COURT POPULATIONS IN NEED OF SERVICES - DEFINING THE COURTS ROLE

Court populations frequently include individuals in need of educationa l, employment, health, housing, mental health, social, and other types of services that are not commonly provided by the judicial system. Co urts vary in the ways they address the service needs of these individu als based on a variety of factors specific to their respective jurisdi ction. Following a discussion of some of these approaches, the article offers a framework, based on Bronfenbrenner's human development parad igm and its focus on environmental contexts, to help courts more syste matically and comprehensively define their role in service issues with in the legal and service parameters of their own jurisdiction. (C) 199 8 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.