NCJ Number
141528
Journal
Journal of Offender Rehabilitation Volume: 19 Issue: 1/2 Dated: (1993) Pages: 175-186
Date Published
1993
Length
12 pages
Annotation
The manner in which an ungovernable child case (Child in Need of Supervision-CINS) came to be added to the formal legislative agenda in Maryland is examined in terms of the issue creation and agenda building model proposed by Cobb and Elder.
Abstract
A bill introduced during the 1990 legislative session was intended to allow a child deemed as ungovernable to be treated the same as a child judged to be delinquent, in certain circumstances. The goal was to keep CINS cases out of court and out of placement. Cobb and Elder had identified three prerequisites for an issue to obtain access to the systemic agenda: widespread attention on the issue or at least awareness, public concern that some type of action is required, and whether the issue is an appropriate concern of government. Cobb and Elder emphasized that policymakers will often participate in building both systemic and formal agendas. Their model appears to be suitable for examining how and why certain social issues rise to formal agendas, despite previous efforts to handle the issue in the systemic domain. 8 references and 2 notes