IPC 598:  Special Topics:  Interventions With Delinquents and Adult Offenders

 

Spring Trimester  2001

Wednesday  8:00 – 10:30

 

Instructor:                  Kurt Monroe

 

Telephone:                 618-457-7463 (Home)

                                    618-453-7635 (Office at SIUC)

 

E-mail:                        kmonroe1@siu.edu

 

Required Text:           Shoemaker, D.J.  (2000).  Theories of Delinquency:  An Examination of Explanation of Delinquent Behavior.  New York, NY:  Oxford University.

 

                                    Alexander, R., Jr.  (2000).  Counseling, Treatment, and Intervention Methods With Juvenile and Adult Offenders.  Belmont, CA:  Brooks/Cole.

 

Course Objectives:

 

1.        To acquire an overview of the major theoretical perspectives in the sociology of deviant/delinquent behavior.

 

2.      To become familiar with empirical findings in the sociology of deviant/delinquent literature.

 

3.      To appreciate the variety of research methodologies utilized in the study of deviance/delinquency.

 

4.      To experience a personal involvement in the research context.

 

5.      Become familiar with the various therapeutic/counseling approaches to working with delinquents and adult offenders.

 

Course Structure:

 

The course will be broken up into two parts.  The first half of class will consist of my lecturing on various sociological perspectives that explain the occurrence of delinquency and deviance in general.  These various perspectives will serve as “lenses” that will explain and allow you to understand delinquency from different angles.  Many of you will, if not already, be working with and/or counseling youth and adults in the criminal justice system.  Learning these various perspectives will sensitize you toward their conditions and experiences, assisting you in sympathizing with clients and delivering the best therapeutic intervention. 

 

The second half of the course will consist of students presenting on different counseling/intervention methods for working with delinquents and adult offenders.  As touched on above, many of you will be counseling clients in the juvenile/criminal justice system.  These intervention methods will prepare you for such encounters. 

 

Course Requirements:

 

I.                    Paper  (max 40 points)

 

You will be required to write a 12 to 15 page paper by the end of the semester.  This can be done a couple different ways.  One option is to interview an individual who works with delinquents and/or adult offenders in the juvenile/criminal justice system.  The interview will, in general, consist of exploring the counselor’s experiences working with juvenile/adult offenders as well as various intervention techniques employed by them or their agency.  After the interview, you will have the opportunity to apply any relevant sociological perspectives discussed/learned in class, demonstrating what you have learned throughout the semester.

 

The second option is to actually conduct research in field.  Many of you may be doing your internship or already work in the juvenile/criminal justice system.  If so, it may be a good opportunity to apply your research skills in the work setting.  The method you will use is a single-subject design so that you may “study the behavior change an individual exhibits as a result of some treatment” (Gay 1999, p. 400).  For instance, you are actually counseling various clients over the semester, you may want to pick one client and assess his or her change in behavior due to a particular therapeutic approach.  We will discuss single-subject design more thoroughly in class. 

 

As a fulfillment of this requirement, you will give an informal overview of your paper.

 

II.                 Presentation  (max 30 points)

 

Each person, either individually or in a group, will present on a particular therapeutic approach pertaining to juveniles or adult offenders.  I am allowing a lot of freedom in terms of how you decide to present this material.  However, you will be graded on creativity, organization, how familiar you are with the material, and how well you deliver the information. 

 

III.               Participation and Attendance  (max 30 points)

 

This class will weigh heavily towards contributing to class discussion.  Since I am not an expert in the field of counseling, I will rely on your expertise and experience working with clients.  As this is the case, it is imperative that you attempt to contribute throughout the semester.  Based on my experience with the sociology of delinquency/deviance, however, students usually attempt to share their perspectives and experiences.  Many of the topics tend to be very interesting. 

 

A maximum of 100 points is possible.

 

Points                           Grade

90 – 100                          A

80 – 89                            B

70 – 79                            C

60 – 69                            D

 

 

Tentative Course Schedule

 

                                                            Topic                                               Assignment Due

 

Jan. 10                                   Introduction to the

                                                Sociology of juvenile

                                                Delinquency and deviance

                                                (S) Ch. 1

 

Jan. 17                                    Introduction (cont.)

                                                Explanations of Delinquency

                                                (S) Ch. 1 & 2

 

Jan. 24                                   Biological & Biosocial Explanations

                                                (S) Ch. 3

(A)  Ch. 1

 

Jan. 31                                   Psychological Theories                                     Presentation

                                                (S) Ch. 4

(A)  Ch. 3 Treatment Theories

 

Feb. 7                                                     Social Disorganization & Anomie         Presentation (1st)

                                                (S) Ch. 5

(A)  Ch. 5 Individual Counseling Processes

 

Feb. 14                                   Lower-Class-Based Theories of                       Presentation

                                                Delinquency

                                                (S) Ch. 6

                                                (A) Ch. 6 Group Treatment Processes

 

 

 

 

 

Feb.  21                                                  Radical Theory of Delinquency                    Presentation

                                                (S) Ch. 10

(A)  Ch. 11 Treating and Intervention

With Special Offender Populations

 

Feb. 28                                   Control Theories                                                 Presentation

                                                (S) Ch. 8

(A)  Ch. 4  Screening, Assessment, and

Diagnosis in Correctional Treatment

 

Mar. 7                                                    Labeling Theory                                                  Presentation

                                                (S) Ch. 9

(A)  Ch. 8 Treating Male Juvenile

Offenders

 

Mar. 14                                   Labeling Theory (cont)

 

Mar. 21                                   Interpersonal and Situational

                                                Explanations

                                                (S) Ch. 7

 

Mar. 28                                  Interpersonal/Situational                                  Presentation

                                                                Explanations (cont.)

(A)  Ch. 10 Treating Male Adult

Offenders

 

Apr. 4                                      Female Delinquency                                      Presentation

                                                (S) Ch. 11

(A)  Ch. 7 Treating Female Juvenile

Offenders

 

Apr. 11                                    Female Adult Offenders                                Presentation

                                                (A) Ch. 9 Treating Female Adult

                                                Offenders

 

Apr. 18                                    Presentations

 

Apr. 25                                    Individual consultation

                                               

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Please Note:

 

(1)    Attendance Policy:

The Lindenwood policy regarding attendance will be adhered to.  If you miss more than two classes, this will result in a reduction in your grade by one letter.  Four absences or more may result in an “F” for the course.  Continued tardiness may also result in being  penalized.  Please let me know if you cannot attend class on a  particular night and do make arrangements with others to get copies of the notes and handouts.

 

(2)    Plagiarism:

Please pay attention to the policy on Academic Dishonesty as spelled out in the Lindenwood Catalog:

“Academic dishonesty is an exceptionally serious offense to oneself and one’s colleague, and may result in a failing grade on the piece of work, failure in the course or dismissal from the University.”

Plagiarizing in your research without proper citation of source constitutes a form of academic honesty and may result in a failing grade for your proposal.

 

(3)    Incomplete Grades:

Please note that the required number of assignments and review exercises have to be completed in order to get a grade for the course IPC 541.  In particular, if you are unable to meet the requirements of the course and need an extension, you will have to submit a petition for an incomplete grade to me.  You will then have 6 weeks to complete and turn in the work.  Otherwise, the “I” grade will revert to an “F.” 

 

(4)    Accommodation:

If you have a learning or physical disability (including test anxiety), please let me know as soon as possible so that accommodation may be made to facilitate you learning and performance in the class.