Question
Create a client profile and discuss practices and resources in case management that should help that client succeed after release.?
Write a analysis in which you identify a potential client in a correctional setting.?
In your analysis be sure to discuss the following areas:
Examine future management issues and trends regarding services.?
Identify future trends in corrections, community corrections, and/or case management that may hinder or benefit your client.
Format your paper consistent with APA guidelines.
Sample paper
Client Profile
A client profile in the criminal justice system is created primarily to enable case managers to identify the needs of an offender, to determine the resources needed for rehabilitation and monitor their progress. Different offenders have different issues and problems that should be addressed at the corrections stage to ensure that they do not reoffend after release. Case managers address the root cause of the problem with the aim of ensuring that offenders are helped to ensure that by the time of their release, they can be integrated back into the society with confidence that they do not pose danger to themselves or the public and they can lead productive lives.
Creating and personalizing client profiles enables case managers, police department, health care practitioners and other staff members to understand what an offender needs. The profile not only contains quantifiable variables such as age, gender, income in their recent jobs but also their values, attitude, personality and interests among other things. This enables them to understand an offender better and know in what ways they can be helped. Case management has been proved to be an effective strategy in reducing recidivism, joblessness and homelessness. Case management offers help to probationers, parolees, arrestees who require treatment for substance abuse, mental treatment or batterer intervention. Offenders who have substance abuse issues in particular can only be considered fit to rejoin the society if their chances of relapsing are confirmed to be zero or minimal.
Alcohol and drug abuse causes damage in many areas in a person’s life including relationships, employment and housing. Substance abuse also triggers criminal behavior and it could be a major reason why most offenders committed crime. Most substance abusers may have other underlying problems which may be caused by excessive and prolonged drug or alcohol abuse. Some health disorders caused by drug use include organic brain disorders and liver disease. Other problems could be as a result of neglect of health. In addition, there are other diseases which might be transmitted by substance abuse directly or indirectly. These include HIV/AIDS, hepatitis and tuberculosis. Substance abusers also have higher chances of having mental health disorders such as depression than the general population. Approximately 70 percent of people treated for drug and alcohol abuse have had depression. Case managers should consider all these factors when seeking treatment for the offenders. It is important to note that substance abusers in the criminal justice system are more than half of those seeking treatment in other areas.
Case managers should come up with programs that address all the problems that a drug abuse can have. The program is only complete if it can offer treatment for all disorders that result from drug abuse. This can be done by finding experts who can offer the best treatment so that nothing is left to chance. As mentioned before, case management focuses on treatment for the substance abusers in an environment that has less or no disruptions and hardship so that the offenders can concentrate on getting better and building their lives. The programs achieve great success by having support systems for the offenders so that they can develop a positive attitude which can enable them to lead better lives (Center for Substance Abuse Treatment, 2004).
Examine future management issues and trends regarding services.
Reducing crime cannot happen in a single day, the criminal justice system should invest on case management more in order to help the substance abusers and other offenders recover and reform their behavior. The major benefit is the fact that it reduces recidivism and enhances public security. Programs that ensure continuation of services when offenders are released may pose challenges to the system. There are also issues that create a dilemma in the whole situation. The issues include how to sanction offenders while still avoiding unnecessary incarceration, ensuring program effectiveness, preparing offenders for the outside world, finding jobs to avoid idleness, family reunions and the community changing their attitude towards offenders.
There are several tasks that should be integrated into the program in the future in order to make it effective.
- Intake- this is where a case manager communicates with the offender to explain how the treatment program will be conducted. The offender is informed of the benefits of complying with the treatment plan, how to communicate with those providing treatment and the consequence of not complying.
- Assessment- case managers engage the offenders by interviewing them on a range of issues such as history substance abuse. In addition, information regarding any prior substance abuse treatment, family contacts, employers, and support agencies is recorded. This helps a great deal in deciding the type and duration of treatment.
- Classification- case managers classify offenders depending on how they respond to treatment. Those classified as poor are the ones who have relapsed or shown signs of a possible relapse. The strong ones are those who respond positively to treatment. They exhibit a strong sense of behavior change. This allows case managers to know those that are likely to reoffend. These classifications show the severity of the problem and they are considered when seeking specialized treatment for those respond poorly to general treatment.
- Referral- referrals are made depending on a defender’s needs. Arrestees and those on parole might be referred to halfway houses while inmates receive in house treatment programs. Those who are due for release are linked up with community services where substance abuse treatment is offered. Transitions are very essential and enable the offender to maintain sobriety.
- Intervention- the case managers matches the offender’s needs and the resources and services available. The offender is expected to cooperate with the program in order to recover and change his/ her behavior.
- Monitoring- this involves follow up plans to understand how the offender is responding. The best performers are rewarded while those fail to comply are sanctioned. Intensive monitoring which includes regular drug testing and screening in order to get the correct results.
- Evaluation- at this stage, case managers determine whether the program had been beneficial to the offender. Here the response trend of the offender is considered. Behavior change, cooperation and results from checkups can show if there is progress or not. The evaluation stage shows how effective the program is
- Advocacy- case managers can negotiate in the courts on behalf of the offenders by testifying or making recommendations. They can also get the offenders visitation rights and negotiate in situations that may be hard for the offenders. The progress of the offender in recovering from substance abuse informs the case manager’s decisions in such circumstances (Healey, 1999).
A client profile for offenders should contain all the information above. The information can be of great help during transition or when an offender is referred to a specialist since everything is on record.
Identify future trends in corrections, community corrections, and/or case management that may hinder or benefit your client.
The major trend that is not only in the criminal justice system case management but other areas as well is adopting technology. It will allow case managers to serve more offenders and the effectiveness in ensuring recovery from substance abuse might increase. Storing information about the offenders and their treatment programs electronically ensure that it is readily available to all service providers involved. The corrections department, case manager, health specialists, community service centers can access the information. In addition to this, the police department can use the information to easily identify those who reoffend. Finally, the information can also be shared easily to potential employers to check the offender’s sobriety and decide if they are fit to handle the dynamics of their work environment.
References
Center for Substance Abuse Treatment (U.S.). (2004). Substance abuse treatment and family therapy: A treatment improvement protocol. Rockville, MD: U.S. Dept. of Health and Human Services, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, Center for Substance Abuse Treatment.
Healey, K. (1999). Case Management in the Criminal Justice System. National Institute of Justice. Retrieved 12 November 2016, from https://www.ncjrs.gov/pdffiles1/173409.pdf
Related:
