Article
Juvenile
Justice Education Administrator:
An Occupational Analysis
Bruce Wolford and Carol
Cramer Brooks
Abstract
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Juvenile Justice Education
Administrators describe their job as: While insuring the safety and
security of staff, students and the community, the Juvenile Justice
Education Administrator designs, manages and promotes education for
detained and adjudicated youth through effective instructional leadership
to provide individualized educational services which help the youth
become contributing members of society. The description captures the
"two professions" that these educators are operating across: Justice
and education. Four of the five most critical tasks identified by the
administrators relate to educational responsibilities; however, the
safety and security issues remained a critical occupational task.
Introduction
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This is the first in a series
of reports on multi-system job analyses of various worker groups in
the Juvenile Justice System. This effort has been undertaken to provide
juvenile justice professionals and agencies with practical, worker-based
benchmarks of the duties and tasks of high performing staff. The authors
trust that this will generate discussions and comparisons that will
lead to improved practices and services in juvenile justice agencies.
The multi-year
Juvenile Justice Occupational Analysis Project is a collaborative effort
involving the National Juvenile Detention Association, Juvenile Justice
Trainers Asssociation, and the Eastern Kentucky University Training
Resource Center.
Overview
of the DACUM Job Analysis (return
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There are a variety
of techniques and tools that can be used to complete a job analysis
(see Table 1).
Table
1:
Method
of Job and Task Analysis
| Small
Group Method |
This method requires
a minimum of three incumbent workers to participate in developing
the job and task analysis |
| Research
Method |
This method requires
a worker who is performing the tast and a person trained in job
and task analysis to observe and analyze the task |
| Job
Observation Method |
This method requires
a worker who is performing the task and a person trained in job
and task analysis to observe and analyze the task |
Each of
the methods can yield valuable information. The techniques are frequently
combined to provide a wide range of data. It is important to verify
or validate the initial occupational analysis either through multiple
data collections or the use of alternative data collection methods.
The validation process provides a check to assure that the data is accurate
and remains representative over time and across groups/organizations.
The Juvenile
Justice Education Administrator (JJEA) occupational analysis was conducted
using a small group method known as DACUM (an acronym derived from Developing
A CurriclUM) (Open Entries, 1993). The DACUM Occuaptional Analysis uses
focus groups of high performing incumbent workers to describe the duties
and tasks which are included in a particular occupation (see Table
2). The DACUM Occuaptional Analysis process yields an occupational
profile (see JJEA Competency Profile page 9 ).
Table
2
DEFINITION OF DUTIES
AND TASKS
Identified during "DACUM"
Occupational Process
| Duty: |
a general area of competence
that successful workers in the occupation must demonstrate or perform
on an on-going basis. A duty includes two or more distinct tasks. |
| Task: |
a work activity that
has a definite beginning and ending, is observable, consist of two
or more definite steps and leads to a product, service, or decision. |
In addition,
the process also provides a job description and a listing of knowledge,
skills, and traits needed by high performing workers. Once the profile
is completed, the DACUM panelists (six to eight workers per panel) also
identify the most critical and frequently performed duties and tasks
as well as those in which new and veteran workers are most in need of
training or technical assistance (Nolan, 1990).
The DACUM
process begins with the identification of a job title and definition
and builds in detail/specificity up to and through a task analysis.
The inverted pyramid design (see Table 3) provides
a graphic representation of the stages in a complete DACUM occupational
and task analysis.
Table
3
The occuaptional
analysis is led by a neutral facilitator (trained in the DACUM process)
and recorder who uses a storyboarding process to record the focus group's
comments. Storyboarding, popularized by the Disney Corporation, is a
helpful mechanism for capturing the ideas/observations of a small group
on paper/index cards and posting the cards on a wall/board in front
of the panel members (The McNellis Company, 1991).
In the DACUM
storyboarding process, panelists are encouraged to develop duty and
task statements that include a verb, modifier and a noun. The storyboard
cards are temporarily attached to the wall or board to allow for rapid
changes, sequencing and modification. The storyboard process is very
fluid, flexible and visual - all of which helps maintain the group's
focus on describing their job duties and tasks.
Validation
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Subsequent reviews/updates
of an existing occuaptional analysis are referred to as validations.
The validations are typically one-day workshops where expert workers
who with the help of a DACUM facilitator and recorder, revise and edit
an existing job profile. The validations are conducted to ensure accuracy,
update the analysis or customize the chart to a specific work setting.
Collecting
the Data (return
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The JJEA profile was developed
in June 1998 by a focus group of high performing education administrators
from Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan and Ohio. The one-day session resulted
in a validation of the 1994 occuaptional analysis conducted by the Kentucky
Educational Collaborative for State Agency Children. The initial two-day
workshop produced a profile of State Agency School Administration in
Kentucky. The Kentucky job profile provided the starting point for the
four-state focus group to develop the new profile featured in this report.
Although
there were numerous changes between the 1994 and 1998 job profile, many
of the alterations were cosmetic in nature and simply resulted in the
removal of Kentucky specific terminology. Both the workshop facilitators
and panelists felt confident that the revised occupational profile provided
an accurate representation of the job of Juvenile Justice Education
Administrator.
Training
Needs (return
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The primary goal of the JJEA
Occuaptional Analysis was to use the profile to help develop professional
training; however, there are many other uses for DACUM profiles. DACUM
charts can be used to help in the evaluation of position descriptions;
recruitment, selection and evaluation of personnel; to conduct literacy
audits; review organizational structure and interactions; and assist
an organization in meeting some of the requirements of the Americans
with Disabilities Act (ADA) (Nolan, 1990).
JJEA panel
members were asked to review the completed profile and to identify what
they believed to be the tasks in which a new worker entering that position
would have the greatest need for training. They were also to identify
the tasks in which veteran administrators like themselves would have
the greatest need for training. Figure 1 indicates the prioritized new
coordinator training needs of Juvenile Justice Education Administrators.
Figure
1
Prioritized New Administrator
Training Needs for
Juvenile Justice Education
Administrator
Prioritized New Worker
Needs
| Tasks
Knowledge Skills |
|
Assess student educational
needs Program Evaluation Interpreting information
|
|
Review statutes
and regulations Ed. Statutes & Regulations Management/Supervision
|
|
Identify sources
of federal funding Grant & Proposal Procedures Communication(oral
& written)
|
|
Provide on-going
program evaluation Management Practices Conducting meetings
|
|
Supervise classroom
instruction/management Special Ed Laws& Procedures Curriculum
development
|
|
Oversee the IDEA
process Educational Systems Negotiation
|
|
Conduct performance
evaluations Planning Techniques Conducting negotiations
|
|
Coordinating ed.
programs w/ other agencies Audit Procedures Report Writing
|
|
Prepare federal
grant applications
|
|
Participate in staff
interviews and selection
|
|
Plan, monitor &
provide on-going staff development
|
|
Develop school policies
and procedures
|
|
Supervise/coordinate
contract providers
|
|
Seek & maintain
creative funds
|
|
Generate reports
|
Findings
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The validation of the initial
Kentucky profile by the multi-state panel in 1998 indicated that there
were significant similarities across jurisdictions and over time in
the duties and tasks performed by educational administrators in juvenile
justice programs. The panel of educational administrators recorded their
duties and tasks and also prioritized the job responsibilities by identifying
areas of criticality, frequency and training needs (see Table 4).
Table
4
| Criticality: |
is a measure of job
tasks that panelists believe to be essential and/or most important
components of a job. |
| Frequency: |
is a measure of job
tasks that panelists believed to require the largest time commitments. |
| Training
needs: |
is a measure
of job tasks that panelists believe should be included in a basic
training |
Duties
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The panel identified eight
duties (on-going work responsibilities) of the Juvenile Justice Education
Administrator. A prioritized listing of the duties from most to least
critical are reported on the job profile (see page 9) and in Figure
2.
Figure
2
Ranking of Critical
Duties
of a Juvenile Justice
Educator Administrator
| Critical Ranking*
Duty |
| 1 Plan, develop, &
maintain education programs/services |
| 2 Supervise education
personnel |
| 3 Manage fiscal operations |
| 4 Manage the education
office functions |
| 5 Represent educational
program |
| 6 Manage federal education
programs |
| 7 Promote personal
& professional development |
| 8 Establish & maintain
education philosophy, goals, & objectives |
| *(1=
most critical and 8= least critical) |
Tasks
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The panel of JJEA identified
a total of 68 occupational tasks. These tasks were sorted into four
prioritized categories: critical, frequent, new and veteran worker training
needs (see JJEA Competency Profile page 9).
Critical
Tasks (return
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The panel identified 18 critical
tasks which are listed in prioritized order in Figure
3.
Figure
3
Ranking of Critical
Tasks
of Juvenile Justice Education
Administrator
| Ranking*
Identification Task |
| 1 A-1 Assess student
educational needs |
| 2 C-2 Manage budget
expenditures |
| 3 D-7 Ensure compliance
with safety & security procedures |
| 4 D-11 Implement collective
bargaining agreement |
| 5 E-1 Oversee the IDEA
process |
| 6 F-1 Assure compliance
w/ applicable policies and laws |
| 7 G-2 Serve as liason
to other agencies |
| 8 H-2 Plan, monitor
and provide on-going staff development |
| 9 A-15 Meet with and
advise students |
| 10 C-3 Seek & maintain
creative funding |
| 11 F-2 Submit/approve
payroll documents |
| 12 G-5 Participate
in facility wide committees |
| 13 A-4 Supervise curricula
implementations |
| 14 A-12 Schedule programs,
events, & staff |
| 15 A-16 Aquire educational
resources |
| 16 C-1 Develop budget |
| 17 D-3 Assign duties
& responsibilities |
| 18 E-3 Prepare federal
grant applications |
| *(1=most critical) |
Frequently
Performed Tasks (return
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Juvenile Justice Education
Administrators serving on the DACUM panels were asked to identify those
job tasks to which they devoted the most time. Figure
4 provides a rank ordering of tasks identified by education administrators
as most frequently performed.
Figure
4
Ranking of Frequently
Performed Tasks
of Juvenile Justice Education
Administration
| Ranking*
Identification Task |
| 1 A-1 Assess student
educational needs |
| 2 B-1 Schedule programs,
events & staff |
| 3 C-1 Develop budget |
| 4 D-1 Develop and implement
a staffing plan |
| 5 E-1 Oversee the IDEA
process |
| 6 F-1 Assure compliance
w/all applicable policies, regulations, and laws |
| 7 G-1 Communicate with
parents |
| 8 H-1 Participate in
training for personal/prof. develop. |
Application
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You may be asking yourself:
What are the practical applications of this information? Let us suggest
a few applications.
Benchmarks:
The job analysis provides
a benchmark for job responsibilities. A clear, concise and understandable
job profile can communicate an effective message to workers about the
job expectations.
Customized
Job Profile:
A generic job profile can
be customized to reflect local demands.
Job
Description Development:
The development of meaningful
job descriptions can be more easily constructed with access to a worker
based job profile.
Professional
Development:
The foundation for a competency
based training program is a job analysis. Good training grows from
good information.
Profile
Review:
Reviews of job profiles
with agency administrators can provide valuable information for the
establishment and revision of policy.
Conclusion
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This and subsequent Juvenile
Justice Occupational profiles are intended to inform best practice in
the profession. Quality front line workers provide the best basis upon
which to begin a job analysis. The authors trust that the information
included in this report will provide useful information to both education
and Juvenile Justice professionals.
Dr.
Bruce I Wolford
Dr. Bruce Wolford is the
director of the Training Resource Center and a Professor of Correctional
Services. The Center provides training, research and evaluation services
to local, state and federal criminal justice, human services and education
agencies. He earned his Ph. D. from Ohio State Unversity. He joined
the College of Law Enforcement in 1979. Dr. Wolford worked for five
years in the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections, and
two years in public education prior to coming to EKU. Dr. Wolford has
served as the President of the Correctional Education Association, Editor
of the Journal of Correctional Education, and member of the American
Correctional Association Board of Governers. Areas of specialization
include offender education, correctional administration, juvenile justice,
staff development and training, meeting facilitation and occupational
analysis. Dr. Wolford has worked in education and criminal justice profession
for the past 25 years.
Carol
Cramer Brooks
Carol Cramer Brooks has participated
in juvenile detention education and detention programming since 1982.
Currently, she holds the position of Director of Training for the National
Juvenile Detention Association's Center for Research and Professional
Development at Michigan State University. In this capacity, she coordinates
and delivers training for trainers, line staff, and first line supervisors
in juvenile detention and corrections facilities. A member of NJDA's
education committee, Carol is leading the drive to include detention
and corrections educators in the membership of NJDA through the formation
of a Council for Educators. She is also a co-author of a National Training
Curriculum for Educators of Youth in Confinement, an initiative sponsored
by OJJDP, scheduled for completion in Spring, 1999.
Prior to
her position with NJDA, Carol taught in the education programs at the
Kalamazoo and Allegan County Juvenile facilities in Michigan. In both
facilities, Carol was involved in program and
curriculum planning and implementation.
She was a member of the start-up team for the Intensive Learning Center
at the Kalamazoo County Juvenile Home and was instrumental in the move
to incorporate Lifeskills training in the school and detention programs.
Carol received
her MA in Public Administration- Program Planning and Design and her
BS in special education- Emotionally Impaired from Western Michigan
University. She completed the Harvard Negotiation Project as well as
conflict resolution training from the New Mexico Center for Conflict
Resolution and the Dispute Resolution Center in Kalamazoo, Michigan.
Carol is
a volunteer educational/administrative consultant and presenter for
The Way Out Christian Academy in Hawaiian Gardens, California. The Academy
is part of The Way Out Ministries supported by the Reformed Church of
America.
REFERENCES
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Nolan, T.D.,
The DACUM Process, Training Manual, Cincinnati Technical College,
1990.
Open
Entries, "The DACUM Connection", Center of Education and Training
for Employment, The Ohio StateUniversity, Vol. 3, No. 1, 1993.
The McNellis
Company, An Experience in Creating Planning, New Brighton,
Pennsylavania, 1991.
Halasz,
I.M., Task Analysis, National Institute of Corrections Academy,
Longmont, Colorado, June 1993.
For further information
regarding the DACUM Occupational Analysis Process Contact
Training Resource Center
College of Law Enforcement
300 Stratton Building
521 Lancaster Avenue
Eastern Kentucky University
Richmond, KY 40475-3102
(606) 622-1498/ FAX
(606) 622-6399
