Identify an issue that needs to be addressed..
There are similar issues that impact corrections, court, and parole/probation functions.
Your instructor will approve or disapprove the specific topic that you submit. Provide sufficient detail so that he/she is able to see that your topic selection is
appropriate to the assignment. Your instructor will not make the topic selection for you. The approach outlined below can be used for minor policy issues, major policy
issues, minor budget issues, major budget issues, equipment implementation, and any issue dealing with a policy proposal.
Remember that you are writing from the point-of-view of a mid-level manager in an agency and for the approval of the senior management of that agency. You are to
present a problem area that involves a department/agency issue that is significant to the department and presents a recommended solution to solve the problem.
• Identify an issue that needs to be addressed.
• Document and discuss the general problem in a few paragraphs or not more than 1 page.
• Document and discuss the significance of the problem to your department (the significance discussion will contain the majority of your references). The
significance section of the paper must contain an explanation of why the issue is significant, a discussion of what is being done by other departments or agencies,
identification of what specific law/rule (federal law(s), state law(s), or city ordinance(s)) by statute number is applicable, and any other issues that can be
identified as making this issue of sufficient significance for it to come to the attention of the agency head. Your discussion in this significance section of the
paper must be thorough and leave no additional questions unanswered.
• Propose a solution in the form of policy recommendation or specific guidance toward a new/revised policy. The solution must address a minimum of 3 choices: do
nothing, take an incremental approach, and/or full implementation of the recommended solution. The solution section of the paper must have enough of an explanation of
the solution so that a senior executive would be able to make an informed decision solely based on your written explanation. Your solution must be provided in the form
of a 1–2 page summary or a draft recommended policy change. The solution must also have sub-themes. Some subthemes are: impact to department, impact to external
stakeholders, and impact to budget. There may be other sub-themes in addition to or in replacement of those listed above.
Research Tools
Library research facilities will be instrumental in your successful completion of this assignment. It is highly unlikely that you will locate appropriate scholarly
or academic-quality references (journals, peer-reviewed articles, government reports, scholarly studies, official statics, etc.) only using a Google search. General
interest magazines, popular magazines, trade publications, blogs, Wikipedia, etc., are not appropriate references for this project.
Format
• APA format
• Major sections will include a title page, an abstract, a body, and a reference section.
• 8-page requirement
o The title page, abstract, and reference pages will not be included in the 8-page requirement.
o As a minimum, headings within the body must be used to identify problems, significances, and solutions addressed in the paper. You may include other
appropriate headings.
• A minimum of 10 web-based, relevant, secular references that are of a scholarly/academic quality.
• A minimum of 2 biblical references that tie the general theme that you address to a Christian perspective.
• Secular references will be cited using the standard APA format.
o Following the current APA format for secular references, you will ALSO provide a website link which can be used by the instructor to directly access and
Identify an issue that needs to be addressed.
