Thesis (M.A.)--University of Delaware, 2007. / Principal faculty advisor: Ronet Bachman, Dept. of Sociology & Criminal Justice. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Washington State University, May 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 181-197).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--University of Texas at Austin, 2008. / Vita. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.S. in psychology)--Washington State University, August 2010. / Title from PDF title page (viewed on July 30, 2010). "Department of Psychology." Includes bibliographical references (p. 38-42).

This study examines the factors related to completion outcomes of the East Central Judicial District Drug Court (ECJDDC). The ECJDDC has a 71% graduation rate which far exceeds the national average of approximately 40-45%. The dataset included information on 250 participants who entered the drug court from 2003-2011. Factors included in the analysis include those related to living situation, family situation, socioeconomic status, veteran status, current offense, and prior criminal history in addition to sex, race, and age. Logistic regression determined that the strongest predictors of graduation relate to education, income, employment, and living situation. Policy implications, practice, and future research are discussed with respect to the current results.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Washington State University, December 2007. / Includes bibliographical references (p. 206-225).

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Washington State University, 2008. / Includes bibliographical references (leaves 181-197). Also available online.

With the merger of judicial supervision and mandated treatment, drug courts have given rise to therapeutic jurisprudence and attempt to address those issues which have plagued corrections policymakers for several decades. The evaluation literature indicates that drug courts tend to produce lower recidivism rates, increased retention rates and lower costs when compared to traditional programs. However, as drug courts approach their second decade, there is a void in the literature regarding the implementation of drug court programs. This study specifically examined those factors which either facilitate or challenge the implementation of drug court programs. This study examined implementation issues from a bottom-up and top-down perspective. In order to examine these issues, the perceptions of drug court judges and administrators in five states were obtained through the administration of a survey instrument. Examination of the influence of government factors upon the implementation of drug court programs yielded interesting findings. A host of factors appear to influence the implementation of drug court programs, including federal, state and local agencies and actors. Respondents consistently identified state and local actors as being the most supportive and influential of the efforts to create and implement drug courts. Of those, the most common actors were public defenders and the district attorneys. If opposition to drug courts existed, the respondents indicated that local law enforcement or the general public were generally the sources of the opposition. In addition, there is clearly a more positive view of the influence of state and local actors when compared to their federal counterparts. From a policy perspective, the results of this research reveal that innovative programs for criminal offenders can thrive in conservative states. Four states in the sample are southern states with Utah being the only non-southern state, yet one which is typically regarded as conservative in terms of social policy and political values. Despite the conservative character of these states, drug court programs are thriving. Moreover, actors and agencies within these states appear supportive of innovative programming within the criminal justice system which is markedly different from the traditional approaches supported by conservatives.

Drug courts have become an important part of adult and juvenile corrections. Since the establishment of the first adult drug court in 1989, the therapeutic court model has developed, and can now be considered a significant component in American criminal justice. The problem is adult drug courts have faced considerable disapproval in the area of evaluation and documentation. Through the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), the federal government allots millions of dollars to support drug court programs; there have been attempts to count and record the activities of these programs with little success, there is little uniform data on actual drug court success nationwide. The intent of this dissertation was to systematically and critically analyze drug court evaluations. My major goal was to demonstrate the need for uniformity in regards to assessing the impacts on outcomes. I analyzed drug court evaluations and their attempt to identify factors that contribute to graduation, in-program recidivism/ retention rates, drug treatment relapse and postprogram recidivism rates. Forty drug court evaluations were used in this examination. Further, I introduced a model that will aid in examining the impacts on outcome. My studies' unit of analysis is the evaluation report. I attempted to explain specific issues, such as how well drug courts work for different types of offenders. I was also able to generate a well founded policy recommendation for the evaluation of drug courts based on empirical data and literature. Conclusions show that Drug Courts do reduce post-program recidivism however there were certain impacts on graduation and termination rates. I also demonstrated the need for more methodologically sound and uniform evaluations in order to determine effectiveness. / Ph. D.

Thesis (Ph. D.)--Mississippi State University. Department of Political Science and Public Administration. / Title from title screen. Includes bibliographical references.