For your final project, you will select one of the three listed subdivisions of the Florida Department of Corrections to use as the basis for a performance assessment. This document holds some information for the organization and each subdivision, though you will be expected to perform your own research on the organization, comparable organizations, and trends in the field to determine opportunities and external threats. Parole/Probation Subdivision (aka Community Corrections) The roles of the Parole/Probation subdivision revolve around performing professional assessment and supervision of criminal offenders. Correctional probation officers are responsible for investigating, assessing, supervising, counseling, and/or classifying offenders. In addition to the FDC organizational mission statement, the Parole Subdivision has its own mission, The Community Corrections Department and its officers shall service all adult offenders and families,victims, law enforcement officers, agency representatives, and the public—with equal respect, dignity, and sensitivity. The Community Corrections Department will develop an array of comprehensive services addressing the needs of both inmates and the surrounding community. This subdivision has recently been faced with some challenges, including lack of interdepartmental communication, low supervisor-to-subordinate ratio, obsolete information technology software, and an unreliable record management system. These impacts have led to a high employee turnover rate as well as gaps in accurate tracking of offenders. The department has a low rate of offenders and one of the best re-entry programs in the state. The surrounding community is satisfied with the level of service the department provides. Parole subdivision policies: http://www.dc.state.fl.us/facilities/comcor/ Your organizational assessment and recommendations report should answer the following prompt: How effectively is the criminal justice organization meeting its mission and established goals, and how can the organization improve its performance? Specifically, the following critical elements must be addressed: I. Introduction: In this section, you will describe your selected criminal justice organization to set the stage for your performance assessment. A. Describe your selected organization, providing specifics of the general purpose of the organization, the location, and any other relevant information necessary to set the stage for the performance assessment. B. Describe the mission statement of your selected organization and its related goals or objectives. What are the specific goals or objectives set forth to deliver on the mission of your organization? For example, the mission of the New Jersey Department of Corrections is to protect the public by operating safe, secure, and humane correctional facilities. II. Structure: In this section, you will analyze the overall structure of the organization to set the stage for your performance assessment. For the purposes of this project, you will select a subdivision of the agency on which to focus your performance assessment. A. What are the departments or subdivisions into which your selected organization is divided, and how do these subdivisions work together as a whole in relation to the mission of the organization? In other words, each department or subdivision has its own goals, but how do all the departments or subdivisions work together to achieve the organization’s mission? B. Describe your selected subdivision and outline the specific goals and responsibilities of the subdivision, describing how they align with the overall mission of the agency. Consider how the goals of the selected subdivision align with the mission of the agency. C. Describe the key policies in place that run your selected subdivision of the organization, explaining how these policies align with the mission of the subdivision. For example, the subdivision might have specific rules and regulations within its operating procedures and laws that ensure the subdivision meets its established goals. III. Assessment Plan: In this section, you will develop a plan to gather valid and reliable data in your performance assessment, and outline specific assessment strategies and sources of information. A. Determine the organizational assessment strategy that would be most appropriate to use in your assessment of the selected subdivision of the organization. Justify your selection. For example, you might select an organization assessment plan or model, such as the systems model, to assess compliance and effectiveness of the subdivision with the mission. B. Justify how your previously selected organizational assessment strategy will ensure you collect valid and reliable data in your performance assessment. For example, the systems model will allow you to examine the specific inputs such as resources, policies, and procedures that determine how far the organization is achieving its mission. C. Outline the sources of data and information you will use to assess the organization's performance, justifying your selection of sources. For example, you might use crime report statistics to identify areas of high crime rates, or you might interview specific individuals to assess the effectiveness of policies and procedures within the organization. D. Performance Assessment: In this section, you will assess the performance of your selected subdivision in the organization in relation to the mission and goals of the overall organization by performing a SWOT (strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats) analysis. i. Identify the major internal factors that positively and negatively affect the organizational performance. Justify your identifications. For example, a key internal factors may be the selection criteria for staff or clients. ii. Identify the major external factors that positively and negatively affect the organizational performance. Justify your identifications. For example, key external factors may laws, legislators, and citizen inputs. iii. Based on the previously identified internal factors, analyze whether or not the organization is maximizing its strengths and minimizing its weaknesses. Substantiate your claims. For example, consider the areas of the subdivision that have the most impact on success, such as the classification of offenders. iv. Based on the previously identified external factors, analyze whether or not the organization is maximizing its opportunities and minimizing its threats. Substantiate your claims. For example, consider the areas that are most vulnerable in assuring success and how these can be turned into strengths, such as housing inmates in a reception area to adequately assess their needs, not simply classifying on offense criteria. IV. Performance Report: In this section, you will develop recommendations to improve the performance of the organization, basing your recommendations on evidence from your performance assessment. A. Determine where the organization is in compliance with its organizational mission. Substantiate your findings with evidence from your performance assessment. In other words, where is the organization complying with its stated goals to move the organization toward its mission? B. Determine where the organization is in noncompliance, or can improve its compliance with the organization's mission. Substantiate your findings with evidence from your performance assessment. In other words, where can the organization improve in complying with its stated goals to move the organization toward its mission? C. Provide specific recommendations to improve the organization's performance in meeting its goals and mission. Justify your recommendations with evidence from your performance assessment. For example, you might provide recommendations to bring areas of noncompliance into compliance with the mission. D. Explain how these recommendations might be implemented in the organization. Consider the short- and long-term approach to implementing the recommendations. Consider the costs involved in implementing, the staffing necessary, or whether or not policies must be created. V. Communication Strategies: In this section, you will recommend communication strategies for the leadership to communicate the findings and associated recommendations of the report. A. Recommend who in the organization should receive the key information related to the report, justifying how this recommended distribution could improve organizational performance. Consider why some people should receive certain information, while others should not, or why all employees should receive the same information. B. What communication strategies would you recommend the leadership use when communicating the previously identified information to the previously identified individuals in the organization? Justify your recommendations. Consider how your strategi es might change based on your target audience. C. Provide recommendations to the leadership for how they can gather feedback from the employees on the previously identified recommendations to inform organizational performance, and explain how this feedback can inform continued improvement in the organization. What strategies can be used to elicit feedback from the employees, and how will this feedback be used to improve the organization’s performance with respect to the previously outlined recommendations? Your organizational assessment and recommendations report must be 8–10 pages in length (plus a cover page and references) and must be written in APA format. Use double spacing, 12-point Times New Roman font, and one-inch margins. Include at least four references cited in APA format. I STRONGLY RECOMMEND USING HEADINGS FOR EACH CRITICAL ELEMENT AREA IN YOUR FINAL PROJECT.
