Processes of participant engagement with the Edmonton Drug Treatment Court: A grounded theory

• Author / Creator

  Sachs, Robyn A.

• The Edmonton Drug Treatment and Community Restoration Court (EDTC) diverts substance-addicted offenders from the criminal justice system and provides intensive court supervision, case management, and links to social, employment and education support. This thesis aimed to generate a grounded theory of the process of participant engagement with the EDTC, drawing on staff and participant interviews and observation of EDTC operations.
  Criteria of engagement included meeting expectations, communicating openly and honestly, and forming bonds. Internal engagement was described as feeling hopeful and willing, and perceiving expectations as helpful rather than controlling. Perceptions underlying internal engagement involved motivation and openness to socialization and trust; feeling engaged resulting in the act of confronting issues rather than avoiding them. The process of engagement was a positive cycle, instigated and perpetuated through interaction with expectations and discipline, realizing and experiencing specific reasons to change, forming trust and accessing internal and external resources to address barriers.

• Subjects / Keywords

  • Drug treatment courts
  • Qualitative methods
  • Engagement
  • Substance-dependent offenders

• Graduation date

  Fall 2009

• Type of Item

  Thesis

• Degree

  Master of Science

• DOI

  https://doi.org/10.7939/R3RK9Z

• License

  This thesis is made available by the University of Alberta Libraries with permission of the copyright owner solely for non-commercial purposes. This thesis, or any portion thereof, may not otherwise be copied or reproduced without the written consent of the copyright owner, except to the extent permitted by Canadian copyright law.