Course Syllabus
CRIJ 220 – Evaluation and Treatment of Offenders
Spring 2010
Instructor: Gina Mulder
Office: Internet
Office Telephone: 320-3741
Internet Address:
Class Meetings: None –course offered via Blackboard
Required Text: Correctional Counseling & Rehabilitation; Patricia Van Voorhis / Michael Braswell / David Lester; Anderson Publishing
COURSE SPECIFICS
The College of Southern IdahoMission Statement
The College of Southern Idaho, a comprehensive community college, provides quality educational, social, cultural, economic, and workforce development opportunities that meet the diverse needs of the communities it serves. CSI prepares students to lead enriched, productive and responsible lives in a global society.
Social Science Department Mission Statement
The mission of the Social Science Department is to provide educational, social, and cultural opportunities which encourage enriched, productive and responsible lives primarily by instructing students to understand, interpret, and apply Social Science discipline coursework.
Social Science Department Goals: This course also addresses the following Social Science Dept. goals:
1. Help students understand important facts, concepts and theories of Social Science and Education subjects.
2. Help students acquire techniques and methods used to gain new knowledge in the disciplines.
3. Help students develop ability to distinguish between fact and opinion.
4. Teach students to use evaluation, analysis and synthesis to interpret and solve problems.
5. Teach students to use different perspectives from the social sciences and education to make better informed decisions
6. Help students acquire an informed understanding of various cultures.
7. Prepare to transfer to a university.
Criminal Justice Program Objectives:
1. To examine the social, philosophical, and historical perspectives of criminal behavior and the administration of justice.
2. To introduce students to major criminal procedure concepts and examine how corresponding Supreme Court precedent impacts criminal procedure and policy.
3. To introduce students to the historical development of policing in America and contemporary policing theories and strategies.
4. To introduce students to the historical development of corrections in America and contemporary correctional theories and strategies.
5. To introduce students to the law of criminal evidence and examine how criminal evidence law impacts a criminal a criminal.
6. To prepare students for transfer to a four-year criminal justice program and upper-division course work in criminal justice administration.
7. To prepare students for entry level positions in the criminal justice field.
Criminal Justice 220 Catalog Description
Evaluation & Treatment of Offenders
This course familiarizes the student with the diagnostic tools utilized by treatment providers and certified chemical addictions specialists. Classification of offenders and methods of treatment are also discussed.
Course Outcomes* Aligned with Social Science Goals (SS) and Program Objectives (CRIJ):
Students will… / SS / CRIJ1. Discuss generally historical foundations and approaches of correctional counseling; the framework for correctional counseling within the prison and community settings; the function of correctional counseling and treatment;ethical and multicultural aspects of the profession; and gain an understanding of the challenges faced by practitioners. / 1 3, 4, 6, 7 / 1, 2, 4, 6
2. Discuss generally the various types of individual and group therapy and interventions; compare and contrast of the various approaches; become familiar with theory goals, techniques and strategies. / 1, 2, 4, 5, 7 / 1, 2, 3, 4, 6,
3. Learn about offender assessments, diagnosis and classification. In depth discussion about clinical identification of mentally ill offenders and systematic risk testing of correctional clients; learn about assessment instruments; become familiar with the most common diagnostic classes in the DSM-IV-TR / 1, 2, 4, 5, 7 / 1, 2, 3, 6,
4. Discuss types of interventions and treatment modalities use with specific offender populations; how the differing types of treatment approaches and strategies are applied to those populations; review the effectiveness of the various modalities. / 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 / 2, 3, 6,
5. Review offender treatment outcome evaluation literature regarding offender recidivism; review data on the quality of offender treatment programs used in the corrections field. / 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 / 2, 3, 5, 6
6. Apply knowledge of offender assessments, diagnosis and classification, and treatment modalities to a case study in order to design a contingency contract, counseling strategies and treatment plan. / 3, 4, 5, 6, 7 / 2, 3, 4, 6
Outcomes Assessment
Assessment performs a number of functions within the teaching and learning process: It gives feedback to the student on their learning experience; it measures the performance of the student; and contributes to the evaluation of effectiveness of the subject content and delivery. Assessment of student learning can be conducted using a variety of available instruments and methods. A combination of assessment approaches can be the most effective way to measure student learning.
Assessment practices embedded in courses will generate information about what and how students are learning. A wide range of formal and informal interaction and performance assessment methods will be used in this course to determine whether students attained prescribed educational goals and objectives:
Multiple- Choice Exams / Chapter Quizzes / Discussion Questions on Blackboard / On-line Course Evaluations1 / / /
2 / / /
3 / / /
4 / / /
5 / / /
6 / / /
7 / / /
8 / / /
Policies and Procedures
Policies and Procedures
Discussion and Participation Policy: Students are expected to participate in on-line discussions. I will monitor each student's on-line participation weekly. If a student fails to participate in the first two on-line discussions or fails to take the first two chapter quizzes, I may drop the student from the class. Students with perfect on-line participation will receive 10 bonus points.
Honesty Policy: I follow the honesty policy in the CSI Student Handbook. If a student cheats on an exam or plagiarizes on a writing assignment, I will give the student a zero on that exam or writing assignment. If a student violates the honesty policy more than once, I may fail the student.
Late Policy: I expect students to take quizzes on the day or week when scheduled. I will notify students in advance of giving a quiz. No make up quizzes will be given if a student fails to take a quiz during the week it is assigned. If a student cannot take a quiz on the day it is assigned, please notify me in advance. Make up quizzes may be given at my discretion, but I may give the student a different quiz.
Required Assignments: Students should read the assigned reading material. If you have difficulty understanding the material or need clarification, please contact me with any questions. You can reach me via Blackboard or on my regular email address. I may refer students to an independent website if I find materials that will assist student learning. This helps facilitate student learning, and makes meaningful discussion about the discussion material possible. In addition, quizzes will be based upon the assigned reading material for a particular week. One discussion question from each chapter will be placed on-line prior to the beginning of the week in which we discuss that chapter.
Grading Practices
- I will give four exams each worth 100 points during the semester (total 400 points). Each exam will have 40 multiple-choice and fill-in-the-blank questions worth 2 points each (total of 80 points) and two short answer questions worth 10 points each (total of 20). The exams will cover the reading material for the particular unit and will be designed to assess the course outcomes.
- I will post weekly, 10-question quizzes covering each chapter under Blackboard'sAssignment option. Each quiz will be worth 20 points. The weekly quizzes will correspond to the reading assignmentand discussion board topic for that week. (14 quizzes for a total of 280 possible points.)
- Each week, I will post a discussion question, relating to the week's reading and subject matter. Students will be required to post at leastone response AND one question(a total of two postings per week) of his or her own addressing an issue or concept covered in that week's reading. Students will be required to post their first response/question by noon on the Wednesday of that week with the second response/question no later than noon on the Friday of that week. Student posts are to be considerate and illustrate the writer's understanding of the assigned reading. The response/questions will be worth 5 points each, for a total of 10 points per week. (14 discussion question for a total of 140 possible points.)
- Each student will use an assigned case study to complete a contingency plan, assign certain counseling strategies and devise a treatment plan worth 100 points. The contingency plan will be based on a case study provided to students and using the text examples as a guide.
Grading Scale:
920 points to 828 points = A
827 points to 736 points = B
735points to 644 points = C
643 points to 552 points = D
Less than 548 points = F
I may curve the grading scale if the overall course grades are low for a given semester.
CLASS SCHEDULE
Week
/Class Topic
/Assignment
January 19 / The Function of Correctional CounselingUnderstanding the Special Challenges Faced by the Correctional Counselor in the Prison Setting / Chapter 1
Chapter 2
January 25 / Psychoanalytic Therapy / Chapters 3
February 1 /
Radical Behavioral Interventions
/ Chapter 4February 8 / Early Approaches to Group and Milieu Therapy / Chapter 5
February 15 / Exam 1 (Chapters 1-5)
February 22 / Diagnosis and Assessment of Criminal Offenders / Chapter 6
March 1 / An Overview of Offender Classification Systems / Chapter 7
March 8 / Exam 2 (Chapters 6 & 7)
March 15 /
SPRING BREAK
March 22 /Social Leaning Models
/ Chapter 8March 29 /
Cognitive Therapies
/ Chapters 9April 5 /
Family Therapy
/ Chapter 10April 12 / Exam 3 (Chapters 8-10)
April 19 / Treating Sexual Offenders
Treating Substance Abuse in Offender Populations / Chapter 11
Chapter 12
April 27 / Treating Antisocial Offenders / Chapter 13
May 3 / Correctional Treatment: Accomplishments and Realities
Case Study Due / Chapter 14
May 10 / Exam 4 (Chapter 11-14) – Finals Week
CSI E-mail:
Since email is the primary source of written communication with students, all registered CSI students get a college email account. Student e-mail addresses have the following format: . Instructors and various offices send messages to these accounts.Students must check their CSI e-mail accounts regularly to avoid missing important messages and deadlines. At the beginning of each semester free training sessions are offered to students who need help in using their accounts.
On-line course evaluation statement:
To help instructors continually improve courses, students are strongly encouraged to go online to and complete anonymous evaluations which open two weeks before the end of the course and close the last day of class. When students enter the site, they find evaluations for their enrolled courses. Thank you for this valuable input!
Disabilities:
Any student with a documented disability may be eligible for related accommodations. To determine eligibility and secure services, students should contact the coordinator of Disability Services at their first opportunity after registration for a class. Student Disability Services is located on the second floor of the Taylor Building on the Twin Falls Campus. 208.732.6260 (voice) or 208.734.9929 (TTY), or e-mail. .