Graduation Semester and Year

2019

Language

English

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Doctor of Philosophy in Public and Urban Administration

Department

Urban and Public Affairs

First Advisor

Rod Hissong

Abstract

Bureaucrats routinely engage in discretionary decision-making that results in the distribution of values for society. Scholars across various domains are challenged with reconciling the ostensibly contradictory values of bureaucratic policy-making and democratic governance. The theory of representative bureaucracy introduces a measure of equity, legitimacy, and responsiveness into these processes. A bureaucracy that is representative of the public it serves across various sociodemographic characteristics is posited to increase equity, legitimacy, and responsiveness in policy processes and outcomes. Although research finds evidence supporting the relationship between bureaucrats and substantive outcomes for those with shared sociodemographic characteristics, the characteristics and settings under study are limited. Veteran treatment courts (VTCs) provide an optimal level of analysis for representative bureaucracy theory. The focus on a veteran identity among treatment team members within VTCs addresses two frequently cited limitations with the theory. A veteran identity increases our understanding of politically relevant social identities and the VTC setting increases knowledge on the determinants of active representation. The research question is concerned with exploring the relationship between a veteran identity among treatment team members and favorable outcomes for veteran entering and proceeding through the treatment program. A quantitative research design is used to test the relationship between a veteran identity and policy outputs and outcomes, measured by entries, sanctions, incentives, and graduations. A cross-sectional design used an original survey instrument to gather data from all treatment team members within VTCs in three contiguous states in the Southern region of the United States. Binomial logistic regression was used to estimate probabilities of the outcomes. This study is an original contribution. Not only are the findings beneficial to the VTC community, but they can also be generalized to the larger problem-solving court community in which VTCs reside.

Keywords

Representative bureaucracy, Veteran treatment courts, Veteran identity

Disciplines

Public Affairs | Public Affairs, Public Policy and Public Administration | Social and Behavioral Sciences

Comments

Degree granted by The University of Texas at Arlington

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