The production of treatment courts : an organizational evaluation of job roles, dynamics, and power

Treatment courts were developed as an alternative to the traditional criminal court model to address the underlying needs of the justice-involved population in hopes of stopping individuals from cycling in and out of the revolving door of the traditional criminal justice system. This alternative model creates many differences in the courtroom, one specific aspect being the courtroom team members and their prescribed roles. There appears to be a misalignment between how courtroom workgroups were designed to operate in the written law and how they operate in practice, specifically regarding the treatment court model’s principle of collaboration. Based on this finding, it becomes clear that treatment courts change the job roles and power dynamics in the courtroom workgroup. Drawing from Lipsky and Goffman, we see the complexities of these working conditions and the experiences of the workgroup. Semi-structured interviews with treatment court workgroup actors helped illuminate perceived job roles and team dynamics among these individuals.

Name thesis:degree_name

M.S. (Master of Science)

Level thesis:degree_level

Masters

Discipline thesis:degree_discipline

Criminal Justice and Criminology (UMKC)

Grantor

University of Missouri--Kansas City

Year dc:date.issued

2025

Author dc:creator

• McQuillen, Erin Elise

Advisor dc:contributor.advisor

• Sexton, Lori

Language dc:language.iso

en_US

Handle dc:identifier.uri

https://hdl.handle.net/10355/110213

OAI identifier oai:identifier

oai:mospace.umsystem.edu:10355/110213