Identify relevant stakeholders: Do different groups of people have different definitions of the problem? Who is affected by the problem?
Follow the steps of Stage 1 Analysis in Chapter 1 of Welsh and Harris text and the steps outlined in the Appendix, Stage 1, page 255. Stage 1 serves as the justification for your program by defining the problem and the need for change, analyzing potential causes of the problem, describing the history of previous interventions, and identifying the key stakeholders and the barriers to and supporters for change. As part of this stage, you will conduct a systems analysis of the problem. The case study also due this week should help you in understanding the necessary steps of systems analysis.
Please put your thesis at the beginning of your paper. Use headings that correspond to the outline you will be following (from the Appendix).
Appendix
Stage 1: Analyzing the Problem
□ A. Document the need for change: Collect and analyze data to define what the problem is, where it is, how big it is, and who is affected by It. What evidence of the problem exists?
□ B. Describe the history of the problem: How long has the problem existed? How has it changed over time?
□ C. Examine potential causes of the problem: What causes the problem? What theories do we have? The intervention to be chosen must target one or more specific causes supported by research.
□ D. Examine previous interventions that have tried to change this problem. Identify the most promising interventions and choose a preferred intervention approach.
□ E. Identify relevant stakeholders: Do different groups of people have different definitions of the problem? Who is affected by the problem?
□ F. Conduct a systems analysis: Conduct research on the justice system where the problem exists, and determine how the system may create, contribute to, or maintain the problem.
□ G. Identify barriers to change and supports for change: Who is likely to support a certain course of action? Who is likely to resist it?