Abstract The issue addressed in this study was the increasing number of prisoners in U.S. prisons and the related issue of recidivism after release. The purpose of this qualitative study was to examine the experiences of 8 formerly incarcerated adults. The conceptual foundation of this study was based on Bandura's self-efficacy theory and Vygotsky's concept of the zone of proximal development and transformational learning. The research question for this study inquired about how released prisoners perceive their educational experiences in the MTM program. Participants were selected among adults who were incarcerated for at least 12 months and living in the community for at least 3 to 6 months since their release and are participants in a work skills program titled "Men Transforming Men" (MTM), which is designed to develop resilience and productive work skills to increase their ability to find a job. Data were collected from 8 participants in face-to-face interviews. To identify patterns and themes, the data were transcribed and coded using a web-based software application called Dedoose. The results of this study revealed four relevant themes: personal improvement goals, connecting with family and community, early release from prison, and improving their lives outside of prison. Further findings discovered the perception of each participant pertaining to the educational program overwhelmingly voiced their feelings about getting another opportunity to change. The positive social change implications of this research involves reducing the percentage of recidivism rates of formerly incarcerated individuals in the United States by increasing the number of parolees obtaining employment after release from prison.

Examining the practical utility of a structured decision-making tool and its impact on actual case dispositions for juveniles charged with sexual offenses is an important question to answer. While research has confirmed that structured decision-making contributes to positive youth and system outcomes, addressing how well these broad policies serve specific groups of offenders, such as juveniles charged with sexual offenses, has not yet received adequate empirical attention. Therefore, this dissertation sought to examine the strengths and limitations of using Florida's statewide disposition recommendation policies for juveniles who have been charged with sexual offenses. Specifically, the study sought to examine 1) the association between delinquency risk to reoffend and disposition alignment with the disposition recommendation provided by the FDJJ among juveniles charged with a sex offense and juveniles charged with other against-person felony offenses, 2) differences in dynamic risk domains across disposition match among juveniles charged with a sex offense and juveniles charged with other against-person felony offenses, and 3) whether being charged with a sex offense, compared to being charged with other against-person felony offenses, increased the likelihood that a juvenile would receive residential commitment. To answer these questions, administrative data was obtained from the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice. The data included juveniles whose cases were disposed in Florida between 2012 and 2017 and included juveniles who were charged with sex offenses and juveniles who were charged with other against-person felony offenses. A variety of bivariate (crosstabs, chi-squares, ANOVAs) and multivariate (logistic regression) statistical techniques were employed. The results of the proposed study may be used to improve Florida juvenile justice disposition recommendation practices for juveniles who have committed sexually-related offenses.

While many automated police data sharing systems have been implemented since the attacks of September 11, 2001, when police data sharing was announced to be a priority for law enforcement, little research is available concerning the impact of such systems on the ability of the police to solve crimes. To remedy this gap, this study evaluates the Federated Integrated Network for Data Exchange and Retrieval (FINDER) – an automated police data sharing system currently used by a large number of Florida and Alabama police agencies with development underway across the US. This research is the first study evaluating a police data sharing system using objective measures. As such, rather than using user perceptions about the data sharing system's effectiveness, as most of the existing studies have done in the past, this study uses Uniform Crime Report (UCR) offense clearance rates as an objective measure of police performance. Based on the existing literature, it is hypothesized in this study that the use of a police data sharing system improves the police agency's offense clearance rates. To test a set of hypotheses, panel data containing information on 99 police agencies collected annually over the course of 30 years – 1990 through 2019 – are analyzed using fixed effects models. The results of this research suggest that the use of a police data sharing system improves police agency total offense clearance rates as well as property offense clearance rates. No evidence is found to support the hypothesis that the use of a data sharing system improves violent offense clearance rates. This dissertation overviews the limitations of this study and implications of its findings and concludes with a set of recommendations for policymakers and police practitioners as well as suggests topics for future research.

When a defendant is arrested, they can choose to either hire a private attorney to represent them, have appointed counsel such as a public defender, or have no representation. While the Sixth Amendment guarantees the right to counsel regardless of a defendant’s ability to pay, this counsel is not always required at first appearance. In fact, only 14 states have made it a requirement to have counsel at first appearance, and even in those states, counsel is not always appointed immediately. However, at first appearance, the judge determines whether to release the defendant pending trial, and if the defendant is released, whether to release them on their own recognizance or have them post bail. Accordingly, at first appearance someone’s freedom could be revoked without representation of counsel. Furthermore, even if a defendant is offered bail that doesn’t mean they can always post it. In fact, defendants remain detained for bail amounts as low as $100. Previous studies have explored the impact of being detained pending trial on case outcome and sentencing. The present study uses misdemeanor crimes in Orange County, Florida from 2018 to explore whether the type of representation (private attorney, public defender, or no representation) a defendant had at their first appearance impacted their initial release decisions. Furthermore, this study analyzes whether the type of representation impacted case dismissals, whether the defendant received a jail or fine sentence, and the sentence length and fine amount. Using multiple linear regressions and linear probability models, this study found that type of counsel did not impact release decisions, bail amounts, and fine amounts. However, there were significant differences for case dismissals – on average, having a private attorney was associated with a greater likelihood of having the case dismissed when compared to those without representation and to those with a public defender. In addition, having a private attorney versus a public defender was, on average, associated with a seven-day lower jail sentence. Moreover, on average, having a private attorney was associated with a lower probability of receiving a jail sentence (the most severe punishment) as compared to those without representation and those with a public defender. Having a public defender was associated with a greater likelihood of receiving a jail sentence as compared to those without representation.

This thesis contains a historical overview of Florida's education program with an examination of legislation, policy development, and case law. Legal disputes result in policy and code changes in Florida school districts. The purpose of this study is to ascertain the dominant weak link leading to the circumstances upon which Florida schools are compelled to litigate. The roles of administrators, faculty, staff, parents, students, and those who are contracted to provide services are examined, as well as policy issues. The methodology consists of relevant literature review of statutes, cases, and articles within the past ten years and a survey circulated to school board attorneys requesting key information about the five most recent cases that have either settled or been adjudicated. Documentation reviewed reflects that the legislature, in cooperation with the Florida Department of Education, has' built an infrastructure creating better communication with school communities in order to identify and make necessary changes for school improvement. The data collected from this study is aimed at assisting administrators and school board attorneys, as well as other interested parties, to identify major issues commonly litigated against Florida K-12 public schools, determine the problematic circumstances causing the litigation, and formulate suggestions for resolution.

No description available.

Juvenile delinquency is a social issue which has been shown to have a significant cost to society in a variety of ways which include community safety, the cost of arrest, charges, and court processes, as well as the damage done in families and to the youth through the label of juvenile delinquent or Person in Need of Supervision (PINs). One important area in treatment and discharge planning for youth designated as either juvenile delinquent or Persons in Need of Supervision is the inclusion of supports to help youth change the trajectory from these behaviors into more socially acceptable activities and actions. The research problem addressed in this study is that the supports utilized at this time are insufficient and ineffective, as evidenced by rates of recidivism. The purpose of this study was to explore whether the use of non-custodial grandparents in treatment and discharge planning as a support system is of value to the youth and their parents. Using a grounded theory methodology, professional staff from Multidimensional Treatment Foster Care (MTFC) programs, now known as Treatment Foster Care Oregon (TFCO), which work with these youths and their families and was developed based on social learning theory, participated in interviews to obtain data regarding the use of non-custodial grandparents and whether they were found to be of value. The results of the study support the use of grandparents under specific conditions, such as when they have positive relationships with parents and when they are positive role models themselves. NVivo 11 software was used to assist in the process of analyzing the data collected from these professionals. The implications for social change remain that the process of assisting youth to make these changes could create safer communities with lower crime rates, and decreases in the costs associated with the legal process, and these savings can then be passed on to communities and to the taxpayer.

The present paper is a literature study of stressors and the responses in police officers to occupational stressors. It endeavors to identify and assess common stressors in policing. It further aims to provide an answer to the question of whether police administrative tasks and situations, or the dangerous and traumatic events and situations inherent in policing, are perceived as equally or more stressful by surveyed police officers. The question is relevant as there seems to be disagreement among researchers on police stress about which elements (administrative or dangerous and/or traumatic) of the police occupation is more stressful. Much attention has been given to the treatment of post-traumatic stress in police officers while efforts to prevent administrative or organizational stressors have been largerly ignored. If administrative stressors in policing are equally important as dangerous and traumatic situations and events, more attention should be given to the prevention of such largerly preventable stressful events. The theoretical framework used in the study is that of the transactional concept of stress. In trying to assess what parts of policing are more stressful, a number of empirical studies were examined and compared. Most studies applied a "checklist" approach to identify and rank the heaviest stressors in police work. The methodological quality of available studies was varied, influencing their comparability and generalizability. In spite of these inequalities, the results from the assessment indicates that dangerous and traumatic situations are somewhat more often perceived as the largest stressors than administrative stressors in police work.

In Florida, the law enforcement response to burglaries is estimated to cost $1.3 billion, yet little is understood about whether specific types of enforcement and investigation strategies have an impact on reducing the incidence of burglary. Using Cohen and Felson's concept of guardianship as part of routine activities theory as the foundation, the purpose of this quantitative cross-sectional study was to examine whether any or all crime reduction strategies (community policing, intelligence led policing, Compare Statistics policing, traditional policing, hot spot policing, and evidence based policing) when combined with urbanity, household income, the sworn officers per 1000 population are statistically associated with reductions in burglary rates. Data were collected from 64 of the 67 sheriff's offices in Florida through a researcher developed survey. Data were analyzed using multiple linear regression. Findings indicate that there is no statistical significance between type of crime reduction strategy and burglary rates. Median household income was the only covariate associated with residential burglaries with areas of higher incomes associated with lower burglary rates (p = .023). The positive social change implications stemming from this study include recommendations for law enforcement officials to examine how they are engaging in guardianship in less affluent communities and developing a measurement on how to evaluate crime reduction strategies that are more mutually exclusive with clearly defined outcomes. Implementation of these recommendations may reduce burglaries thereby promoting safer communities and mediating financial and emotional losses experienced by community members.

Women comprise 50.8% of the United States population and 47% of the workforce, and over the past few decades, many women have been promoted to midmanagement positions in Fortune 500 and other major corporations, but few run companies at the executive levels. The research problem addressed the underrepresentation of women in top leadership positions in the executive suite. The purpose of this study was to explore the perceptions of women in upper level management in large corporations on rising to the C-suite. A basic qualitative naturalistic inquiry was used employing interviews in collecting and analyzing the data. The targeted population was 15 women in senior positions between the ages of 25 and 60, who have worked for a company with a minimum of 5 years' experience. Introductions by friends and snowballing sampling were used to select 15 participants for the semistructured interviews. The results of the interviews were analyzed through the completion of a content analysis obtained through coding to allow for the identification of emergent themes. Key findings indicated the emergence of the following themes: loss of confidence, mentoring, sponsoring, and diversity. The study was socially significant in that it provided information for policy changes, access to sponsorship and mentorship programs, and promotion of social change in relation to gender equality in the workplace.