The Florida Department of Corrections (FDC) is the state’s largest agency and the country’s third-largest state prison system. Since its establishment in 1868, there has been an ongoing battle to house an ever-increasing number of offenders while dealing with corruption and financial cuts (Blomberg, 2019). The agency is divided into different departments and subdivisions. One of the subdivisions of the agency is the Florida Re-Entry. Its mission is “to offer the most effective rehabilitative care for inmates of any race, religion, age, gender, sexual orientation, marital status, creed, national origin, or color” (Higbee & Associates, 2022). The goal of the sub-division is to provide inmates with high-quality programming that will prepare them to be productive members of society.
Structure
The Florida Department of Corrections is grouped into various subdivisions and departments. Each subdivision has its regulations, functions, mission and vision statements, and problems, yet all departments collaborate to achieve a common purpose. The Re-entry subdivision collaborates with the Corrections department to ensure inmates’ safety (Higbee & Associates, 2022). This guarantees that new inmates are allowed to reintegrate into society and become productive individuals. Probation and re-entry divisions are working together to provide services to assist offenders on probation. The divisions work together to supervise inmates while in jail and on probation (Higbee & Associates, 2022). All of the sub-divisions are linked together to attain their overall goal.
The purpose of the sub-division is to offer quality operations to convicts and provide them with the skills they need to become useful in the community. This sub-division has recently encountered some challenges, such as financial constraints that led to insufficient program funding, congestion in prison institutions, a lack of appropriate staff, and a high rate of convict recidivism (Higbee & Associates, 2022). As a result of these repercussions, there has been a large increase in staff turnover. However, the newly hired staff have shown a strong enthusiasm to understand the profession, resulting in a positive climate in the department. Documented flexibility suggests that the department has the ability to change and adjust to issues in society. Thus, the main aim of the sub-division is to ensure that the inmate’s rights are protected
Some of the key policies running the Re-entry sub-division are evaluating risks and needs, enhancing intrinsic motivation, targeting interventions, and engaging the community. The assessments of risk and need are monitored and re-administered on a regular basis. These tests are tailored to the level of intervention appropriate for each inmate’s risk. Improved intrinsic motivation aids in the individual’s motivation (Fong et al., 2019). Each correctional officer is trained to have the necessary abilities and education to employ the approaches that aid in assisting inmates. Target intervention concentrates on targeted behavioral change tactics and treatments tailored to the attributes of the offender. Inmates’ communities, including family members, teachers, employers, mentors, religious leaders, and so on, are encouraged to participate in the inmate’s case plans to promote positive results and success.
Assessment Plan
The most appropriate assessment strategy for assessing the Re-entry sub-division is Burke-Litwin. It is a fundamental change model that attempts to demonstrate where change occurs and how it flows through various facility areas. The model depicts the relationships between 12 strategic and individual aspects (Swearingen, 2019). It displays different drivers of change and ranks them based on importance. This approach allows the data to highlight the linkage and interdependence of each sector. In addition, data derived from this model will be more reliable for the facility because it can be used to the whole facility rather than just individual subdivisions. Therefore, the model enables a more in-depth examination of the individual segments than other models.
Burke-Litwin model ensures that the data collected is valid and reliable because it allows the input of stakeholders in the organization, process and policies. The model can be described as one that uses data mostly from the human experiences of the organization (Swearingen, 2019). The questionnaires and surveys include a number of questions about the Florida re-entry program and its employees. The inmates will be asked specific questions about the program to determine whether it offers the services and programs it claims to be providing to the inmates. The information gathered from the administered survey can be used to measure a variety of things inside the sub-division. The model can ensure that the data collected is reliable using the data obtained from the observations, questionnaires, and surveys.
The data for this assessment must come from sources subject to various restrictions to verify that no unethical reporting schemes have been employed. As a result, most of the information for this sub-division results from official crime statistics available on the facility’s website (Florida Department of Corrections, 2022). In addition, the department’s annual report on recidivism and inmate deaths and the budget report are additional sources. These data items were picked because they contained unbiased facts and a lot of information. They will also aid the analysis in demonstrating conformity with the Community Corrections Department’s objectives through their deliverables.
SWOT Analysis
SWOT analysis is an important tool to assess internal and external factors affecting an organization. It consists of the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats. Some of the organization’s strengths are a strong mission statement, skilled employees, committed workforce (Higbee & Associates, 2022). Although corruption poses a risk to the organization, the institution has some advantages and programs for people on probation. However, unless the public is willing to handle change and corrupt workers, they will continue to criticize and reject any facility-related activities.
The main internal factors that affect the performance of the organization. The major internal factors that have a significant impact are the increased costs incurred by the nation in keeping offenders and reduced financial assignments, which have constrained the division entrusted with remedial administrations to conduct a review of their primary goal (Higbee & Associates, 2022). The revised design needed to focus on enabling offenders to discover ways back into society to reduce instances of repetitive offences. If this platform had been used effectively, the state would have saved millions of dollars each year. However, the failure of the Florida Department of Correction to spend all available funds to provide critical services is a negative effect.
The organization is maximizing its strengths while minimizing its weaknesses. The organization uses its strength, such as the availability of government support and a skilled workforce, to improve its performance. For example, the formation of divisions, like the characterization of wrongdoers, has a significant impact on achievement (Higbee & Associates, 2022). Many divisions enable the organization to specialize in different areas to improve performance. On the other hand, the agency is reducing its weaknesses by introducing new strategies such as employee motivation programs such as training. These strategies improve the ability of the organization to perform its roles effectively.
The organization is maximizing its opportunities and limiting its threats due to the recently identified external forces. The areas that are typically vulnerable in ensuring a beneficial outcome have been enhanced with specified requirements (Higbee & Associates, 2022). These areas have jobs that perfectly correlate with the Florida Department of Corrections efforts of assisting convicts and people who have ended up on the wrong side of the law to reintegrate into society. These areas can be changed into qualities to help with the housing of detainees in a banquet place to estimate their requirements realistically, not merely grouping on offence regulations by offering them employment skills, just as various help administrations.
Performance Report
The Florida Re-Entry Subdivision complies with its organizational mission. It offers a variety of services to assist offenders in reintegrating into society. They prepare them for every eventuality that may come once they are freed from jail. Some of the programs offenders can learn about are CDL, automotive repair, and masonry (Higbee & Associates, 2022). They are also preparing them for success after they are freed. For instance, the organization provides an ex-offender with an identification Pilot. This help an individual to get work, find housing and many more. The inmates are also issued identification cards by the Florida Department of Highway Safety and Motor Vehicles. Therefore, this satisfies the objective of offering rehabilitative activities and services to inmates to prepare them for re-entry into society.
There are many issues that come with the good that Florida has to offer its inmates. This deficiency may have an impact on Florida’s ability to accomplish its mission and goals. Corruption is one weakness that could adversely affect the organization’s ability to effectively perform its operations (Higbee & Associates, 2022). If the funds are not effectively allocated, the programs may suffer. The organization should not allow the programs to suffer because they will not be as effective as they should be. If the programs are not functional and successful, there may be no need for them at the correctional facility. For example, the organization’s management should ensure that funds are used effectively to serve the intended purpose. Therefore, corruption is an issue that may hinder the organization from achieving its goals.
Proper documentation is critical for preventing corruption in the organization. Employees are less likely to engage in corrupt activities if they must document their acts. With the application of these additional controls, the institution can sift out those who engage in corrupt behavior while hiring others who would not (Jeppesen, 2019). This will increase employee performance and provide management with a tool to further establish whether or not an employee has acted corruptly and whether their actions were the product of their violation or coercion. The organization should achieve this by creating policies and standards to guide the operations, especially in corruption. As a result, management can avoid many potential unfair dismissal cases.
The organization can use Kotter’s model of change to implement the changes. The model should ensure that the transition process is done effectively. The management should follow the eight steps to introduce the proposed strategies (Thornton et al., 2019). The organization decreases the potential of corruption impacting the committee by forming a steering committee that will eventually become a coordinating council. If the changes are implemented by just one or two people, the likelihood of corrupt behavior increases. The committee will examine the identified issue areas in order to develop an estimated timetable and budget for the steps that will be implemented. Therefore, the use of Kotter’s change model in this process will help in the adoption of the change.
Communication Strategies
The sharing of data is vital for the business, particularly when it comes to essential information on new rules and processes. The Florida Correctional Officers, Chief, Inmates in the program, and the Florida Department of Corrections should be the recipients of the report’s vital information (Higbee & Associates, 2022). Different officials, government institutions, and community groups assist with released offenders. Among the significant external addressees who would be deemed to receive this critical information are the various systems within the criminal justice system and individual correctional institutions. Everyone on the list will receive this information in this report because the report affects them directly or indirectly.
The mode of delivery will differ depending on the information to be transmitted, its classification, and the respondent’s level. For example, the seminars should be used to address the public, while employees should be addressed in various methods. Emails would be the most efficient technique for reminders because it enables the sender to attach the files required (Kowalewski & Halasz, 2019). A memorandum will also work for updates to current policies that explain a point; training seminars would work best for new policies, with a follow-up email outlining the important points. The committee will need to put up a feedback mechanism to ensure that these techniques are working and being conveyed effectively.
To encourage greater public feedback on a specific event or policy, the department’s website may include a comment box with the option to remain secret. Having different public feedback methods will help generate a greater amount of feedback without isolating anyone (Kowalewski & Halasz, 2019). In addition, employees should have access to various communication channels, including a remark drop-box, email, and anonymous comments on the employee website. Again, by providing several channels, the organization will receive more feedback from a more extensive range of people than if only a few are available, which may discourage some from providing feedback.
References
Blomberg, T. G. (2019). Making a difference in criminology: past, present, and future. American Journal of Criminal Justice, 44(4), 670-688. Web.
Florida Department of Corrections. (2022). About Us — Florida Department of Corrections. Web.
Fong, C. J., Patall, E. A., Vasquez, A. C., & Stautberg, S. (2019). A meta-analysis of negative feedback on intrinsic motivation. Educational Psychology Review, 31(1), 121-162. Web.
Higbee & Associates. (2022). Former Offender Re-Entry Programs and Resources in Florida. RECORDGONE.COM. Web.
Jeppesen, K. K. (2019). The role of auditing in the fight against corruption. The British Accounting Review, 51(5), 100798. Web.
Kowalewski, S., & Halasz, M. E. (2019). Why are written communication skills important for business students? Archives of Business Research, 7(2).
Swearingen, R. L. (2019). The ship of change: a model for organizational diagnosis and change management [Unpublished doctoral dissertation]. North Dakota State University.
Thornton, B., Usinger, J., & Sanchez, J. (2019). Leading effective building-level change. Education, 139(3), 131-138. Web.