Social Work in the Justice System Essay - 2769 Words

Running head: SOCIAL WORK IN THE JUSTICE SYSTEM 1 The Field of Forensic Social Work It’s Function in the Criminal Justice System and the Populations Who Benefit Jennifer A. Dimaira Seton Hall University Abstract This paper explores the many facets social work provides in collaboration with the criminal justice system escaping widespread notice as well as the roles played in the judicial court systems. This paper takes a look at the point and the many purposes of forensic social work. Covering their role in multidisciplinary mitigation teams and collaboration between social workers and lawyers in criminal defense also the type service social work practitioners provide to inmate populations; the active†¦show more content†¦It’s an issue I see as becoming a problem in the near future because of the field’s functions. The educational opportunity presented in teaching forensic social work is valuable. The functions alone include policy and program development. Mediation, advocacy and arbitration, teaching, training and supervision as well as behavioral science research and analysis just to name a few. We the students are at a loss by a lack of acknowledgement of Forensic S ocial work and it not being an offered course in our curriculum. Brownell and Roberts (2002) operationally define forensic social work as ‘policies, practices and social work roles with juvenile and adult offenders and victims of crimes’ (Brownell P Roberts AR 2002, A century of social work in criminal justice and correctional settings, Journal of Offender rehabilitation, 35 (2) 1-17, pg. 3) As times progressed a growing knowledge and understanding of mental illness and psychiatric problems became more of a deciding factor in the task of determining just and effective dispositions. The criminal justice system is not equipped to provide the proper type of facilitation needed to accommodate. Instead judges and lawyers reached out to community mental health agencies but they too were unable to adequately provide resources needed. According to Gary Whitmer (1983) resulting from this dilemma the courts adjudicate with a sense of futility, knowing that it is not theShow MoreRelatedSocial Work and the Criminal Justice System1282 Words   |  5 PagesChp. 13 Social Work and the Criminal Justice System Arrest crimes vary by sex. A little more than one fifth of all crimes are committed by women. Younger women, or juvenile women are twice as likely to be arrested. Men are more likely to commit violent crimes. Men commit murder nearly ten times the amount of women. Women commit more property crimes. Men are abandoning women which is making them commit crimes to raise and care for their family. Younger people are more likely to commit crimes. TheRead MoreSolving The Consensus And Conflict Model942 Words   |  4 Pagestextbook â€Å"Criminal Justice Today† the consensus model is defined as a criminal justice perspective that assumes that the system’s components work together harmoniously to achieve the social product we call justice and the conflict model is defined as a criminal justice perspective that assumes that the system’s components function primarily to serve their own interests. According to this theoretical framework, justice is more a product of conflicts among agencies within the system than it is the resultRead MoreThe Australian Criminal Justice System Is Shaped Largely by Our Society. 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