Social Work

Historical Analysis

I. Introduction

In the large bureaucratic organization of the Ninth Judicial court system of South Carolina, sits a very small collective organization known as the Pre-trial Intervention Program. This program is a public non-profit, self-supporting entity that receives no funding from federal, state or local government. The organization is created to help those in society that have come into contact with the law for non-violent offenses and is entirely voluntary. This program can only be completed one time, whether or not the client is successful. The programs unofficial moto was stated in an interview with Director Kat Connerty, MA, LPC, (February 4, 2016) that “everyone deserves a second chance”. The official mission statement was developed primarily for staff to have in their policy and procedure handbooks. The PTI office has to abide by the mission statement of the solicitors office in which they fall under, however, they did develop one for their employees. The mission statement and basic goal-directed function states:

“The diversion program will utilize existing community resources to provide counseling and experiential services to promote positive client change thereby reducing the risk of future legal involvement” (PTI Policy and Procedure Manual, February 20, 2016).

The website associated with Charleston PTI can be found at http://www.scsolicitor9.org/pti.htm. When you have successfully completed the program requirements you have an opportunity to have your charges expunged. If you do not complete the program requirements successfully the charges are sent to court to be re-evaluated by the judge. Participants that are associated with the program come from all different classes, locations, ages and races, this means that the public are the sole source of funding for the program. Charleston PTI also works alongside other programs within the state to transfer cases to better suit an individual’s location. It is also possible to be...