Research Topics: Policy Making

Migration

Question 1             According to (2004), policy failure can be said to occur when a policy does not achieve its stated objectives (p. 854). Failure of migration policies result from the interactions of different factors (factors arising from the social dynamics of the migratory process; factors linked to globalization, transnationalism and North-South relationships; and factors within political systems). I think migration policies often fail because of contradicting and complex political systems. 1. Political Conflicts in Emigration Countries             Some Governments support labor migration while others establish regulations for migration. However, as economies become dependent on remittances, it becomes increasingly challenging to effectively regulate migration or protect their citizens. 2. Interest Conflicts and Hidden agendas in Migration Policies             Migration policies often fail because of conflicting interests and hidden agendas. In response to the growing hostility towards immigrants and asylum seekers politicians often promise to implement anti-immigration policies while actually pursuing policies that lead to more immigration because of its importance for the labor market and economy. This helps explain the frequent hidden agendas in migration policies – that is, policies that purport to follow certain objectives while actually doing the opposite.     3. Political ability to control Migration             Migration policies often fail because the authorities lack political strength and because some state policies have different motivations. 4. Contradiction within the Policy Formation Process             Policymaking can be dominated by powerful organized interests. Question 2             September 11 probably produced a hardening of attitudes in Australia about asylum seekers. Concerns with security and the integrity of national borders were strong in Australia before Septembers 11 and they were heightened after it. The events of September 11 also made it easier for the government to keep asylum seeker issue in the forefront during the election (2002).             The September 11 attacks have limited impacts on the Canadian immigration policy. The basic goals of Canadian immigration which unlike the US include a strong and continuing emphasis on nation-building – and in broad outline the flow of immigrants and refugees, remain unchanged. The immigration planning continues to give emphasis on the economic and social impact and contribution of immigrants.             In the name of national security, US officials took extraordinary measures after 9/11. The Congress passed anti-terrorism legislation that included provisions relating to immigration on the theory that tougher immigration laws might have prevented 9/11 and might stop future attack. The United and Strengthening America by Providing Appropriate Tools Required to Intercept and Obstruct Terrorism Act of 2001 (USA PATRIOT Act) was signed into law on October 26, 2001, and expanded the security-related grounds for denying admission to and for removing non-citizens. The said act also allowed for pre-charge detention for seven days of those non-citizens certified by the Attorney General as terrorist supporters. There are also several changes in the issuance of visas and the admission of non-citizens (). Question 3             Open borders is the removal of any form of migration control. The idea of open borders comes from two normally very divergent schools of thought: neoclassical economists and left-wing critics of government migration policies. The former believe that leaving regulation to market forces will optimize the benefits of migration for both sending and receiving countries and help in the long run to equalize wages between them, leading to a new global economic equilibrium. Many people on the left think that freedom of movement will eliminate discriminatory and repressive state measures and enhance migrants’ human rights. They also argue that the economies of both sending and receiving countries will benefit and that migration will not rise to insupportable levels because most people will prefer to stay at home (2004).             Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Migration

Question 1 According to (2004), policy failure can be said to occur when a policy does not achieve its stated objectives (p. 8...

Pretrial Drug Testing

Pretrial Drug Testing: An Overview of Issues and Practices In December 1995, President directed Attorney General to develop and implement a universal policy providing for the drug testing of all federal arrestees before the decision is made to release them to the community pending trial. He also directed the Attorney General to take steps to encourage states to adopt and implement the policy. The President’s rationale for developing a universal policy was that “too often, the same criminal drug users cycle through the court, corrections, and probation systems still hooked on drugs and still committing crimes to support their habit.” We should react, he argued, “at the earliest possible stage in a person’s interaction with the criminal justice system—following arrest.” 1 As a step toward implementing the policy at the federal level, in 1996 the Attorney General reached an agreement with the federal courts to implement pretrial drug testing in 24 of the 94 federal districts. To begin implementing the policy at the state level, Congress increased funding for the Byrne Formula Grant program in FY 1997 by million specifically to encourage state and local jurisdictions to support effective drug testing initiatives at all stages of the criminal justice process, beginning with the pretrial stage. To support this effort, the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), a grant-making agency of the Office of Justice Programs in the U.S. Department of Justice, awarded a grant to the Pretrial Services Resource Center (PSRC) to provide technical assistance to jurisdictions using federal funds from the Byrne program to implement or expand pretrial drug testing functions or to integrate testing throughout all stages of the criminal justice system. This BJA bulletin, prepared by PSRC as part of that grant, provides an overview of drug testing issues and practices at the pretrial stage of the criminal justice system. The Evolution of Drug Testing in the Criminal Justice System Drug Testing as a Treatment Tool The first use of drug testing in the criminal justice system was as an adjunct to treatment—an aid in identifying heroin users in need of treatment and then monitoring their progress. One of the first recorded applications of drug testing occurred in the mid-1960s with the California Civil Addict Program. Under this program, persons convicted of certain offenses could opt to enter inpatient drug treatment, followed by outpatient treatment, in lieu of sentencing. Offenders entering the program were assigned to one of two groups: those who were tested for heroin use and placed in drug treatment in addition to other supervision services, and those who were supervised but not tested for drugs. An evaluation of the program showed that those who underwent drug testing and treatment in addition to other supervision services while in the outpatient phase had much lower rates of subsequent criminal activity than both those who were supervised but not tested or treated and those who received no services. 2 The idea that drug testing and treatment could help reduce criminality led to the establishment in 1972 of the Treatment Alternatives to Street Crimes (TASC) program, a federally funded effort that focused on providing treatment for drug users involved in the criminal justice system and bridging the gap between the criminal justice system and the drug treatment community. Under the TASC model, all arrestees underwent a drug test and a drug use assessment upon booking. Those identified as drug users who met the eligibility criteria were placed in drug treatment. If treatment was completed, the charges were dropped. The TASC model soon evolved to include posttrial processing, in which individuals were identified and referred to TASC as a condition of probation. 3 By 1982, TASC projects were operating in 130 jurisdictions in 39 states. 4 Many still operate today. The benefits of drug testing as a treatment tool were further recognized in the 1975 White Paper on Drug Abuse, prepared for the President by the Domestic Council Drug Abuse Task Force. The drafters of this document noted that the Speedy Trial Act of 1975, which established pilot pretrial services programs in 10 federal judicial districts, might “provide the vehicle [to] screen people entering the federal criminal justice system for drug abuse.” The Task Force suggested that drug testing of arrestees could be an effective way to identify drug-abusing defendants. A pretrial services officer could then help them secure drug treatment, employment and job training, and medical and legal services. 5 Drug Testing as a Tool To Monitor Offenders Under Supervision Drug testing in the criminal justice system expanded in the late 1970s and early 1980s as criminal justice officials began using it as a tool to enforce compliance with the requirements of supervision, which generally included abstinence from drug use. Two developments influenced this expansion. First, advances in drug testing technology allowed criminal justice officials to set up their own onsite drug testing programs. In 1977, the West Texas Regional Adult Probation Department established one of the first onsite drug testing programs in the nation, using technology—the Enzyme Multiple Immunoassay Technique (EMIT)—that allowed staff with limited technical training to conduct the tests. 6 The experience demonstrated that criminal justice agencies did not need to rely on the drug testing resources available from TASC or other treatment programs. Second, mounting evidence of the link between drug use and crime and the devastating impact that drug use was having on society led to a renewed war on drugs in which zero tolerance of drug use was an important aspect. Law enforcement efforts focused on arresting drug users as well as those who sold drugs, leading to significant increases in the number of drug arrests. 7 Identification and monitoring of drug use by those under the jurisdiction of the criminal justice system became a major concern of the system, with testing used widely by probation, parole, and correctional agencies. Drug Testing as a Tool To Predict and Reduce Pretrial Misconduct Historically, pretrial programs have inquired about drug use in their interviews of defendants, believing that such information is useful to judicial officers when setting conditions of release. The introduction of onsite testing provided the opportunity to supplement this information with an accurate and objective measure of recent drug use. The District of Columbia Pretrial Services Agency (DCPSA) was the first to take advantage of this opportunity when it implemented an onsite pilot pretrial drug testing program in 1984 with initial funding from the National Institute of Justice (NIJ). The program offered two types of urine immunoassay testing for defendants: q Testing before the initial bail-setting appearance and incorporating the results into the risk assessment presented to the judicial officer at the defendant’s bail hearing (preinitial appearance testing). q Testing on a regular basis during pretrial supervision (pretrial drug monitoring) after a defendant had been identified as a drug user in initial screening. Two assumptions underlay this approach. First, DCPSA believed that knowledge of a defendant’s drug use at the time of arrest—obtained through a drug test—would provide an important predictor of pretrial misconduct. Second, DCPSA believed that monitoring during the pretrial period, coupled with sanctions, could reduce any risks of pretrial misconduct. Based on the success of the Washington, D.C., project, between 1987 and 1991 BJA provided funding to five jurisdictions—Maricopa County, Arizona; Milwaukee County, Wisconsin; Multnomah County, Oregon; Pima County, Arizona; and Prince George’s County, Maryland—to establish pretrial drug testing demonstration projects. These projects were designed to replicate the D.C. model, incorporating both preinitial appearance testing and pretrial drug monitoring. Several of the jurisdictions set up their own onsite testing facilities, while the others contracted with outside laboratories. To determine whether drug testing helped predict and reduce pretrial misconduct, each of the testing programs, including the pilot project in D.C., underwent evaluations under the auspices of NIJ. In testing the predictive value of preinitial appearance test result information, researchers sought to determine whether having knowledge of drug test results when making bail decisions improved the ability to predict pretrial misconduct. The results were mixed. For example, when controlling for other factors, testing positive for cocaine was related to higher failure-to-appear rates in some, but not all, jurisdictions. In some jurisdictions, testing positive for opiates was related to a higher likelihood of rearrest. There were inexplicable findings as well, such as the correlation between testing positive for PCP in D.C. and a risk of failure to appear that was lower than the risk for persons testing negative for all drugs. In short, there were no consistent findings showing that drug use predicted pretrial misconduct. An NIJ-sponsored review of the findings speculated that a drug test’s inability to distinguish between heavy and casual users may be the explanation. 8 An experimental design was used to test the effectiveness of pretrial drug monitoring in reducing risks of pretrial misconduct in each of the jurisdictions. This design randomly assigned identified drug users to one of two groups: a control group and an experimental group. Those in the control group did not undergo pretrial drug monitoring as a condition of release; those in the experimental group did. Researchers compared rearrest and failure-to-appear rates for both groups and once again found mixed results. The researchers noted, however, that a number of implementation problems may have contributed to this result. 9 Although many pretrial programs throughout the country have the authority to test defendants who are on supervised release, the use of pretrial drug testing to predict and reduce the risk of pretrial misconduct has not spread to other jurisdictions. Even the demonstration jurisdictions have substantially reduced, or in some cases eliminated, their testing services; the District of Columbia is the only jurisdiction that still conducts preinitial appearance testing. The question then arises: Why do pretrial programs continue to be interested in defendant drug use but not use drug testing as a tool to identify and monitor drug users? Research and the experience of practitioners suggest many reasons: q The expense of testing. q Inconclusive research findings on the value of testing in predicting and reducing risk. q Objections to intruding on a defendant’s privacy during specimen collection. q Objections to imposing sanctions on drug users who continue to test positive. q The belief among some pretrial programs that a testing program, with its requirements for strict chain of custody, is too difficult to implement. To address these concerns, pretrial programs need a fresh opportunity to implement drug testing applications. The President’s directive and the funding being made available by Congress for pretrial drug testing are critical steps toward that goal. Drug Testing Technologies The state of the art of drug testing technology has changed rapidly in the past 25 years. In the early 1970s, testing was conducted exclusively in laboratories with highly skilled technicians using expensive, laborintensive technologies. Typically, the testing technique employed was Thin Layer Chromatography (TLC). With the development of immunoassay methodologies in the late 1970s and early 1980s, new drug testing technologies were introduced that simplified the testing process and made results available much more quickly. Two such technologies, the Syva Company’s Enzyme Multiplied Immunoassay Technique (EMIT) and Abbott Laboratories’ TDX, utilized analyzers (testing machines) that were simple enough to be used outside laboratory settings by laypersons with minimal training. 10 Many criminal justice agencies set up onsite testing facilities using these technologies. In 1991, NIJ published results of a study examining these immunoassay technologies, plus Roche Diagnostics’ Radioimmunoassay (RIA) and TLC. 11 The purpose of the study was to determine how these technologies rated for false positive (labeling a specimen positive when it is in fact negative) and false negative (labeling a positive specimen negative) results. Testing specimens collected from more than 2,500 parolees and arrestees in California for opiates, cocaine, amphetamines, PCP, and marijuana, the study found that EMIT, TDX, and RIA were equally effective in correctly identifying drug use, but the accuracy of TLC was “seriously deficient.” 12 The results of this study gave confidence to criminal justice officials that immunoassay technologies, with their time- and cost-saving qualities, could be relied on for criminal justice decisionmaking. About the time this study was completed, the technology to test urine specimens for drugs advanced with the introduction of disposable hand-held devices that could be carried into the field to conduct drug tests in the presence of the defendant or offender. Results were available within minutes. Early studies of these devices showed that they could be effective in detecting drug use. 13 Newer technologies are using specimens other than urine. One product developed in recent years, a sweat patch, tests perspiration for the presence of drugs in the body. Another technology tests hair. Analyzer-Based Urine Testing Analyzer-based urine testing is conducted either in a commercial laboratory or in an onsite testing facility. Commercial Laboratory Urine Testing. Pretrial programs using a private, local laboratory to conduct testing should contract only with laboratories that have been certified by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) of the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. SAMHSA certification provides a greater degree of assurance that the results will be as accurate as possible. Assuming that care is taken in the selection of a commercial laboratory, contracting with such a facility offers several advantages. Reputable commercial laboratories will likely have a highly trained staff of technicians experienced in testing specimens, including a toxicologist who ensures quality control and is available for expert testimony if the results are challenged in court. Moreover, commercial laboratories have the instrumentation to confirm test results. Laboratories that are certified by SAMHSA and the College of American Pathologists have undergone extensive auditing to ensure that quality testing services are provided. Many jurisdictions use commercial laboratories for a portion of their testing. For example, many conduct initial screening of specimens using either inhouse analyzers or hand-held devices but send all positive specimens to the laboratory for confirmation. Other jurisdictions conduct some testing using hand-held devices (most commonly when visiting a client in the field) but conduct the majority of tests at a laboratory. Onsite Urine Testing. Onsite analyzer-based testing offers two important advantages over testing through a commercial laboratory: Results are available much more quickly, and the chain of custody is simplified. A number of analyzers on the market may be used for onsite testing, each offering a different set of features. Some, for example, are designed for high-volume testing, whereas others feature rapid reporting of results. Some analyzers have the ability to interrupt a batch to test a single specimen immediately. Many can interface with the agency’s information system to provide automated transfer of test results. When space is a problem, desktop models are available. In many jurisdictions, the various criminal justice agencies operating there share an onsite analyzer-based testing facility. The testing may be conducted by the pretrial services agency, but the agency may also test other populations such as probationers, drug court clients, and work-release residents. 14 An advantage of analyzer-based urine testing, whether conducted in a commercial laboratory or onsite at a criminal justice agency, over newer testing technologies is that the results obtained through these analyzers have been accepted in a number of court cases. The newer technologies, although the subject of many clinical studies, have not yet faced the same level of scrutiny from the courts. Hand-Held Urine Testing A variety of disposable, hand-held testing devices are currently available. Most are similar in appearance— about the size and shape of a credit card—and in the procedures required to run a test. A result is obtained by depositing drops of urine into a sample well. The results appear within minutes, usually indicated by a colored line. Several of these devices test for a single drug, whereas others test for multiple drugs simultaneously. Hand-held devices have become very popular with criminal justice agencies due to their portability, ability to rapidly provide results, and ease of operation. Because they require no machinery to maintain and calibrate, they can be used by criminal justice officers with no formal training in drug testing. Also, it is not necessary to refrigerate hand-held devices before use, as is the case with the reagents used in analyzers. Another advantage of hand-held devices is that they simplify chain of custody of a specimen by creating a one-step testing process. At least one vendor has developed a plastic stick that shows results after being dipped into a urine collection cup. Another vendor has created a device that is both collection cup and testing device, with the testing strip embedded into the side of the collection cup. With these devices, the same officer who witnessed the collection of the specimen can also test it, and the test can be conducted in the presence of the person who submitted the specimen. With analyzerbased testing, on the other hand, the specimen is usually collected by one person, taken to the testing facility (which may require transporting it outside the building), and then tested by another individual. Hand-held devices are being used extensively in the federal courts. The Administrative Office of the United States Courts (AOC) recently commissioned a study to determine whether the devices meet the accuracy and reliability requirements of the courts. Preliminary results found that a number of these devices “showed promise.” 15 Testing Perspiration The PharmChek sweat patch is an adhesive patch attached to the skin, usually on the upper arm, of a testing subject. The patch, which can remain on the skin for up to 1 week, is tamper evident, meaning that any effort by the subject to remove it is obvious. As the subject perspires, the sweat is collected by a pad, which is then tested at the vendor’s laboratory using immunoassay technology. The sweat patch has certain advantages over urinalysis. Depending on the drug, urinalysis can detect drug use only within 48 to 72 hours, whereas the patch detects any drug use while it is worn. In addition, testing with the patch does not involve the degree of intrusiveness required to collect a urine specimen, nor does it carry the risks of transmitting disease that accompany the handling of urine specimens. Currently, the sweat patch is being used with urine testing in approximately 40 federal probation agencies. AOC has recommended its trial use as a supervision tool in federal pretrial programs. Hair Analysis Because drugs are absorbed into hair shafts, a history of drug use is produced as each hair strand grows. In 1977, researchers developed the means to detect drug metabolites in hair through RIA. Studies have shown hair analysis to be very effective in detecting drug use within 1 week of ingestion. The only limit on the length of time in which drug use can be detected is the length of the hair—1 inch of hair can track any drug use over a 60-day period. 16 Moreover, as is the case with the sweat patch, hair analysis does not involve the privacy issues and concerns about disease transmission associated with urinalysis. Hair analysis, however, is not widely used in criminal justice settings because it is very expensive and can only be conducted at qualified laboratories. Another obstacle is presented by individuals with very short hair. 17 In addition, several issues regarding the reliability of hair analysis have yet to be resolved. It is not clear whether exposure to smoked drugs by a nonusing testing subject would produce a positive result. It is also not clear whether some types of hair, such as light, dark, or thick hair, retain drugs more than other types of hair do. Furthermore, there are indications that certain hair treatments hide the use of drugs. Estimating Pretrial Drug Testing Costs A frequently asked question about drug testing in criminal justice settings is: How much will it cost to set up and run? The answer is often frustrating: It depends. Although accurate, this response is hardly helpful. This section seeks to provide a more satisfactory answer by providing actual costs for the various approaches to drug testing, as well as other costs associated with each approach. As discussed previously, the options for testing currently include: q Setting up an inhouse analyzer-based testing facility. q Testing inhouse with hand-held devices. q Contracting with a local private laboratory. q Sending specimens to one of the nation’s larger private laboratories. q Testing with the sweat patch. q Some combination of the above. With each option, different cost factors come into play. Programs using inhouse analyzer-based testing find that a urine specimen can be tested for a single drug for an average of . This figure includes only the costs of reagents. It does not include the startup costs associated with an inhouse analyzer-based facility, including the costs of purchasing or leasing equipment 18 or renovating the facility. 19 It also does not include the cost of a maintenance contract for the analyzer(s). Such a contract, which could run into thousands of dollars per year, depending on the number and type of analyzers, ensures that the instruments are serviced and promptly repaired. 20 Moreover, the figure does not include staff costs. In an analyzer-based facility, staff time is needed to calibrate the analyzer, prepare the reagents for testing, perform quality control checks, and conduct daily maintenance procedures. Because these procedures involve multiple steps, staff must be trained thoroughly. For programs that choose the hand-held testing approach, there are a variety of portable devices on the market. The costs of testing with these devices range from .50 to .50 per test. Programs using hand-held devices avoid the major expenses of analyzer-based testing discussed previously: equipment purchase, facility renovation, and staff time to conduct procedures. While prices vary, local, private laboratories charge an average of for each drug for which a test is conducted. Another option is to ship specimens to a larger, nonlocal private laboratory. At PharmChem Laboratories in California, for example, the cost of testing for a high-volume jurisdiction is to per drug tested, or to for a 5-drug screen. The sweat patch is available in packages of 50, at a cost of per patch, for a total of 0 per package. Each patch comes with the supplies to apply, remove, and ship it to the vendor’s laboratory. The laboratory charges to screen for 5 drugs and an additional to confirm positive results by Gas Chromatography/Mass Spectrometry (GC/MS). 21 Confirmation Testing Costs In many cases, particularly those in which drug use is not admitted, specimens that test positive should be tested again to confirm the results. Confirmation testing can take one of two forms: retesting the specimen using the same type of test employed for the initial test or confirming the result through the use of a technology that is analytically different from and more specific than the technology used in the initial test. Although courts have generally approved the admittance of positive drug test results confirmed through simple retesting using the same technology, 22 SAMHSA recognizes followup testing by GC/MS to be the most reliable means of confirmation. 23 Confirmation of positive results through GC/MS can be expensive, with the cost ranging from to per test result. Jurisdictions in which a simple retest is insufficient for court proceedings could avoid incurring these high costs by using GC/MS confirmation tests for only those results that are disputed by defendants and that would lead to a court sanction against the defendant. Specimen Collection Costs When calculating the costs of a drug testing program, it is critical that jurisdictions consider the staff time they will need to collect specimens. If there is a high volume of testing, separate collection staff may be needed. For urinalysis testing, specimen collectors should always wear disposable gloves. Suitable gloves are available from a number of sources and can be purchased in packages of 100 for between and . Specimen containers are available from medical supply companies in packages of 100 for to . Temperature strips, which are attached to a specimen container immediately after a specimen has been collected, measure the specimen’s temperature to verify that it has been freshly voided. The strips are available from medical supply companies in packages of 100 for to . Other Cost Factors There are a number of other factors to be addressed in projecting a jurisdiction’s pretrial drug testing costs, including: q Who will be tested? q How often will they be tested? q For which drugs will they be tested? q What will happen when they test positive or fail to report for testing? The answers to these questions will determine the volume of testing. 24 The volume of testing, in turn, will determine the most cost-effective approach to employ. For example, programs with a high volume of testing (at least several hundred specimens per week) find that setting up an analyzer-based testing facility, even with its startup expenses and additional operating costs, is more cost effective over the long run than is testing with hand-held devices. Current Applications of Pretrial Drug Testing As noted earlier in this bulletin, the District of Columbia Pretrial Services Agency established an inhouse pretrial drug testing program in 1984 with NIJ funding. BJA then funded replication sites in five counties (see page 2 for listing) between 1987 and 1991. At the federal level, the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 mandated the establishment of pilot pretrial drug testing programs in eight federal judicial districts. In response, pilot programs were established in 1989 in the following eight districts: Eastern District of Arkansas, Middle District of Florida, Eastern District of Michigan, District of Minnesota, District of Nevada, Southern District of New York, District of North Dakota, and Western District of Texas. In 1995, President Clinton directed the Department of Justice to develop a plan for implementing pretrial drug testing of arrestees in all federal districts before decisions are made on whether to release them into the community pending trial. In 1997, 24 federal districts began participating in Operation Drug Test, an effort to demonstrate how such universal testing would work in the federal system. These pilot programs identified two purposes for pretrial drug testing: to assist in identifying drug users and to monitor users during pretrial release. Several jurisdictions that participated in these projects provided information for this bulletin on their current drug testing practices. 25 All of the jurisdictions contacted continue to test defendants for drug use during pretrial supervision, but they vary in their use of drug testing as a tool to identify drug users. At the local level, the District of Columbia Pretrial Services Agency is the only pilot program that currently tests arrestees before their initial court appearance. At the federal level, 18 of the 24 federal pretrial drug testing programs participating in Operation Drug Test screen defendants before initial appearance. In these federal sites and in D.C., the preinitial appearance test is voluntary; that is, the defendant has the right to decline to submit a specimen. Defendants who test positive or who have other indicators of drug use are recommended for participation in drug treatment, ongoing drug testing, or both as a condition of release. In six of the federal Operation Drug Test programs, the initial test is conducted immediately after the defendant is released, thus saving the cost of testing persons who are not released. If the test is positive, the defendant’s release order is modified to require participation in ongoing drug testing. With the exception of the District of Columbia Pretrial Services Agency, none of the local demonstration programs currently test defendants for the purpose of identifying drug users. Instead, these programs recommend testing during the pretrial supervision period when there are indicators of drug use, such as the defendant admitting use, a current drug charge, criminal history of drug-related offenses, or information from other sources (for example, a family member or probation officer) that the defendant is a drug user. Testing Approaches Table 2 shows that all but two of the federal pretrial programs use the newer hand-held devices to test defendants for drug use. The local programs continue to use the analyzer-based instruments. In most programs, defendants are tested inhouse by pretrial program staff. However, in the District of Nebraska, only the specimens collected for the preinitial appearance test are tested inhouse. A private agency under contract collects all specimens for supervision testing and sends them to a private laboratory for testing. In Pima County, the specimens are collected by pretrial staff but tested by the county’s probation department, which has its own inhouse analyzer-based testing facility. New Jersey’s federal program uses the sweat patch if a defendant tests negative on the urine tests taken during supervision but is still suspected of drug use. In several programs, all specimens that test positive are sent out to a private laboratory capable of conducting confirmation testing using GC/MS. Other programs forgo additional testing of specimens that originally test positive if the defendant admits use. In the majority of programs, testing is conducted on a regular schedule. Typically, defendants are required to report once or twice a week on a set day or days. Other programs conduct tests on an unscheduled basis; the defendant will be instructed in the morning to report for a test by the end of the day. In some programs, the frequency of testing for a defendant is determined by a caseworker, who calls the defendant in for tests as deemed necessary. Program Responses to Continued Positives All of the federal pretrial testing programs discussed in this report notify the court after the first and any subsequent positive results during the supervision period. No program recommends a change in release status based on the first positive result. All programs—local and federal—offer the defendant a referral to treatment if the defendant continues to test positive. Several also increase the frequency of testing. In several programs, a caseworker uses discretion to determine when to invoke an administrative sanction such as increased frequency of testing. In several programs, court action ranging from a court reprimand to revocation is requested if the defendant continues to test positive and does not cooperate with treatment. In others, court action is requested regardless of the defendant’s participation in treatment. All programs recommend court action if the defendant continually fails to report for testing appointments. Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Pretrial Drug Testing

Pretrial Drug Testing: An Overview of Issues and Practices In December 1995, President directed Attorney General to develop a...

An Interpretation of Fertility and Population Policy in Kenya

An Interpretation of Fertility and Population Policy in Kenya   Over the past three decades, rapid fertility transitions have been observed in a majority of developing countries. Between the early 1960s (1960-65) and the late 1980s (1985-90), the total fertility rate of the developing world as a whole declined by an estimated 36 percent – from 6.0 to 3.8 births per woman (1995). Declines have been most rapid in Asia and Latin America (-42 and -43 percent respectively), less rapid but still substantial in the Middle East and North Africa (-25 percent). These averages conceal wide variations among countries in the timing of the onset of transitions and their subsequent pace. The causes of fertility control have been subject to some arguments. According to  (1953), as a society develops, economic and social changes such as industrialization, urbanization, and increased education first lead to a decline in mortality, and subsequently also to a decline in fertility. Notestein believed that the rising cost and declining economic value of children are the driving forces of fertility decline. The weakened motivation for having children, together with increased child survival, leads to the adoption of fertility control. In the attempt of the theory of  (1986), they have found two key conclusions. First, socioeconomic conditions were only weakly predictive of fertility declines, and transitions started at widely varying levels of development; and once a region in a country had begun a decline, neighboring regions with the same language or culture followed after short delays, even when they were less developed. The findings were unexpected and did not fit existing thinking about the demographic transition. Another body of empirical work was stimulated by the microeconomic theories of (1981), but evaluations of these theories with data from surveys of individuals in 42 developing countries did not find the expected dominant influence of socioeconomic characteristics on fertility (1987). Most contemporary analysts accept development as one of the driving forces of fertility transition, but they vigorously debate the precise variables and processes involved ( 1978 ;1982). A recent review of the literature by (1994) concludes, “The dilemma is that there is no consensus on an alternative theory to replace demographic transition theory.”   Population Policy in Kenya             A private family planning policy in Kenya began in the 1950s at the initiative of a British official, a few Indian elites and indigenous locals such as . with the highest rank in Kenyan medical official, had gone to England to study tuberculosis, took a two week training in family planning offered by the International Family Planning Federation. , who become the Permanent Secretary of the Labor and Social Services had studied at Oxford, where his economics courses presented the consequences of rapid population growth. Mwathi and Ndisi and others joined and formed a private association to promote population control and family planning.             The first neo-Malthusian to influence the Kenyan government started in April 1965, when parliament adopted African Socialism (an important Sessional Paper that contains the memo’s neo-Malthusian analysis). The neo-Malthusian international population movement was an alliance of population controllers alarmed about the expected consequences of “third world” population growth and family planning advocates who wanted women to be able to control their fertility using clinic-based methods of contraception ( 1997). However, Kenya still acknowledges solidarity of rejecting Western economic imperialism while taking a socialist route. The government of Kenya’s economic liberalism has been attributed to the desire of the country for foreign capital (1992, 1981). The officials are expressed an interest of learning more about population control and in assistance however they are not interested in implementing the program. The problem of the program in that time was that the people in Kenya believes that black people were gradually eliminated on an already sparsely populated continent and the Western races were expanding their wealth and population of Africa’s expense. According to (1994), “Throughout much of black Africa, it is fair to say, family planning at that time was seen as a ‘white imperialist plot’, a form of neocolonialism designed to ensure the continued subjugation of the black race to Western interests long after the last echoes of Uhuru have died away.” Not only did fertility not fall in Kenya following the adoption of a population policy, it rose (1993).   Population and development  (1798) well known forecast that exponential growth in population would outrun linear growth in food supply, was negated by the nineteenth century expansion in cultivated land. From the 1960s onward a neo-Malthusian view arose, the leading advocates being   (1968) and  (1990), the ‘Club of Rome’ (1972), and more recently the  ( 1994). These authors take the view that the world is already too highly populated to sustain its limited resources, leading to food shortages, pollution, deforestation and over-exploitation of non-renewable natural resources. Economists have traditionally rejected the view that population increase adversely affects development, but there are signs of a shift in this attitude. In a symposium, Population matters (2001), nineteen academics, mainly economists, put forward a view which they entitled ‘revisionism’, arguing that rapid population growth in developing countries has an important negative impact on economic growth, poverty, inequality, and sustainable use of natural resources; conversely, decline in human fertility makes a quantitatively relevant contribution to reducing poverty. Most discussions on the effects of population increase on development have come from economists and demographers. The arguments set out in the present paper originate from a very different standpoint that of a natural resource scientist, originally a soil surveyor and later working in land evaluation, land use planning, and land resource management and policy. The conclusions reached represent the outcome of more than 40 years’ research in developing countries. Given the considerable unreliability of international statistics sources on land ( 1998), much use will be made of the traditional geographical method of field observation. This leads to the conclusion that efforts to reduce poverty and hunger, and the suffering which these cause, will fail unless international institutions recognize that population is not an independent, or ‘given’, variable, but is an integral part of development. In Kenya, the essence of fertility transition is a movement from uncontrolled natural fertility regime to a planned childbearing and attempt to reach some target family size using whatever means are at their disposal. The relatively constant total fertility rates of more than 8.0 during the 1960s and 1970s almost certainly indicate that natural fertility prevailed in Kenya at that time. It is noticeable that the situation of Kenya has changed dramatically in the decade. Moreover, there are now quite striking variations in fertility and also in the proximate determinants at the province and district level. Thus, it seems that natural fertility is giving way to planned fertility. In  (1985) most widely known theoretical framework suggests that couples do attempt to maximize over time the wellbeing of their immediate household/family group and that fertility plans are made in this context. That is, the expected benefits to the household or gains from children are balanced against perceived costs and disadvantages, and a target outcome results. Thus, socioeconomic factors affect fertility plans by affecting the perceptions of the benefits and costs of various family sizes. Government policies and programs also will have an effect on fertility through these channels. Fertility intentions become real fertility outcomes through the use of some technology to control fertility. The availability of modern contraceptives can also affect fertility outcomes by making couples more effective planners. According to  (1977), policy and program have effects, in this fashion, by introducing the means of contraception, or making them cheaper.                                 Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

An Interpretation of Fertility and Population Policy in Kenya

An Interpretation of Fertility and Population Policy in Kenya Over the past three decades, rapid fertility transitions have been obse...

Extension of the Retirement Age in Hong Kong

REPORT OUTLINE   Date:                                                              26 March 2008   Title:                                                               Extension of the Retirement Age in Hong Kong   Type of Report:                                          Protocol Proposal   Objective:                                                     Rapidly aging populace is one of the major challenges to Hong Kong government as it has staggering effects on the economy. This paper aim to propose different protocols or procedures that the government could undertook in the form of Retirement Age extension Policy.   Existing Governmental Authorities:      Hong Kong Retirement Scheme Association, Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority and Task Force on Population Policy   Existing Governmental Programs:        Comprehensive Social Security Assistance, Supplementary Labor Scheme and Quality Migrant Scheme   Abstract:                                                       Hong Kong’s population is rapidly aging. Without necessary changes in policy, the consequences will directly impact the economic performance. This document proposes the protocol/procedure from formulating to implementing the Retirement Age Extension Policy; the phrase the paper will going to use from this point onwards.                                                                         Governing Units:                                        Central Policy Unit and Commission on Strategic Development   Key Words:                                                  Retirement age, policy, Hong Kong, commission, retirement age extension, population     Extension of the Retirement Age in Hong Kong   1. The Scenario Hong Kong is facing a dilemma – its population is aging. The aging population is expected to have a negative impact on Hong Kong’s economy, community and labor force. If the labor force will continue to decrease relative to overall population, there will be a slowdown in Hong Kong’s economic development and government revenue will be reduced. The government will also be forced to allot more expenditure on security assistance, welfare and health care services. The trend was observed since 1991 when Hong Kong population ranked 38th of the countries with oldest populations in the world with 8.8% of the total population is over 65. As Lee Ngok and Agnes Lam (1994) put it, “the age of the economically-active population has been slowly shifting upwards” whereby the median age was already 34.4 years old during that year, and has been rising slowly since then (refer to Table 1 in Appendices section). One of the adverse impacts of the aging population is the increase in social security payments. As the population ages, the society will need to allot more resources for the caring of its elderly. As a result, fewer resources can be devoted to productive investment or to the younger generations. This can lead to long-term economic stagnation and decreased competitiveness against other economies with younger populations.   According to Doug Crets (2006), “Hong Kong’s low mandatory retirement age was even exacerbated by the rapidly aging population and being one of the world’s lowest birth rates”. Unless the government and individuals plan for the future, within the Hong Kong workforce and hence economy, there would be the existence of ‘brain drain’.   There are no existing mandates regarding the retirement age in Hong Kong at present. Individual employers or companies can set the appropriate retirement age for their employees which may form part of the employment terms agreed between the two parties. Most Hong Kong people strongly believed that the government should enforce mandatory increase in retirement age as well as “additional private savings” (Crets, 2006).             Because of the increasing concerns about the economic and labor force impact of the aging population, the Hong Kong government has taken steps towards the creation of suitable regulations and programs especially in the area of retirement arrangement. The Central Policy Unit was appointed to conduct a study of different retirement policies in selected countries and assess their applicability to Hong Kong.   2. The Retirement Age Extension Policy   The retirement system of Hong Kong, like any other system, experiences challenges including: a) dependable income during retirement, b) adequate retirement income, c) sensible investment options and d) defined contribution benefits that deliver even when employees do not make good choices.     Currently, the retirement age for Hong Kong employees overall is 65 but since there are no governmental regulations that will govern the workforce, as already mentioned, employers and/or companies are free to decide on the retirement age of their employees. Alternatively, Hong Kong is one of the nations with the world’s longest average life expectancy of 81.6 years overall (Asia Sentinel, 2007).   Such situation has profound impact on the economic performance of Hong Kong in general. People aged 65 and above presently account for 12.3 percent of the total population. Such proportion is estimated to increase by 14.6% and 25.6% by 2015 and 2033, respectively.   Since retirement planning is not enough, mandatory policy must be in existence to compensate life expectancy over retirement age. To wit, between the ages of 60 and 65 and beyond such, Hong Kong population could still be active economically. Apart from overcoming the retirement dilemmas mentioned above, the government could devote its finances and welfare provision for on health and care for the handicapped and for children (Asia Sentinel, 2007).              3. Impact on Management Environment in Hong Kong   Such policy will surely affect the sustainability, equity and growth of the region especially on two subjects namely structure and substance. For employers, most especially, whether public or private, the implications will be on choosing between pay-as-you-go or funded and defined benefit or defined contribution. Substance will deal much on target placement rate, normal retirement age, how much and what kind of redistribution and how much coverage.   Nevertheless, the Hong Kong aging population must be seen as an opportunity rather than a threat according to HSBC Global Forum on Ageing and Retirement because of the fact that ‘age-diverse workforces are good for businesses’.  Based on a survey conducted, working practices could not change quickly enough and that governments must do more in order to remove barriers to the continued employment of older people particularly on exclusionary employment policies.   Perhaps the questions would be: How the Retirement Age Extension Policy could benefit the management? The logic is simply. The results of the findings found out that a store staffed with older people achieved an 18% increase in profit, 39% reduction in absenteeism and 59% less product loss. To wit, as the consuming population age, people and the business make sense of retail and business providers follow such a pattern – experience and wisdom.   Further, the initiative impacts much of the human resources functions of ensuring an effective and strategic workforce diversification with respect to age. Unfortunately, what are much needed to be combated upon are not pension schemes or government financial distribution but the prejudice of the society and the inclination to recruit based on outdated stereotypes.   Employment prejudice too may be placed on the equal opportunity in employment and flexible work arrangement as well as health benefits that would probably be provided by the employers and companies. Instead of becoming overly-dependent to social security assistance, it was found out that Hong Kong generally prefer to work for longer time in order to save more. Such effort purports the capability to finance old-age expenses.   For Hong Kong’s economic growth, the implications would be the challenges to transform perceptions on aging to constructive ones including areas of reduced labour force and hence sustained labour productivity gain. Public finances as a major concern was even exacerbated by already complex tax base problem. Social welfares and health as well as old-age related public expenditures and other spending items such as retraining and continuing professional education are other concerns.   4. Theoretical Model   In this paper, the researcher will adapt the research process “onion” only it will modify terms. That is to come to the core of the implications of extending the retirement age in management; this policy paper will follow the essence of using such model.   Towards addressing the main objective of the paper which is the Retirement Age Extension Policy, the protocol will be in four phases. The first phase will be agenda setting and consensus-building, policy formulation as the second phase, closely followed by policy implementation at the third and policy evaluation at the last phase. The center of this model is focus on the impact of the policy in various management practices in different industries and sectors in Hong Kong business.   5. Building and Implementing Retirement Age Extension Policy   Prior to the implementation of the Retirement Age Extension Policy, there are several procedures and activities that must be undertaken. First, there must be a clear agenda. A clear agenda will govern the entire process of creating, establishing, implementing, monitoring and reporting of the Retirement Age Extension Policy while also involving all interested parties such as the Hong Kong Retirement Scheme Association, the Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority as well as employers and sector representatives for example. It is important to note that council members have no power acting alone and so the issue of extending the retirement age must be put in public agenda.     Shared perception is the secret of effectively responding to problems that must be solved, issues that must be resolved and also realizing opportunities. Existing conditions provide a reference point as compared to necessary actions. Hence, the task of documenting of existing conditions within the policy-making process is but vital. Further, documents will be as the basis for budgeting.      For starters, different means will be used. These are: legal in the form of Hong Kong government and Courts; administrative that will issue regulatory orders; legislative that will propose a change in the law; negotiation or bringing all the parties together; political which will create an alliance with the Chief Executive; press which will feed the media and the general public with adequate information on the progress and inertia that will drive its own momentum (Diagram 1).     Secondly, there were no policies to succeed if there is no support from the top. Hong Kong government structure is made up of executive, administrative and legislative councils along with district councils and judiciary. Achieved through consensus, their participation are critical for providing inputs and some sort of approval regarding the Retirement Age Extension Policy.   Under this procedure, there would be the possibility of creating a committee that will serve to be the overseers of the whole process and as suggested, it must come from the senior leadership so that s/he will become the documenting and reporting force before the Chief Executive accompanied by subject matter experts, potential users of the policy and representatives from groups which will be affected by the said policy. This committee can make recommendations depending on the impact of the policy and also ensure its viability and legitimacy.   This policy-making body will be guided by the core principles (Mitchell) that follow:   1) Politicians and public servants are accountable to the public.   2) In politics and the private sector, elites hold no right to pursue their without constraints.   3) Apart from being responsive to public concerns, government bureaucratic and decision-processes must be open, accessible and transparent.   4) Individuals and communities that are affected by the policy have the right to information regarding proposed developments, the right to challenge the need for and the design of policies and the right to be involved in planning and decision-making processes.     Thirdly, the committee shall formulate the contents of the Retirement Age Extension Policy. The policy should include a clear statement of purpose that is well-understood by everybody, description of the communities affected, history of revisions (if necessary), definitions of special terms and specific policy instructions designed by the committee and approved by the Chief Executive. Moreover, the language of the policy must be always in layman and hence necessary to incorporate catch-all clauses.   Fourthly, it is the committee’s task to prepare the budget for implementing the Retirement Age Extension Policy. As such, the implementation must follow the protocols of setting-up fiscal targets and the levels of expenditure; formulating expenditure policies; allocating resources; and addressing operational efficiency and performance issues.   After setting up all the processes of making the Retirement Age Extension Policy as well as the budgeting, and including decision-making from the Chief Executive’s office, comes the implementation phase. The implementation of public policies is the most visible and obvious part of the policy-making process and thus comes the responsibility to continually make the people aware through monitoring and eventually reporting.   Finally, the committee shall effectively communicate not just with the concerned people but also on the general public. However, this may not be easy since there are communication barriers. At the very least, there would be the need to make sure that the different methodologies, procedures, data analysis and projections used by the committee are compatible and harmonized and that different employers and companies or firms are committed to deliver initiatives for the committee to report and be communicated for the Hong Kong populace.     The most plausible solution would be the development of indicators. The committee must generate criteria for the selection of indicators. For the Retirement Age Extension policy for example, this would be the clear definition and common understanding, are policy relevant, soundly founded, well-documented, of known quality, transparent, comparable and easily available.   The governing and likewise implementing entities of the Retirement Age Extension Policy are:   A) Task Force on Population Policy   Inaugurated on July 1, 2002, the Task Force is responsible for ensuring the development of comprehensive population policies. It was set-up by the Chief Secretary for Administration which he chaired along with the members from various bureaux and departments.     2) Hong Kong Retirement Scheme Association (HKSRA)   Formed in 1996, HKSRA acts as an authoritative body within the retirement protection industry. Their responsibility includes promotion of the best practices for different stakeholders involved with retirement schemes, increase awareness regarding retirement protection issues, promote professional education and training in retirement protection, assist in building and promoting the region as the center for excellence when it comes to retirement protection and maintain contact6 in China and Macau and promote awareness in financial protection.   3) Mandatory Provident Fund Schemes Authority (MPFA)   MPFA has an important role on the financial security of the retiring population through ensuring that provision of retirement protection by means of effective and efficient system of prudential regulation and supervision of privately-managed provident fund schemes.   4) Commission on Strategic Development   The Commission is under the maintenance and supervision of the Central Policy Unit. Established two years ago by the Chief Executive, the Commission on Strategic Development aimed at developing various recommendation for national population policy.   4. Appendices   Table 1 Median Age of Economically-Active Population in Hong Kong (Source: Census and Statistics Department, 1991, p. 51)     Diagram 1 Different Means Toward the Implementation of Retirement Age Extension Policy                                                                           Diagram 2 Policymaking Process for Retirement Age Extension Policy     5. Bibliography               An overview of Key Population Policy (Part II): Major Issues on Ageing and Eligibility and Portability of Public Benefits. (2006). Commission on Strategic Development and Committee on Social Development and Quality of Life.   Census and Statistics Department. (1991). Hong Kong 1991 Population Census: Summary Results. Hong Kong: Census Planning Section, Census and Statistics Department, Hong Kong.   Local Government Policy-Making Process. (1999). Report No. 45 – Municipal Research and Services Center.   Mitchell, B. (n.d.). Policy-Making Process.   Ngok, L. & Lam, A. (1994). Professional and Continuing Education in Hong Kong: Issues and Perspectives. Hong Kong: Hong Kong University Press.     Policy-Making Process, The. (2000). Retrieved on 26 March 2008 from http://web.mit.edu/tpp.11/www/Tobacco_Policy_Analysis_revised.ppt#256,1,The Policy-Making Process.   Singapore, Hong Kong and Inadequate Pension Plans. (2007). Asia Sentinel. Retrieved on 26 March 2008 from http://www.asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=669&Itemid=32.         Credit:ivythesis.typepad.com

Extension of the Retirement Age in Hong Kong

REPORT OUTLINE Date: 26 March 2008 Title: ...