Strategic planning involves coming up with the direction that an institution wants to go within a defined time frame. It’s also concerned with the allocation of resources like capital and human resource to facilitate the process (Beitler, 2006, p. 33). A comprehensive analysis has to be done to determine where the institution currently is, where it wants to go and how it will get there.
Santa Barbara Juvenile Corrections Facility is working on a strategic plan to improve the operations of the facility and the relationship with the public and other agencies. The mission statement of Santa Barbara Juvenile Corrections Facility is to provide safe custody, care, and training to the inmates with the aim of reforming and reintegrating them back to society. The vision is to be the leading juvenile corrections facility in the United States which provides exceptional training, education, rehabilitation and reintegration of youth offenders.
The following are the five year goals and objectives. Effective public administration by maintaining high standards of operation consistent with the American Correctional Association Accreditation, and in doing so maximize program effectiveness, credibility with the public, and quality of life for the inmate population. It also involves competent management of resources in a way that improves innovation, efficient service delivery and development of new programs (Bryson, 2011, p. 72).
Another objective is to provide security and facility management by ensuring sound and effective conditions that are in accordance with safety, security and environmental procedures and requirements. This is met by making a safe environment for employees of the facility and its inmates as well as the society. To achieve this the facility has to incorporate the latest technology for monitoring inmates such as cameras within designated points in the facility, high tower surveillance posts under 24 hour watch and a wider perimeter, free from any structures outside the confines of the facility.
The third strategic plan will be developing inmate programs and services for their personal advancement and successful reintegration into the society. These programs will help utilize the time that the inmates have to do constructive things like going to the gym, playing sports, reading in the library and training in several fields of interest. The inmates’ medical and physical health needs have to be met. This requires the hiring and training of the facility’s employees on how to deal and interact with the inmates while carrying out their duties. These programs success will be assessed according to the number of inmates who graduate in the various disciplines. Monitoring and continuous development have to be implemented.
The fourth strategic plan will involve building partnerships. These partnerships will be in co-operation between the facility, the society and other government agencies. This will go on to improve the effectiveness of services it provides by involving the public in the facilities programs will go a long way in rehabilitating the offenders and introducing them back into the community. This goal should be up and running in a matter of six months.
References
Beitler, M. (2006). Strategic Organizational Change, 2nd Ed. North Carolina: Practitioner Press
Bryson, J. (2011). Strategic Planning for Public and Nonprofit Organizations: A Guide to
Strengthening and Sustaining Organizational Achievement. Michigan: Jossey-Bass
