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Stress can be costly not only to individuals but also to organizations. Participatory management has been recommended as a means for reducing probation officer stress. This article via self-report surveys of probation personnel in a southern state considers the relationship of a number of demographic variables with employee perceptions of participation in workplace decision making, job satisfaction, and organizational and physical stress levels. Construction of a structural model revealed that employee perceptions of participation in workplace decision making was an important variable in relation to job satisfaction and its influence on both reported organizational and physical symptoms of stress. The results lend further credence to the use and development of participatory management schemas within probation organizations.

A number of existing studies have identified various factors that contribute to stress among police officers. This analysis is unique among these insofar as it employs structural equation modeling to specify, in path model format, the influence of participation in workplace decision-making and other variables on employee stress levels. The findings of this analysis provide new as well as confirmatory statistical evidence regarding the mitigating and direct effects of certain variables on physical stress. This study poses important implications by lending itself to meaningful future comparative research across occupations such as corrections and probation / parole.

This article examines congressional testimony preceding the passage of legislation authorizing federal funds for mental health courts and makes the case for the importance of anecdotal evidence in the process. The magnitude of persons with mental illness in the criminal justice system is considered, as well as factors that have led to the criminalization of this population. The concept of therapeutic jurisprudence is discussed, and commonalities in the emergence of mental health courts and methods of supervision are examined. Areas of concern are addressed, and mental health courts are advocated as a commonsense approach to diverting persons with mental illness from the criminal justice system and ensuring linkages to treatment.

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