THE UNIVERSITY OF TEXAS AT TYLERCollege of Arts and Sciences Department of Social Sciences

Syllabus

CRIJ 5307 – Criminal Justice Policy 1

Fall 2015

David M. Scott, Ph.D. Campus Office Hours: Assistant Professor

By appointment only 2

Blackboard/Internet Office Hours 3

Department: BUS 236E-mail: dscott@uttyler.edu Voice 903-566-7203

FAX 903-565-5537

Course Description

The policy cycle is studied in relation to critical issues in public policy—particularly as the cycle is influenced by certain ideological positions and the myths and realities surrounding each. Models for analyzing public policy are introduced and course participants are expected to formulate and defend new or significantly revised, narrowly focused criminal justice policy 4 proposals. The course is conducted in seminar format 5 and is reading and writing intensive.

1 A hybrid course consisting of traditional classroom and Internet sessions, the latter employing UT Tyler’s Blackboard® software program.

2 Adjunct instructors do not have individual offices; privacy in student conferences cannot be guaranteed. Individual conferences may be scheduled in the hour preceding an on-campus meeting date. Appoint-ments should be made in advance and confirmed by E-mail NLT noon on the designated meeting day. 3 Virtual office hours for responding to course participants’ E-mails will be Tuesdays 5:00 – 6:00 PM before scheduled Blackboard sessions and Thursdays 6:00 PM until appropriate responses have been provided to all previously accumulated and unanswered messages. (Please do not send a second E-mail asking if I saw the first one on a particular subject unless a virtual office hour has passed in the interim and I have not responded. Please do not ask in class if I saw your E-mail and [a] only sent it that day or [b] haven’t yourself checked for a reply.)

Also regarding E-mails, the best method for assuring I received a message is to send it requesting a “read receipt” which is different from a “delivery receipt,” as the latter records receipt only by the addressee’s ISP, not the individual him- or herself. 4 Other areas of public policy may be considered by non-CJ majors.

5 See “An Important Reminder about Seminars,” pp. 6-7.

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Participant Learning Outcomes

Upon successful completion of this course, the participant should be able to:

Demonstrate a graduate-level understanding of public policy in general and criminal justice policy in particular as evidenced by informed participation in: (a) classroom and interactive discussion; (b) content of assignments, including essay papers, interim and term projects; and (c) oral and written examinations.

Demonstrate the ability to (a) determine stakeholder needs and (b) develop formal, fully articulated proposals for new or significantly revised criminal justice policy, including plans to measure the efficacy thereof.

Correctly identify relevant theories and current practices regarding policy development, implementation, and evaluation, and interpret their application to selected case studies, research reports, and news features.

Demonstrate a graduate-level ability to think critically and reason analytically regarding course content as evidenced in discussion and in written and oral presentation assignments.

Demonstrate a graduate-level command of American English grammar, syntax, punctuation, and spelling in oral and written communication pertaining to the course.6

Required Resources

Textbooks

1. Bardach, E. 2012. A Practical Guide for Policy Analysis (4th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: CQ Press. ISBN: 978-1-60871-842-9 [paperback]. 6

See note regarding this text on p. 11.

2. Reddington, F.P. & G. Bonham, Jr. 2012. Flawed Criminal Justice Policies. Durham, NC: Carolina Academic Press. ISBN: 978-1-59460-936-7 [paperback]).

3. Wilson, J. Q. & J. Petersilia. 2011. Crime and Public Policy. NYC: Oxford University Press. ISBN: 978-0-19-539935-6 [paperback]

Editions before 2011 are not acceptable.

6 See, esp., Course Handbook (Resource #4), Ch. 5, §1.

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Other

4. A major metropolitan newspaper or Internet news service. The purpose of this requirement is to assure that the student is aware of major developments in criminal justice policy as reported in government actions and Supreme Court decisions. Certain Internet news services and the websites of major newspapers may be personalized to electronically “clip” items within selected categories (e.g., “US and crime,” “US and Supreme Court”).

5. Internet access. Seminar participants shall be familiar with criminal justice and related sources of information on the Internet and consult these sources regularly (NLT once per week) for new and updated information—especially the primary research database of the National Criminal Justice Reference Service (www. ncjrs.org ).

6. An unabridged collegiate-level dictionary to be used in preparation of assignments and whenever the student encounters terms, the meanings of which are unknown or ambiguous.7

The use of on-line, so-called encyclopedias, e.g., Wikipedia, is strictly prohibited in this course. Such sources are unreliable and often contain misinformation, error by omission and, occasionally, disinformation. Any evidence of such use will result in an “F” for the respective assignment.

7. Acquisition of or ready reference to the Fifth (or later) Edition of the Publication Manual of the American Psychological Association. All written assignments shall conform to APA style.8

8. Daily checking of Blackboard and one’s Patriot E-mail account for announcements and other course-relevant messages. Although messages from the instructor may be intermittent, they are high priority when sent.

9. Footnotes in this syllabus and all other instructor-generated course documents are explicatory and, therefore, never should be overlooked or devalued; course participants will be held accountable for their content.9

Course Requirements and Evaluation Criteria 10, 11

7 Note that in many technical fields, CJ included, certain terms with common definitions are used with specialized meaning—the jargon of the profession. One must learn these specialized definitions and correctly employ the jargon. My favorite term to explain this phenomenon is “selective enforcement.” 8 Remember the old adage, “Can’t see the forest for the trees”? We often focus so intently on the content of our reading material that we forget sometimes to absorb its style. Regarding literature, we often do not come to a full appreciation of the author’s command of language: the ability to draw vivid “word pictures” to excite us, to make us feel as though “we are there.” Regarding composition in this course, if one just follows the preciseness of composition, the organization of ideas, and the citation and reference style displayed in Wilson & Petersilia, you will be “on the money.” 9 The reason I violate APA here by placing footnotes at the bottom of respective pages is to make their access easier for you than in flipping pages back and forth to the document’s end and in the hopes that you will read all of them carefully.

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A. Seminar participants shall complete all assigned readings and demonstrate an increasing ability to analyze public policy accurately by synthesizing and evaluating relevant information.12 Individual seminar participants will be assigned as discussion leaders relating to current events and specific readings.13

B. Assertive participation shall constitute a significant proportion of one's course grade.14 Assertive participation includes informed comment (e.g., comprehension of readings and other assignments) and demonstration of leadership behavior (e.g., starting discussions and readily “jumping into” them; making constructively critical comments regarding contributions by peers and the instructor)

C. Where statistical data are presented in particular readings, whether in text, table, or figure, it is mandatory that the presenter update those statistics with the most current data available, including source citation.15

This requirement and evaluation criterion also applies to updates in the law, applicable judicial decisions, and particularly relevant news stories.

D. (1) Based on the assignment dates established below, seminar participants will submit to the instructor draft copies of five sequential chapters of a study relating to public policy. At the graduate level, the policy issue examined should apply to the federal or state level of government (i.e., national/state policy).16 Submissions should be printed in duplicate; the copy will be returned to the participant with comments.

10 Instructor reserves the right to modify course requirements and evaluation criteria depending on availability of instructional resources and/or the progress of seminar participants, including special interests or basic informational needs.

11 Requirements and criteria established in this section apply equally to all instructional formats employed in the course—traditional classroom, Blackboard sessions, and individual assignment.

12 See, esp., syllabus addenda “A Bloomin’ Taxonomy” and “Know Thy KSAAs” in Course Handbook. Graduate students will be held unequivocally responsible for demonstrated performance at the higher order levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy.

13 In this assignment and all others involving “presentation”—except for short, relevant quotes—it is not acceptable to read to the class. Notes may be used as an organizational aid—never as a script.

14 Given the press of life responsibilities facing most graduate students, it is easy to fall into a pattern of relying on presenters to tell us all that we need to know about an article and we don’t read it carefully ourselves. “Ungood!” As instructor/evaluator, I must be convinced that each course participant has done his or her “homework.” Rather than written or oral tests, the best way to evaluate your understanding is through your individual, constructively critical commentary. 15 Delays between manuscript submission and publication are often quite lengthy. The instructor notes that many data entries in Wilson, published in 2011, were extracted somewhat earlier. 16 If a course participant wishes to examine statewide policy, he or she may make a special request to the instructor. Orally presented “ideas” must be followed by written justification and receive written approval.

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(2) At the end of the course, seminar participants will submit to the instructor a com-pleted study consisting of all five chapters, revised and updated pursuant to applicable instructor and peer critique, and formatted as an APA manuscript submission. The final submission should be in a three-ring binder (not oversized!), accompanied by an electronic copy.17 The final product will not be returned.18

(3) The outline attached to and made part of this syllabus must be followed precisely in all draft and final written materials. All written materials shall conform to current APA style, word-processed, and spelling, grammar, and word choice checked. (Cf.: Learning outcome re proper English.) 19

D. Seminar participants will report the results of their respective studies to the class in two executive-type briefings: a preliminary report as an “information briefing” and a final report as a “decision briefing.” This format replicates procedures for policy development and presentation in many government agencies.

(1) The Information briefing is designed to acquaint the class with the participant’s prospectus and research progress, and to provide an opportunity for the “management team” (other participants and the instructor) to offer constructive criticism prior to the author's finalization of his or her paper. The content of the information briefing shall be inclusive of Chapter 2 as outlined below.

Prior to beginning the information briefing, the participant shall provide an outline thereof, including copies of supporting materials as appropriate, to the instructor and each member of the class. Prior to each student’s presentation, he or she will designate another student to be Recorder for the critique that follows the presentation. Not later than one class meeting following the presentation, one copy of the “minutes” will be given to the student making the presentation and another to the instructor. The quality of the “minutes” will be considered as part of the Recorder’s participation grade. A particular student may act as recorder one time only.

(2) The final decision briefing is designed to simulate the "go/no go" type of agency hearing an employee might expect regarding a policy proposal. The decision briefing will (a) concisely review material presented in the information briefings, pointing especially to revisions and modifications based on (i) additional and updated research and (ii) prior instructor and peer critique; (b) provide detailed information inclusive of Chapter Five. As with the information briefing, supporting materials should be distributed to the group in advance; no recorder, however, is required for this briefing.

17 The electronic copy should be prepared in MS WORD® (version 2007 or later), formatted as an E-mail attachment or copied to a flash drive.

18 Graduate papers are retained by the department for accreditation commission review.

19 You are admonished never to depend solely on the spell-check or grammar-check utility in any word processing software. These programs often do not distinguish between certain homonyms (e.g., to, too, two; their, there) and seldom identify such common errors as misplaced modifiers, noun-pronoun discrepancies, subject-verb discrepancies, adjective-adverb confusion and, especially, word choice errors ( e.g., using the wrong word because vocabulary is underdeveloped, precise definitions of words have not been learned, and/or poor speech patterns are translated into written composition).

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NB: In Course Requirements B and C, it is essential that participants accurately explain, apply, and reference all applicable theory relating to public policy and criminal justice. “Learn the talk, write the talk, and, most important, ‘walk the talk’ of criminal justice policy.”

E. Examinations. The instructor reserves the right to include written examinations in this course depending on the overall level of class participation and participants' understanding of responsibilities in a graduate seminar. This requirement may be imposed on an individual course participant as well as to a set of participants. If invoked, the grading weight of this component will be one-half of the class participation component.

F. All assignments must be completed as directed to receive a grade other than failing in this course. A seminar is an exercise in teamwork. Seminar participants failing to support the group or individual teammates through equal effort, cooperation, compromise, and respect shall be considered as not fulfilling course requirements. Unexcused absence or excessive tardiness also may result in course failure. (Cf.: Other Policies, infra.)

G. Ad hoc Assignments. Short-term assignments may be made to individuals or groups/teams and will be evaluated as part of class participation.

H. All Participant Learning Outcomes are fully integrated in these Course Requirements and Evaluation Criteria and are made a part hereof.

I. A summary of evaluation criteria and respective grading values appear in Table 1. Interim and final course grades will be determined according to the scales shown in Table 2.

An Important Reminder about Seminars

Within a particular structure prescribed by the course objectives, a seminar is student-directed rather than instructor-directed. Participants are significantly more responsible for their own learning than in a traditional teacher-centered class. Many participants bring public agency experience to the table; all bring critical insights from organizational and life experiences that are most instructive in their own right. Participants often contribute agency materials to reinforce certain course concepts.

Participants are teachers of one another, whereas the instructor is a discussion facilitator and subject-matter resource person. Although the university grading system perforce requires individual assessment, in a graduate seminar progress is measured equally in terms of team accomplishment. Each participant, therefore, is expected to be a highly motivated team player with ever-increasing competencies in the job-tasks assigned.

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Table 1. Evaluation Summary

Activity Weight 20

Class participation; leadership 30 %Draft chapters of study (5@4%) 20Information briefing 15Decision briefing 21 15Final completed and revised study 20

_______TOTAL 100 %

Table 2. Graduate Grading Scale

Interim Grades Final Course Grade

Letter Num. Equiv. Num. Range Letter

A 4.0 3.85 - 4.0 AA- 3.7B+ 3.3 2.95 < 3.84 BB 3.0C < 3.0 2.0 < 2.94 CF < 2.0

< 2.0 F

20 Note that an increment of approximately 10% equals one letter grade.

21 The reason Decision Briefing weight is greater than Final Study weight relates to real agency practice. Unless one can “sell” his or her recommended policy in briefing superiors, under the press of business those superiors are likely to dismiss the written proposal with but casual review and comment. On the other hand, if superiors are impressed in the briefing, they generally will examine the written version in great detail because it will become in large part their agency’s formal submission to yet higher authority.

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Course-based Policies

Full Compliance Requirement

All tests, projects, assignments, and other course requirements must be completed independently and timely in order to receive a passing grade for the course.

Deadlines

Deadlines are absolute. Assignments not delivered to the instructor at class time on the designated date will be devalued one letter grade. Assignments not delivered to the instructor by the time of the next class meeting will earn the grade of F. Assignments not delivered to the instructor within two class meetings of the original due date may result in course failure. “Extensions” are valid only if requested in writing well before the deadline and granted in writing by the instructor.

Attendance

If a class member incurs excessive absences in a course, his or her grade may be lowered or he or she may receive an “F” in the course. As in the workplace, professional demeanor dictates prior notification of impending absence. Prior notification, however, does not excuse the absence; the instructor excuses the absence, usually in writing. The number of allowed, excused absences is equal to twice the number of class meetings per week.22 For purposes of this course, unexcused tardiness is defined as absence. Requests for the Grade of Incomplete

The grade of Incomplete may be granted to students who, under extenuating circumstances, are unable to complete all course requirements by the end of the term in which the course is presented. A formal application to the instructor is required. The term “extenuating circumstances” implies prolonged situations wholly beyond the student’s control. Poor academic performance does not constitute an “extenuating circumstance.”

Review of Draft Material

The instructor welcomes opportunities to review course participants’ work in progress and encourages the submission of draft reports for critique. For this process to be effective, however, participants must submit work far enough in advance of the assignment deadline to allow adequate time both for a full review by the instructor and for subsequent revision, if indicated, by the student.

Cellular Phones and Pagers

22 An employee simply would not show up for work without calling a supervisor or designated person in advance to explain the impending absence. No less is expected of students in a professional program. In the workplace, employees are granted a limited number of absences before some sanction is invoked; so too in this course.

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Cellular telephones and other audible paging devices must be muted while class is in progress. Cellphones shall not be displayed during class unless students are invited to do so by the instructor. Graduate students who are full-time employees of criminal justice agencies occasionally may be “on call” and the instructor should be advised before class begins on a particular date. If paged during class, students should exit as unobtrusively as possible and reply to the page outside the classroom.

Laptop Computers

Students who are competent typists may use laptop computers to take class notes or otherwise manage information related to this course only. Laptop speakers shall remain muted. If another student(s) objects because of computer screen distraction, the laptop user must either cease operation of the unit or move to the rearmost classroom seat available. Upon reasonable suspicion that a student is communicating with another person or using the computer for any purpose not related to this course, he or she will not receive credit for class that day and, on the second occurrence, an F for the course.

University Policies

Students Rights and Responsibilities To know and understand the policies that affect your rights and responsibilities as a student at UT Tyler, please follow this link: http://www.uttyler.edu/wellness/rightsresponsibilities.php

Grade Replacement/Forgiveness and Census Date PoliciesStudents repeating a course for grade forgiveness (grade replacement) must file a Grade Replacement Contract with the Enrollment Services Center (ADM 230) on or before the Census Date of the semester in which the course will be repeated. Grade Replacement Contracts are available in the Enrollment Services Center or at http://www.uttyler.edu/registrar. Each semester’s Census Date can be found on the Contract itself, on the Academic Calendar, or in the information pamphlets published each semester by the Office of the Registrar.Failure to file a Grade Replacement Contract will result in both the original and repeated grade being used to calculate your overall grade point average. Undergraduates are eligible to exercise grade replacement for only three course repeats during their career at UT Tyler; graduates are eligible for two grade replacements. Full policy details are printed on each Grade Replacement Contract.

The Census Date is the deadline for many forms and enrollment actions that students need to be aware of. These include:

Submitting Grade Replacement Contracts, Transient Forms, requests to withhold directory information, approvals for taking courses as Audit, Pass/Fail or Credit/No Credit.

Receiving 100% refunds for partial withdrawals. (There is no refund for these after the Census Date)

Schedule adjustments (section changes, adding a new class, dropping without a “W” grade)

Being reinstated or re-enrolled in classes after being dropped for non-payment Completing the process for tuition exemptions or waivers through Financial Aid

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State-Mandated Course Drop Policy Texas law prohibits a student who began college for the first time in Fall 2007 or thereafter from dropping more than six courses during their entire undergraduate career. This includes courses dropped at another 2-year or 4-year Texas public college or university. For purposes of this rule, a dropped course is any course that is dropped after the census date (See Academic Calendar for the specific date). Exceptions to the 6-drop rule may be found in the catalog. Petitions for exemptions must be submitted to the Enrollment Services Center and must be accompanied by documentation of the extenuating circumstance. Please contact the Enrollment Services Center if you have any questions.

Disability/Accessibility ServicesIn accordance with Section 504 of the Rehabilitation Act, Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the ADA Amendments Act (ADAAA) the University offers accommodations to students with learning, physical and/or psychological disabilities.  If you have a disability, including non-visible a disability diagnosis such as a chronic disease, learning disorder, head injury or ADHD, or you have a history of modifications or accommodations in a previous educational environment you are encouraged to contact the Student Accessibility and Resources office and schedule an interview with an Accessibility Case Manager. If you are unsure if the above criteria applies to you, but have questions or concerns please contact the SAR office. For more information or to set up an appointment please visit the SAR webpage (http://www.uttyler.edu/disabilityservices/) or the SAR office located in the University Center, Room 3150 or call 903.566.7079. You may also send an email to saroffice@uttyler.edu.

Student Absence due to Religious Observance Students who anticipate being absent from class due to a religious observance are requested to inform the instructor of such absences by the second class meeting of the semester.

Student Absence for University-Sponsored Events and Activities If you intend to be absent for a university-sponsored event or activity, you (or the event sponsor) must notify the instructor at least two weeks prior to the date of the planned absence. At that time the instructor will set a date and time when make-up assignments will be completed.

Social Security and FERPA Statement: It is the policy of The University of Texas at Tyler to protect the confidential nature of social security numbers. The University has changed its computer programming so that all students have an identification number. The electronic transmission of grades (e.g., via e-mail) risks violation of the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act; grades will not be transmitted electronically.

Emergency Exits and Evacuation:

Everyone is required to exit the building when a fire alarm goes off. Follow your instructor’s directions regarding the appropriate exit. If you require assistance during an evacuation, inform your instructor in the first week of class. Do not re-enter the building unless given permission by University Police, Fire department, or Fire Prevention Services.

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TENTATIVE SCHEDULE 23

Chapters or pages 24

Date Topics, Events, Deadlines Bardach Reddington Wilson

Aug. Course introduction; Preface;25 Basic definitions Introduction

Sep. Universal policy format; 1-1081 “Assembling evidence”

8 Building on a foundation 109-165 21Draft Chapter 1 due

15 Good policy / bad policy; Preface; 1 1 – 3; 5; 7- 8Myths dispelled;

N.B.: At about this point in the course, there is a tendency to fall slightly behind in the discussion of chapters assigned. This should not alarm participants. If we don’t get to certain chapters in one session, we’ll take them up in the next. Be a good scout, however, and be prepared—some chapters go a lot faster than sometimes predicted, too. 22 Drug policies; Immigration 2 – 3 13

policies

29 Counterterrorism policies; 4 – 5 11; 14; 16Sentencing policy, generallyDraft Chapter 2 due

Oct.6 Three strikes; Death penalty 6 - 7 15; 17, 18

13 Sex offender policies; 8 - 9 12; 4Prosecuting juveniles

20 School policies; Mental 10 - 12Illness and the CJS; BabiesIn prisonDraft Chapter 3 due

23 Instructor reserves the right to modify this schedule depending on instructional variables (e.g., class progress, class special interests, and unplanned events).

24 Chapters in straight print (Ariel format); pages in italic print.

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27 Catch-up and review

29 Information Briefings

Wilson

Nov.3 Racial issues in the CJS; 9 - 10

Gun control policies

10 Changing crime rates; 19 - 20Evidence-based policingDraft Chapters 4 & 5 due

17 Catch-up and review

24 Decision briefings I

Dec. Decision briefings II;1 Course evaluation

8 Final Exam

Important Note re Bardach Text

As its title suggests, the Bardach text is intended as a guide to which course participants should refer throughout the semester and, as its author unabashedly notes on page xx, it can serve as a valuable reference for real-world practitioners following this course.

Course participants should complete their first complete reading of this resource as early in the course as possible—certainly before draft Chapter 1 is due. A more detailed reading should follow immediately with focus on particular sections commensurate with participants’ progress in developing the sequential sections of their policy papers (Course Requirement B). This is an important resource and, were it possible, the instructor would require its perusal prior to the first course meeting (required summer reading?).

The “Eight Fold Path” offered by Bardach does not match the format required for the assigned policy paper and should not be substituted for the outline beginning on Syllabus page 13. But, all of the author’s “steps” are integrated in one or another ways in the required, outlined sections.

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Additional Advanced Resource

For the practitioner who finds him- or herself increasingly involved in policy analysis and development, the following reference is recommended:

Gupta, D. K. 2011. Analyzing Public Policy: Concepts, Tools, and Techniques (2nd ed.). Washington, D.C.: CQ Press. ISBN: 978-1-60426-570-5 (477 pp.; paperback).

This is a comprehensive text containing several advanced analytical tools and in which the author presumes users have a prerequisite knowledge of material in CRIJ 5307 or its equivalent (and a basic knowledge of statistics wouldn’t hurt, either). If one finds him- or herself desiring further advanced knowledge of tools applicable to policy analysis, I recommend graduate-level courses in statistics/research methods and/or advanced social science analysis, and in program evaluation (e.g., CRIJ 5396, CRIJ 5397, and PADM 5338, respectively).

Notes re Syllabus:

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OUTLINE FOR CRIMINAL JUSTICE POLICY PAPER 25

Page

TITLE PAGE i

ABSTRACT 26 ii

CONTENTS iv

LIST OF TABLES vi

LIST OF FIGURES vii

Chapter

I. THE PROBLEM (Same as title.) 1 Statement of the ProblemPurpose of the Study (Hypothesis) (Add page numbers forSignificance of the Problem for each section and sub-

Present impacts subsection as paperFuture prospects 27 evolves)

Conceptual FrameworkLimitations of the StudyDefinition of TermsProcedures (Methodology) 28

25 Be certain to review APA guidelines for setting up the individual parts of a manuscript and for formatting headings and subheadings throughout.

26 Adjust prefatory page numbers depending on length. (In the government workplace, an APA abstract is an Executive Summary and is usually in significant more detail than an abstract. That form is also acceptable here if correctly formatted.

27 Technically speaking, to do nothing is an alternative; however, not in this paper. The Future Prospects section should detail the consequences of doing nothing about the problem identified as needing new or significantly revised public policy. Future Prospects should project the consequences of doing nothing incrementally in sequential years. Derive projections through trend analysis using data from concomitant historical periods (e.g., if historical data are recorded for 5, 10, and 15 years past, use those increments going forward).

28 Use this section to describe research methodology, such as validation of your survey instrument, and to justify statistical procedures, such as why Pearson’s r best fits your data. It is not appropriate to describe mundane tasks normally associated with your project, such as, “I Googled ‘child abuse’ and found 3,812 references” (I.e., “I did this”; “I did that” – b o r I n g!). In most cases, let your results do the talking. Use the kind of language describing methodology used by most of Tonry’s contributing authors. (Cf., n. 31, directly following.)

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II. LITERATURE REVIEW 29 ~5

History of the Problem

Past Proposals, Programs, Legislation (if not implemented, Why not?)

Present Programs/LegislationCurrent ProposalsPublished Critiques (of any above)

III. DEVELOPMENT AND ANALYSES OF ALTERNATIVES ~15

Decision-Making Criteria 30

Administrative feasibility PermissibilityAvailable information 31

Available resourcesAvailable timePrevious commitments

Efficacy (= f [Efficiency x Effectiveness])Equity (Fairness to all stakeholders)Political resources (necessary required support to effect change)

Fiscal Resources required (Budget breakdown; Cost estimates)Personnel (numbers + brief job descriptions)Facilities (describe; purchase or lease)Equipment (describe; purchase or lease)Expendables (describe)Other (enumerate)Time 32

29

Examples abound for formatting this section, including the first several sections of each chapter in Tonry. Observe how the authors use the literature to build their respective cases.

30 In this section, you are advising the decision-maker(s) of the factors that ought to be taken into consideration in evaluating any alternative considered regarding the problem identified. See separate course document: “Decision-Making Criteria.”

31 Is there enough information available to develop a well-prepared policy proposal? Will more information be needed before the problem can be precisely defined? If this is so, there are only two options: (1) Trash the idea and come up with another problem; (2) With instructor’s approval, develop a “sub-proposal” explaining how the gap will be filled.

32 A reasonable estimate of time necessary to implement the strategy in terms of the objective. Albeit this may vary according to the alternative’s complexity, the individual alternatives themselves may then contain far more precise timelines (and should).

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III. Continued . . .

First Alternative (Describe and match to decision-making criteria) 33

Second Alternative (as above)

Additional Alternatives (if any; as above)

Recommended Alternative 34

IV. POLICY RECOMMENDATION ~25

Detailed Description of Recommended Policy

Detailed Comparison of Recommendation to Decision-Making Criteria

Implementation PlanDescriptionTimetable (include PERT, CPA 35 or similar

graphic presentation)

Predictable problems and strategiesto overcome

V. EVALUATION, CONCLUSION, AND RECOMMENDATIONS ~30

Evaluation Plans

Monitoring implementation (Process or formative evaluation)

Outcome assessment (Product, impact, or summative evaluation)

33 Do not entertain an alternative that fails to meet the decision-making criteria you have established. If the alternative does match, but a predictable problem might block its acceptance/approval, identify the problem and a feasible solution thereto. Keep in mind that decision makers well may choose one of your alternatives rather than the recommended one. To keep the emphasis on your recommendation, however, provide only essential information here. If one of your alternatives is chosen, you will undoubtedly be asked to “expand it.”

34 When you reach the point of naming the alternative you will adopt as your “Recommended Alternative,” (whether that is the third or fourth, etc.), name the alternative, describe it briefly but precisely, and then add the sentence: “This alternative—the recommended policy—is detailed in the following section.”

35 PERT, Program Evaluation and Review Technique; CPA, Critical Path Analysis.

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V. Continued . . .

Summary and Conclusion 36

Recommendations for Related Policy Research 37

APPENDICES ~40

A-n. Copies of relevant materials, exhibits, etc.38

REFERENCES (per APA) ~45

Notes re Outline:

36 In the summary portion of this section, it is not appropriate to enter any new information. Highlight only such previously presented information as to provide a precise segue to your conclusion.

37 Ostensibly, you have more than adequate information to support your recommended solution (if you don’t, you’re in deep kimchee). Again, consult several of the chapters in Tonry and follow those authors’ examples (both qualitatively and quantitatively) of related research recommendations.

38 An Appendix consists of material essential to the readers’ full understanding of the main text. See Appendix A in Bardach and Ch. 17 in Tonry for examples. Other examples include copies of: the actual survey instrument used to collect data for your study; the complete statute vis-à-vis an excerpt therefrom; an historical document that may be understood best in its entirety (e.g., all of the First Amendment vis-à-vis selected clauses quoted in the body of your paper). In the main text, reference to an appendix should parallel this example: (A copy of the actual survey instrument appears at Appendix A.)