Courtroom Actors' Perceptions and Utilization of the Role of Voluntary Community-Based Organizations in Reentry Courts

• In Event: Community-Based Interventions: Justice and Reentry

Abstract

This study aims to reveal the courtroom actors’ understanding of the role of voluntary community-based organizations (CBO) within the space of reentry courts and the reentry process. CARE Court, a United States District Court in the Southern District of Florida, specializes in the reentry process for returning citizens and has a longstanding community partnership with Silent Victims of Crime, a local CBO that works with children of incarcerated parents. This qualitative study involves in-depth interviews with CARE Court actors, including prosecutors, public defenders, supervision, and judges. It contributes to the current literature by analyzing the collaborative nature and shifting roles of problem-solving courts and multi-agency partnerships. Having insight as to how roles shift and are perceived under specialty court models is essential for proper implementation. The study provides policy examples for the future guidance of similar organizations and community partnerships.

Author

• Christina Bellasalma, Florida International University