Assessing organizational effectiveness: The impact of drug court processes on offender behavior change

The issue of drugs and crime maintains a high rank among the complexities which confront the American system of criminal justice. The "treatment drug court" represents an innovative response by policymakers to address drug use and its relationship to criminal activity. Treatment drug court is a court-monitored drug treatment program for people arrested for felony use or possession of illegal drugs. Many defendants select the drug court option rather than probation because most drug courts will dismiss the original felony charges upon successful completion of the court's drug treatment program. This dissertation is a focus on the unique "collaborative support" developed and implemented by the officers in the drug court to address the problem of drugs and crime. Using a descriptive case study and an observational design, a cohort of 100 drug court participants were observed during their participation in the intensive drug court treatment program, including appearances before the drug court itself for periodic monitoring by the court. Utilizing a comprehensive data collection scheme, statistical analyses were conducted to identify the features of the drug court program which had the greatest influence on achieving the drug court's goals. Research findings indicate that the court is an effective organization based on the collaborative support implemented on behalf of the offenders in the program. With the combination of progressive sanctions and collaborative support for offenders the court is found to make a pointed effort to address drug use. The court seeks to permanently alter the root of the problem, the need for drugs, rather than passively dealing with symptoms of the problem. While other criminal courts are laden with drug addicted defendants who revolve in and out of the criminal justice system, the drug court engages in a constructive form of problem solving, seeking to resolve, rather than merely process cases.