Poster #48 - Criminal Justice Unfunded Mandates and their Effect on Workers and Budgets

• In Event: ASC Poster Session I

Abstract

Unfunded mandates are statutes or regulations that require the stipulated entity to perform certain actions with no allocated funds to fulfill the requirements. Primarily, this effects state or local governments as well as private individuals and organizations. Unfunded mandates are particularly insidious because they often increase the workloads of state and local employees who may already be overworked and underpaid. They can also divert employees from their normal duties to concentrate on the mandate. The current study focuses on the states’ criminal justice systems and how they are negatively affected by this practice that most often derives from unfunded mandates from the federal government.

Author

• Jim Edward Guffey, National University San Diego