By GAD J. BENSINGER and EDWIN T. CREGO, JR.
Director of the Cook County Criminal Justice Training and Leadership Development Program since its inception, Dr. Bensinger was formerly associate director of the Cook County Sheriffs Youth Services Department. He earned his graduate degrees at Loyola University in Chicago.
Formerly deputy director of Cook County Criminal Justice Training and Leadership Development Program, he is a partner and senior associate in CONSULT, Ltd., an Illinois-based public sector consulting firm.
How Cook County got a comprehensive criminal justice training program or, the art of muddling through
An alliance of county
officials, practitioners and
academics succeeded in
creating, and gaining
approval for, a new training
program for criminal justice
personnel in Cook County.
The fact that the program
was a good one, the authors
say, was not enough.
Persistence was the key to
success
HERE IN ILLINOIS everyone from
professor to politician to professional
pundit has proposed reforms and
solutions to criminal justice problems.
However, as Gov. Dan Walker noted,
". . . reforms that look good on paper
don't always work out." Put bluntly, in
criminal justice, paper reforms are to
reforms as paper tigers are to tigers. A
great deal of time could be spent arguing over what constitutes a reform.
Rather than do this, we will define
"reform" (according to Webster's) as a
verb meaning "to put or change into an
improved form or condition." What follows is a case study of how
one small reform in the Illinois criminal
justice system was effected. That
reform consisted of two steps: (1) the establishment of a comprehensive
criminal justice training program in
Cook County; and (2) the incorporation
of that program as a permanent part of
Cook County government. It took nearly four years to achieve these two steps.
The process of completion was
amazingly complex. In 1971 the federal Law Enforcement
Assistance Administration (LEAA) was
making special grants available to large
urban counties with populations of over
350,000. Cook County qualified for
funding in this discretionary category.
It was one thing to meet the requirements for grant application; it was
quite another thing to develop an acceptable proposal and obtain a grant
award. After months of discussing semi-formulated unacceptable alternatives,
the county, in conjunction with the
Public Service Institute of the City
Colleges of Chicago, developed a
proposal to upgrade the personnel in the
county criminal justice system. This
proposal featured college credit for
courses, an educational focus, and a law
enforcement emphasis. LEAA reacted
favorably to the concept. Final approval, however, required the
Illinois Law Enforcement Commission
(ILEC), which is the state criminal
justice planning agency, to agree to the
proposal. Specifically, the commission's now defunct Standing Committee on Education and Training had
to certify the proposal. This necessary
certification was repeatedly delayed and
only hesitatingly granted in the late
spring of 1972. The certification was not without
conditions. The state commission insisted on the following restrictions: (1) college credit could not be given; (2) law enforcement personnel could not participate; and (3) only training, and not
education, could be accomplished with
grant funds. The reasons for the imposition of
these restrictions are open to various interpretations. The net result was indisputable. The proposal as certified by
the state commission bore slight
resemblance to the original application,
Nevertheless, LEAA funded the
Criminal Justice Training and
Leadership Development Program for
one year with no provision for continued financial support. Still in the ball game The question was whether to proceed.
The compelling argument for proceeding was that at the time of funding nearly 28,000 people were employed in
Cook County's criminal justice system.
Eighty-one cents of every criminal
justice dollar expended by local
governments in Illinois was being spent 272 / Illinois Issues / September 1975
Obviously, the program had two
strikes: It had little substance left; it had
no provisions for continuity. The apparent third strike was that, under the
original design, the program was to be
implemented for the county by the City
Colleges of Chicago. Given ILEC's
conditions, the logic for that arrangement no longer applied.
in Cook County. Despite this heavy investment, only the Chicago police had the benefits of extended training. Nearly one-half the criminal justice personnel in Cook County were excluded from or had limited access to training and development opportunities.
The problems were three
This analysis focuses on the solution to the third problem of keeping the program alive. However, it is worth noting the primary factors which helped overcome the first two problems. First, the static, instructor-defined "education model" was rejected. Substituted in its place was a dynamic plan emphasizing personalized assessment and based directly on agency and learner need. Second, in conjunction with this, the early delivery of relevant, quality training services was deemed essential for both immediate success and long-term viability.
The program which evolved from this process included the following components:
The majority of the training which was developed centered on the application of the latest behavioral techniques and management methods. Improved service and increased sensitivity to the public was a touchstone of all training. By the end of the first grant, more than 35,000 man-hours of training was provided to over 2,000 trainees.
The question was survival
It had been hoped, at the outset, that an additional year's funding would come from LEAA. Within six months of the initiation of the prgram a new grant application was developed and submitted to LEAA. This 300-page application was totally different in thrust, dimension, and orientation than its predecesser. It was intended as a planning model and a program management device. The application called for the eventual incorporation of the Criminal Justice Training and Leadership Development Program as a function of county government. At virtually the same time that the local planning review region, the Chicago-Cook County Criminal Justice Commission, was approving this document, LEAA announced changes in its funding priorities which closed the door on another year of funding.
The only way remaining to obtain funding for a second year's operation was to apply to the Illinois Law Enforcement Commission. On its face, this prospect did not look too promising. ILEC's initial reluctance in certifying the program for the federal law enforcement agency's discretionary funds was one factor in the negative outlook. More importantly, ILEC had a standing rule that only programs identified in its yearly criminal justice plan could be considered for funding. Since the Cook County Training Program had originated with the federal LEAA, it was not even mentioned in the state plan.
The quality of the program spoke for itself. The task was to make it speak to the right people in a convincing enough fashion to override both personal predispositions and organizational obstacles. It was decided that the program, which had been kept in low profile, ought to be made more visible. A publicity campaign was launched. Local newspapers, radio and TV outlets and other media channels were contacted. Democratic and Republican public officials were given pertinent material and their written support was solicited. An advisory board constituted of local criminal justice officials was kept informed of all developments.
The moment of decision
The moment of decision came in June 1973 exactly one year after the initiation of the prgram. The grant application
September 1975 / Illinois Issues / 273
The preparation of criminal justice employees in Cook
County has been 'put into an improved form.' The
county now has within its Department of Personnel a
distinct section devoted to criminal justice personnel
for a second year's funding came
before the Illinois Law Enforcement
Planning and Budget Committee. The
committee rejected the application outright on the basis that it was not included in the state's planning document. This rejection was strictly
procedural. No consideration was given
to substance or to program achievement. The big push These communications cleared up a
number of misunderstandings, misconceptions, and misinterpretations. They
also helped to dispel any latent
hostilities that might have been harbored. Both sides gained a better understanding of the other's expectations,
and an appreciation of the other's
problems. Within a relatively short time, it was
agreed that although the program could
not be inserted in the 1973 Illinois Law
Enforcement Plan, it would be included
in the 1974 plan. To bridge the time
span between the official termination
date of the federal grant and the starting date of the 1974 state funding, the
program was permitted to continue on
leftover LEAA funds and was promised a small additional supplemental
grant to guarantee a smooth transition.
In return, the program was to effect
transference of the program to the
county government as soon as possible. This compromise was adhered to by
both parties. ILEC provided funds for
an additional year. The program administrators set long-term goals and designed an action plan to meet these
goals. The training and development
program for 1974 emphasized the
following: Training of in-house, agency
trainers; development of supervisors as
trainers; increased and improved relations with a number of agencies; initiation of additional training modules; and
refinement and expansion of ongoing
training. These steps furnished the
necessary organization for the transition to Cook County. The next step was to ensure the county's assumption of the program. Every
effort was made through good programming, meeting agency and system
needs, reinforcing interpersonal ties,
and, of course, lobbying with the appropriate county officials. Chances were excellent The preparation of criminal justice
employees in Cook County has been
"put into an improved form." The
county now has within its Department
of Personnel a distinct section devoted
to criminal justice personnel. More than
3,500 employees from every major
criminal justice agency in Cook County
have participated in over 100,000 hours of varied training and development experiences. Nearly every agency has a
training coordinator or coordinators
appointed as a result of and trained
through the program. To the authors' knowledge, the
arrangement in Cook County is unique
in the United States. It is unmatched in
coverage, comprehensiveness, and coordination. Further, the transfer of functions from higher education to county
government, and the establishment of
new locally supported positions is unprecedented in the history of Illinois
and Cook County criminal justice funding. Those little things For those who are students of social
change, there are some strategies for action here. They are: (1) Understand the
territory; know the actors, institutions,
roles, rules, and political realities encumbering the activity which you are
about to undertake. (2) Validate perceptions; examine others' views of you and
your view of others; address the
problem created by errors in institutional or individual foresight. (3) Muddle through. Administration or
policymaking is not always rational, but
there is a science, however, to muddling through. Don't always expect planning to be perfect; anticipate negative
outcomes; be prepared to cope and to
negotiate; be pragmatic; be persistent,
If you believe what you are doing is of
value, don't give up.
There is also a lesson here for those who think that public reforms are
brought about at the stroke of a pen. Don't believe it.ž
274 / Illinois Issues / September 1975
At this critical juncture, the strength
of the program and the political support
it could muster were put to a severe test.
All resources were mobilized. Interested parties, including the advisory
board members, were requested to write
letters of protest to the commission,
pointing to differences in interpretations and viable possible alternatives.
Heads of some of the major criminal
justice agencies in Cook County made
personal contact with top administrators at ILEC. Meetings
between the administrators of the training program, a representative from
Cook County government, and ILEC
staff and administrators were held.
By the end of 1974 the program administrators felt there was an excellent
chance of the county assuming the
program operation, and in early 1975
the Cook County Board of Commissioners voted to allocate county
funds to continue the Criminal Justice
Training and Leadership Development
Program.
This reform is significant. It is one of
those little things that makes a system
work better. It has been achieved
without fanfare. Indeed, it was probably
achieved partially because there was no
fanfare.