published_or_final_version / Sociology / Master / Master of Philosophy

Pre-sentence evaluations are commonly prepared by court clinics to assist the court in sentencing dispositions and plans for treatment of offenders. There is no standard policy in effect for advising a defendant of his legal rights prior to evaluation by a mental health professional for purposes of a pre-sentence report. The aim of this study was to gain a better understanding of the effects that different types of briefing or warning statements may have upon clients in a court clinic. The present study systematically investigated two factors in briefings given before a pre-sentence evaluation. The first factor was the nonverbal communication of the person giving the briefing. The effects of these briefing manipulations were assessed in terms of client behavior and mental health evaluator's impression of the client. Specifically, these dependent variables were measured by MMPI scales L, K, and Pd, an Evaluation Rating Scale, a Briefing Questionnaire, a Psychopathology Rating Scale and a Nonverbal Behavior Record Form. A set of hypotheses was forwarded which predicted that these behavioral indices would vary as a result of changes in briefing procedure. Contrary to predictions, results indicated that the briefing procedures had no significant effect upon any of the measures of clients' behavior. While questionnaire data indicated that subjects were affected by the type of briefing immediately after the briefing was given, it appears that these effects were of very short duration. These findings are discussed with regard to the methodology of the present study and with regard to previous research concerned with Miranda warnings.

M.A. / Community corrections or correctional supervision, which falls under the Department of Correctional Services and was established in 1991 in South Africa, serves as an alternative sentence and to cater for people who are on parole. This study aims to explore the effectiveness of a life skills programme at Johannesburg Community Corrections rendered to probationers by social workers. Probationers are people who have been given a sentence of correctional supervision by the court. The probationers are compelled to attend one of the established programmes, for example, life skills programmes, as one of the conditions of their sentence. Community corrections B-Order (1991: 34) states that programmes are directly focused on the typical problem area or behaviour of the probationer and shall be aimed at: • preventing further crime perpetration; • improving general sense of responsibility; • acquiring social skills; • improving family relations; and • preventing alcohol and drug abuse. The aim of this study was to evaluate a life skills workshop presented by Johannesburg Community Corrections to probationers in 2000. A representative sample of twenty respondents who attended a life skills programme from April to May 2000 was used for this study. The findings indicated that the programme addresses the above-mentioned problem areas for probationers. From the findings of the study, it can be concluded that most of the probationers, after being exposed to the programme, show great improvement when it comes to the acquisition of social skills, a general sense of family responsibility, attitude towards crime, and family relations. They are positive about their future and they perceive the wrongs they have done as a learning experience. The research design was both quantitative and qualitative in nature and an interview schedule was completed for the purpose of data collection. The results of this study indicated that the programme is effective. The majority of the respondents stated that after being exposed to the programme, their perception, attitude, thinking and life style had changed. The programme has to be modified, as it does not address entrepreneurial and business management skills. Furthermore, it does not include entrepreneurial skills training, which would ultimately help and assist probationers to gain employment or to be self-employed through training in terms of being self-reliant and self-employed. / Prof. J.B.S. Nel

Thesis (M.S.W.)--University of Hong Kong, 1977.

Thesis (M.S.W.)--Smith College School for Social Work, Northampton, Mass., 2007 / Thesis submitted in partial fulfillment for the degree of Master of Social Work. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 99-101).

Thesis (M.Soc.Sc.)--University of Hong Kong, 1988. / Also available in print.

Thesis (Ph. D)--Ohio State University, 1986. / Includes vita. Includes bibliographical references (leaves 116-119). Available online via OhioLINK's ETD Center.

M.A. / The pre-sentence evaluation committee was an innovation of the 1980's. It is a multidisciplinary team constituted primarily to assist probation officers with their cases in making relevant recommendations on offenders to the court. The concept of the pre-sentence evaluation committee survives in the provisions of the Probation Services Act No. 116 of 1991, and the Strategic Management Plan of the Department of Welfare and Population Development, Gauteng Province. In effect, it has been discontinued in almost all of the decentralized offices of the Department of Welfare and Population Development within the Gauteng Province. The objective of this study is to determine if the pm-sentence is still relevant to probation officers who are the major stakeholders of the committee and If so what form should the committee assume to meet the needs of probation officers. It therefore falls within the program evaluation genre in terms of its purpose. The study entails a survey of fifteen social workers in the employ of the Department of Welfare and Population Development. The majority of these are dedicated probation officers. Data is captured in using a standardized open-ended interview schedule. A qualitative research design isfollowed using a framework based on the work of Strauss and Corbin (1990). Use is made of the NUD.IST computer based program to deal with the transcripts of the fifteen interviews with departmental social workers. The program assists with the treatment of the data and the establishment of hierarchies of concepts developed during the application of Strauss and Corbin's framework. Conclusions of the study are that probation officers In general recognize that the pre-sentence evaluation committee continues to have relevance in court work. That it has greatest relevance for inexperienced social workers and workers confronted with difficult cases. On the basis of the research recommendations are made for a flexible application of the concept of the pre-sentence evaluation committee and that there are additional alternatives which can be considered in addition to the pre-sentence evaluation committee.

No description available.

Multnomah County, Oregon, like many other counties across the nation, faces the perplexing problem of meeting the needs of the youthful offender. Historically, and even in more recent times, juvenile court authorities have relied primarily on detention facilities to provide secure custody for youthful offenders. However, the continued increase in delinquency and a growing storm of criticism of the juvenile court have led to a re-examination of current policy and a number of proposed changes on both the national and local level. A policy change in Multnomah County with regard to detention of youthful offenders has led to the closure of some of the detention facilities at the Donald E. Long Home. The policy change was also responsible for the creation of an alternative program for the young offender. The policy change was also responsible for the creation of an alternative program for the young offender. The alternative program called the Close Supervision Program was based on the philosophy that many of the youths held in detention do not require secure custody in the county’s detention home while awaiting adjudication. The authors surveyed the literature to examine the delinquency problem in the light of “casual” factors, labeling and stigma, treatment, institionalization and alternatives to detention. This theoretical framework is provided in order to give meaning to the conceptualization of delinquency and the need for alternative programs.