| Dispositional Advisor |
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| Lucas Murray, Laura Barta & Jessica Stanek Composition 3160 |
| Dispositional advisors work with juveniles who have been charged with a crime. They explore the mitigating circumstances surrounding their client and the charges; seeking to formulate an alternative treatment plan that would benefit both the community and the juvenile. Dispositional advisors perform a variety of tasks. In order to assist their clients they are involved in treating the clien'ts needs through gather information, contacting agencies, scheduling pre-placements and using specialized testing evaluations to formulate alternative sentencing recommendations. They also advise clients, staff attorneys and the courts regarding sentencing alternatives. Dispositional advisors use a plethora of skills, abilities, and knowledge. They must have an understanding of the criminal justice system to be effective in court situations and in relaying information to their clients. They must also have an understanding of interviewing techniques. It is also essential for the dispositional advisor to maintain an effective working relationship with the defendant. In order to do so, it is important to have some understanding of psychology and also a knowledge of how to interpret psychiatric and chemical dependency diagnosis and reports. Dispositional advisors should be excellent at negotiating and mediating difficult situations. It is also extremely necessary for them to have outstanding oral and written communication skills as well as exceptional research skills. |
| For Advanced Writing we were able to interview Karen Westermann, the dispositional advisor for the Sixth MN District, which includes: Carlton, St. Louis, Lake and Cook County, and a member of The Sentencing Project. The Sentencing Project is a national nonprofit organization designed to promote a decreased reliance on incarceration and an increased utilization of more effective and humane alternatives (The Sentencing Project, Oct. 15,2002). Ms. Westermann is very dedicated to her job, yet lacks the cynicism one would expect a person in such a position to possess. Ms. Westermann attempts to find the humanity in her clients and is dedicated to determining the most appropriate sentence for each individual. She was also very helpful to us by directing us to several iinformational sources. |
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| This website is useful for anyone who is looking for more information about the corrections system within Minnesota. A person can find anything from the location of a specific offender within the criminal justice system, including their offense and their sentence, as well information regarding various job positions opening within the state. As well as being informational, this site is also very interesting. Anyone who is curious about corrections can enter the site and just enjoy looking around at the various categories and topics that it addresses. This site offered us a general resource regarding our interview and paper, but also provided us with other information that we could use if we wanted to learn more about anything within the field of corrections in Minnesota. |
| Karen Westermann is one of the many dispositional advisors that belongs to The Sentencing Project. This site offers a place for both members and nonmembers to gain information and get answers to the questions they may have. Within this page you can find current news, publications, a brief description and fact sheets, and upcoming events. This site proved very beneficial for our group. We were able to work our way through this site and gain a base of knowledge regarding the position of a dispositional advisor as well as many of the current debates and dilemmas that they are facing today. |
| A major aspect of the dispositional advisors job is to find alternative sentencing for their clients. This specific site offers a detailed overview of the sentencing guidelines for Minnesota. The purpose of the sentencing guidelines is to establish rational and consistent sentencing standards which reduce sentencing dispairty and ensure that sactions following conviction of a felony are proportional to the severity of the offense of conviction and the extent of the offender's criminal history. This site offered and interesting looking into the guidelines that correspond with different crimes. |