Adolescent Diversion Program and Six Sights Program - Essay Sample

Introduction

In the US, various programs have tried to minimal ethical behavior among individuals. These programs include Collaborative Behavioral management in six sights program and Adolescent Diversion program (New York program) (Crime Solution.Gov, 2017). The purpose of this essay is to discuss the benefits and challenges of the programs and recommend the best one while recommending stoppage of funding of the ineffective program. Collaborative Behavioral management in six sights program has not been effective based on the research conducted while Adolescent Diversion program (New York program) has resulted in promising outcome; hence it is useful.

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Collaborative Behavioral Management in Six Sights Program

It is a cooperative program involving parole officer, treatment counselors, and the parolee. The primary objective of the plan is managing parole behavior among offenders in society. Besides reducing the use of substance abuse, the program will reduce crime in the community by instilling discipline and ethical behavior (Crime Solution.Gov, 2017). However, the rating of the program is zero showing that the program has not been effective in re-arresting drug use in society.

The advantage of this program is that it seeks to reduce substance abuse in the society which is the cause of many issues in society. It targets individuals who have developed substance use disorders so that they can improve their health status (Crime Solution.Gov, 2017). Since it uses a collaborative approach, it has high chances of succeeding since the counselors share the experience with the target population making the program useful.

The second advantage of the program is that it seeks to change the behavior of people in society by administering secessions educating people about problems associated with substance abuse. For an individual to qualify for the program, they must be over 18 years, and they must have been depending on drugs or substances (Crime Solution.Gov, 2017). Substance abuse is one of the sources of crimes in the US; hence there is a need to develop ways of changing the behavior of people and ensure they do not depend on drugs. As a result, the program is crucial because it seeks to address the problem of crimes in society and provide people in constructive and developmental projects.

However, the problem with the program is that it has not shown any sign of changing behavior among the target population. Friedmann and Colleagues found out after their research that statistically, they could not differentiate the re-arrest rates in the people before and after implementing the 9-month program (Friedmann, Traci, Faye, Anne, Elizabeth, Daniel, Steven, Linda, Mark, William, Jennifer & Bennett, 2011). Moreover, the researchers did not find any significant behavior change regarding substance abuse before and after the program. It seems that the program did not specify the type of substances it targeted since there is an effective intervention program for every drug abused and perhaps this made the program ineffective. Therefore, the program costs financial resources without any positive effect.

Adolescent Diversion Program New York Program

The diversion program in the New York targets individuals aged 16 and 17 in the state of the adult criminal justice system. The primary purpose of the program is to ensure the diversion of grown-up adolescents from adult justice penal system and ensure they get alternatives and services appropriate for their age. The first advantage of this program is that it helps young juveniles aged 16 and 17 to get proper services and intervention programs that seek to change their behavior (Crime Solution.Gov, 2014). For example, young minors require special treatment and guidance because of the peer pressure and factors contributing to their criminal activities.

The second advantage of the program is that it seeks to reduce the use of conventional criminal penalties among older adolescents. The standard penalties do not attempt to restore ethical behavior among individuals, but to punish (Crime Solution.Gov, 2014). With the introduction of the program, older adolescents will be subjected to restoration penalties because they need appropriate counseling and guidance at their age so that they can have a positive impact in society. The concept of restoring justice means that the young juveniles will change their behavior while having a positive effect on society. Therefore, the program is appropriate.

However, the diversion from the adult criminal justice has some disadvantages. The first one is that it diverts justice and equality in the judicial system. It is not guaranteed that reducing conventional punishments will have any impact on the society (Reich, Erin, Farley & Suvi, 2014). Also, the individuals will have more rights than other criminals, and they may not regret their actions. Therefore, the program needs adjustment to ensure an effective justice system alongside reducing use of conventional punishments. However, there is only one study that has been conducted on this program; hence the need to do more studies to validate the findings.

Recommendations

Adolescent Diversion program New York program is the best program that should continue receiving funding. It is because research shows that the program is promising. Recidivism rates were similar among participants of adolescent diversion program and other comparison groups. It suggests that the diversion of older adolescents does not in any way increase risks to the public (Crime Solution.Gov, 2017). Another reason why the program is necessary is because it helps to restore ethical behaviors among older adolescents. Despite reducing conventional punishment, it does not increase the risk to other people, but restore individual behavior impacting positively in the community.

On the other hand, funding of Collaborative Behavioral management in six sights program should stop. The program seeks to improve or reduce substance abuse among people as well as reducing crime. However, according to one research conducted, the rating of the program is zero suggesting that it has not affected human behavior positively (Crime Solution.Gov, 2017). The results of the study showed that the intervention program did not have any positive effects on drug users suggesting that the program was not developed accordingly. According to a randomized control trial, there was no positive effect of the program. Another reason why funding for this program should stop is that it does not have a specific target group and types of disorders it targets Reich, Erin, Farley & Suvi, 2014). For the program to be effective it must show the relationship drug abuse and crimes in the society, and it must have a clear plan and expected outcome to ensure no wastage of resources.

Conclusion

Criminal justice in the US requires a collaborative approach. The government and local authorities have developed programs that seek to improve fairness and manage crimes in the community. The first one is Collaborative Behavioral management in six sights program but the program has not been effective; hence funding should stop. The Adolescent Diversion program-New-York program is promising and should receive adequate funding since it helps to restore ethical behaviors for individual and societal gains.

References

Crime Solution.Gov. (2014). Program Profile: Adolescent Diversion Program (New York State). Retrieved from https://www.crimesolutions.gov/ProgramDetails.aspx?ID=360

Crime Solution.Gov. (2017). Program Profile: Collaborative Behavioral Management in Six Sites. Retrieved from https://www.crimesolutions.gov/ProgramDetails.aspx?ID=542

Friedmann, Peter D., Traci C. Green, Faye S. Taxman, Magdalena Harrington, Anne G. Rhodes, Elizabeth Katz, Daniel O'Connell, Steven S. Martin, Linda K. Frisman, Mark Litt, William Burdon, Jennifer G. Clarke, and Bennett W. Fletcher. (2011). "Collaborative Behavioral Management Among Parolees: Drug Use, Crime and Re-arrest in the Step'n Out Randomized Trial." Addiction 107:1099-1108.

Reich, W. A., Erin, J. Farley, M. R & Suvi H. L. (2014). The Criminal Justice Response to 16- and 17-Year-Old Defendants in New York. New York, N.Y.: Center for Court Innovation.