues related to your project and how you will embrace and overcome each one while still maintaining your program goals.

Identify, describe, discuss, and analyze using Bloom’s Taxonomy as a framework to guide your thinking and your writing towards verifying you are not skipping integral steps of the writing process. And yet again, same thing here, do not list any additional third level headings in the table of contents. It is already set up and formatted for you. All you will change in the TOC are the two items specified in the notes at the end of the TOC.

Media-Related Issues

The Media section is also very complex and is also a very important section. Any time public policy is made or a new initiative begins, the media hones in on the good, bad, and ugly. Media relations and the public perception of this policy or initiative are critical to its acceptance and success.

Identify, describe, discuss, and analyze how the media can help you and hurt you. How can you use the media to your advantage? Be sure to clearly identify the pit falls and assets the media brings to the situation. Make sure you are supporting your ideas with literature from other programs like yours who have dealt with what you are identifying. Again, use Bloom’s Taxonomy as a framework to guide your thinking and your writing towards verifying you are not skipping integral steps of the writing process. And yet again, same thing here, do not list any additional third level headings in the table of contents. It is already set up and formatted for you. All you will change in the TOC are the two items specified in the notes at the end of the TOC.

Community Relations

Same as the previous sections, the community relations section should highlight community involvement that the proposed policy or initiative will create. Getting communities involved with initiatives and or policy will help facilitate forward movement. Discuss the good things that the proposed policy or initiative will bring to the community, how you will get them involved, how you will create momentum for this new program.

Sometimes people do not like change. Address that issue and how you will overcome obstacles, such as but not limited to rejection of your policy or initiative by some of the target population.

Identify, describe, discuss, and analyze using Bloom’s Taxonomy as a framework to guide your thinking and your writing towards verifying you are not skipping integral steps of the writing process. And yet again, same thing here, do not list any additional third level headings in the table of contents. It is already set up and formatted for you. All you will change in the TOC are the two items specified in the notes at the end of the TOC.

Expected Results

The best way to write this section is to reiterate the Objectives and Goals section by expanding on each one of them pursuant to what you expect to find. Take each objective or goal and recap what you already discussed about it (main points) and then explain how and what you expect positively and negatively within your target population. What do you hope to accomplish (just like the Objective/Goal section), but additionally, what do you expect to actually accomplish in reality. How will you achieve the goals of your program? Integrate into this section the limitations, political, and implementation positives and negatives and how they will help and/or hinder the results you expect.

Do not forget there are short-term results and long-term results. Go back to the introduction section and reiterate what you said there a bit. Discuss the short-term results and then in a separate heading level three sections discuss the long-term results. Expand and develop this section the way you did the others.

Interrelate all of these together and synthesize this section so it sets the reader up for the implications/conclusions section.

Implications and Conclusions

Begin this section with a summary of the problem, summary of the initiative, summary of the literature, and justification of the expected results. Organize these internal sections with third level headings. Do not include third level headings in the TOC as mentioned several times before. Research “how to write conclusions, summaries, etc.” before you begin writing. As with every other section of this project, it is your responsibility as a student to use this guide as a stepping-stone into your own research on the mechanics of writing and how to write a professional, academic paper. Be aware that there are totally different standards for bachelor’s level papers, early graduate school papers, versus a 6000 level capstone graduate course.

What are the implications of your study? This in part can be similar to the expected results section, but all of the implications should be specified with headings as well. Research “implications” and how to properly write about them for a paper of this nature.

Draw your conclusions after spelling out and discussing every implication you can think of that makes good sense. Tie up loose ends in this section and finalize your argument to your reader. Be persuasive and write in a manner that facilitates enthusiasm for your proposed policy or initiative by the reader. Research how to write conclusions of this nature and incorporate that into this section.

References

Alarid, L. & del Carmen, R. (2012). Community based corrections, 9^th edition. U.S.: Cengage Learning.

Bean, P. (2008). Drugs & crime, 3^rd edition. Devon, UK: Willan Publishing.

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