Semester

Fall

Date of Graduation

2006

Document Type

Thesis

Degree Type

MA

College

Eberly College of Arts and Sciences

Department

Sociology and Anthropology

Committee Chair

Ronald Althouse.

Committee Co-Chair

Corey Colyer

Committee Member

James J. Nolan

Abstract

This is a secondary Analysis of the West Virginia Child Abuse and Neglect Circuit Courtroom system based on the 1995 and 2005 Court Improvement Programs State Evaluations. This article focuses on the West Virginia child abuse and neglect court in relation to Reasonable Efforts Policy. The Evaluations gathered responses from the Judges, Prosecutors and Caseworkers. We reviewed the responses using Jacob and Eisenstein's courtroom workgroup model. Our analysis reveals that policy as an ideal and in practice enacts power over the courtroom workgroups ability to comply with federal standards. These standards and policy requirements create tension and precedence for an uneven power hierarchy in the courtroom workgroup. The Court Improvement Program has not looked at their interview responses from a sociological perspective until this essay.

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