Pandemic Procedures: Adapting Problem-Solving Court (PSC) Operations and Treatment Protocols During COVID-19

With an ongoing pandemic claiming hundreds of lives a day, it is unclear how COVID-19 has affected court operations, particularly problem-solving courts (PSCs) which have goals rooted in rehabilitation for participants in their programs. Even with practical recommendations from national organizations directing courts on how to manage COVID-19, whether and how PSCs met the needs of PSC participants during this time is underexplored. This study, drawn from a larger national study using a survey of PSC coordinators, examines the COVID-19 responses of PSCs to remain safely operational for participants. A sub-sample of survey respondents (n = 82 PSC coordinators) detailed how the COVID-19 pandemic led to changes to their court and treatment operations amidst the constraints of the pandemic. The courts' shifts in policy and practice have important impacts for court participants' treatment retention and success in the PSC program, and these shifts need more in-depth research in the future.

Pandemic Procedures: Adapting Problem-Solving Court (PSC) Operations and Treatment Protocols During COVID-19

With an ongoing pandemic claiming hundreds of lives a day, it is unclear how COVID-19 has affected court operations, particularly problem-solving courts (PSCs) which have goals rooted in rehabilitation for participants in their programs. Even with practical recommendations from national organizations directing courts on how to manage COVID-19, whether and how PSCs met the needs of PSC participants during this time is underexplored. This study, drawn from a larger national study using a survey of PSC coordinators, examines the COVID-19 responses of PSCs to remain safely operational for participants. A sub-sample of survey respondents (n = 82 PSC coordinators) detailed how the COVID-19 pandemic led to changes to their court and treatment operations amidst the constraints of the pandemic. The courts’ shifts in policy and practice have important impacts for court participants’ treatment retention and success in the PSC program, and these shifts need more in-depth research in the future.

“Of Course We Need to Help the Undocumented Immigrants!”: Twitter Discourse on the (Un)deservingness of Undocumented Immigrants in the United States during the COVID-19 Pandemic

Undocumented individuals in U.S. society have been barred from access to federal economic relief during the global COVID-19 pandemic. Increased visibility of the vulnerability of undocumented individuals may provide a window of opportunity for inclusive policies. On the contrary, previous research about pro-immigrant sentiment shows that supporters of undocumented migrants advocate for them by using discourse that ultimately reifies their exclusion. The current study uses Twitter data collected from March to July 2020 to examine public discourse on undocumented immigrants during the pandemic. Our research question is: ?How do Twitter users frame deservingness of undocumented immigrants during the COVID-19 pandemic?? We find that: (1) relief for undocumented immigrants continues to be contingent even in times of crisis, (2) economic productivity is a prerequisite of deservingness, and (3) anti-immigrant frames that scapegoat immigrants are flexible to the political and public health conditions of a historical period. Implications for policy are discussed.