Restorative Justice
Introduction
Jason, a 16-year-old male, recently received his driver’s license. One day while running errands, Jason’s friend Alex joined him in the car. When Jason’s cell phone rang, he tried to answer it but the cell phone fell to the floor. As Jason reached for the phone, he ran through a stop sign and hit a passing car. His friend Alex and the driver of the other car were killed instantly. Jason was charged with two counts of manslaughter. Given this scenario, what sort of legal process do you think would or should ensue? Would going to jail be the best outcome for Jason? Would it be the best outcome for the community?
This week, you explore a new and emerging approach to justice in communities across the nation: restorative justice. You also reflect on how the information in this course impacts your professional identity and goals.
Objectives
Students will:
? Evaluate arguments for and against restorative justice programs as treatment approaches
? Create treatment plans for forensic populations
? Final Project
In the Final Project for this course, due by Day 7 of Week 11, you will critically evaluate the major concepts presented in this course.
For your Final Project, you will create a treatment plan to a scenario featuring an offender with multiple related factors (e.g., gender, ethnicity, type of offense, and age). See the scenarios provided in the Final Project Scenarios document located in the resources for this week.
Your Final Project must be presented as a 12- to 15-page (not including references, title page, or abstract), double-spaced, APA-formatted paper. Please use 10- or 12-point, Times New Roman or Courier font. Reference citations should come from peer-reviewed journals, reputable periodicals, and non-commercial websites. Please note that Wikipedia is not considered a scholarly reference and is not accepted as a citable source.
In your Final Project, you must:
? Identify which scenario you selected to use for your Final Project.
? Explain the offender category(ies) that concurs with the scenario client and discern the treatment considerations inherent in this category(ies).
? Describe the multicultural factors (e.g., age, gender, and ethnicity) evident in the scenario and explain how these factors affect treatment and treatment approach(es).
? Describe the treatment approach(es) and/or programs you would use with the offender and explain why.
? Describe any legal and ethical issues that you might consider in the treatment of your selected offender and explain how you would address these issues.
? Describe the model you would use to measure treatment outcomes and explain why you selected this model.
Your Final Project will be graded on a 20-point scale and is worth 10 percent of your final grade.
Although the Final Project is not to be submitted until Day 7 of Week 11, you should become familiar with the project requirements and have them in mind as you proceed through the course. Many of the Discussions and Application Assignments relate to and can be of use to you in writing your Final Project.
The Final Project will be evaluated according to all four indicators in the Application Assignment and Final Project Writing Rubric, located in Course Information. Information on scholarly writing may be found in the APA Publication Manual (6th ed.) and at the Walden U Writing Center website.
The Final Project is due on Day 7 of Week 11. See the Week 11 Final Project area for submission details.
Application: Comparison of Forensic Settings
The many different forensic settings such as prisons, jails, outpatient settings, community centers, residential treatment facilities, and specialized treatment centers provide many opportunities for working with forensic populations. Even within these settings, there are specific and differing programs that operate. For instance, a prison might operate an outpatient drug treatment program, a residential drug treatment program, and a sex offender program all in the same facility. In the outpatient setting, a helping professional might be called on to conduct sessions with anger management groups, domestic violence groups, substance abuse groups, and sex offenders after release.
As a forensic treatment professional, assessing and understanding various forensic settings before entering them is critical in developing your professional practice. One way of doing this is to consider the various settings, and compare them based on external resources for forensic populations. For example, how do the available resources compare between a maximum security juvenile correctional facility and a residential juvenile treatment facility? The distinction between these forensic settings and the available resources for each can help you better understand the potential challenges and opportunities in your professional practice.
To prepare for this Assignment:
o Select two forensic settings in your community to compare in this assignment.
o Consider the social support, available resources, and access to treatment for each forensic setting
The Assignment (1?2 pages):
o Identify the two forensic settings you selected from your community.
o Compare (similarities and differences) the settings in terms of social support, available resources, and access to treatment.
o Explain at least one conclusion you drew or insight you gained as a result of your comparison related to your role as a current/future helping professional.
Support your Assignment with specific references to all resources used in its preparation. You are asked to provide a reference list only for those resources not included in the resources for this course