Journal of Forensic Social Work

Letter From the Editor: Collaboration and Purpose

2023-09-15T10:18:04-05:00

Letter from the Editor-in-Chief for Volume Seven: Issue Two.

Best Practices in Tele-Forensic Methods of Gathering Data

2023-11-02T08:49:19-05:00

Data collection changed in the wake of COVID-19. This article begins with advantages and disadvantages of remotely gathering data via telehealth. The article then provides a discussion of ethics in the form of best practices, sufficient practices, and insufficient practices. A thorough discussion of the support for gathering data through interviewing parents, interviewing children, testing, and collecting collateral data follows.

Forensic Social Work in the Slovak Republic

2023-11-02T08:49:08-05:00

The paper identifies the basic areas of forensic social work in the Slovak Republic. It defines the theoretical basis of forensic social work, its synonymous alternatives, and it describes actual performance in the social work practice. The aim of the paper is to report on the implemented research using an integrated research strategy in social and legal protection of children and social curatorship in the Slovak Republic. The research has identified this area as one of the most demanding in the Slovak environment through evaluating the social interventions used by forensic social workers in the forensic practice. The qualitative research focused on the identifying of other problem areas that actually happen in practice and on discovering a forensic social worker’s possibilities and needs in Slovak social work. The results of the research indicated highly rated effectiveness of social interventions in the studied area, as well as an in-depth insight into the changes proposed by social workers.

The Sequential Intercept Model and Forensic Assertive Community Treatment (FACT) for People with Serious Mental Illness: Implications for Social Work Practice

2023-11-02T08:48:58-05:00

In the United States, adults with serious mental illness are overrepresented in the criminal justice system. The sequential intercept model is a novel framework that identifies three major stages where interventions for this population can best be utilized: pretrial diversion, post-plea alternative to incarceration (ATI), and community reentry from jail and prison. This paper begins with a review of the literature that supports the application of Forensic Assertive Community Treatment (FACT) across these three stages. This paper will also draw on the influences of therapeutic jurisprudence, which holds that the courts can be used to both advance public safety and enhance access to mental health services for justice involved people with serious mental illness.

The literature has suggested that patients receiving FACT services have been found to have lower rates of psychiatric hospitalization and criminal justice recidivism in comparison to those who received traditional mental health services. This paper will touch on cutting edge practices to reduce psychiatric hospitalization and criminal justice recidivism rates among people with mental illness that are currently in use. In particular, programs involving law enforcement integration such as ACT-PI teams, co-response teams, and crisis intervention training will be explored. This paper will focus on applications and limitations of FACT across the various stages of the sequential intercept model, with a particular focus of using FACT as a way to reduce racial and gender disparities within the criminal justice system among people with serious mental illness. In light of the broad support the literature highlights for FACT when applied earlier within the criminal justice system, social work practice efforts should accordingly focus on expansion of early access to FACT services. In particular, criminal justice policy efforts should be expanded with respect to utilization of these services at the pretrial diversion and ATI stages, where they are historically underutilized.

The Integration of Social Work Values and Principles in Police Work

2023-11-02T08:48:49-05:00

Persisting social inequities and injustices were spotlighted in the United States in 2020 after the murders of Breonna Taylor and George Floyd. A particular focus on the interactions of police officers and non-violent community members rallied a call to reallocate funds to social services better equipped to handle such situations, aptly named #defundthepolice. Many called for the need and placement of social workers in police agencies to curtail the negative interactions witnessed between police officers and communities of color, specifically with Black Americans. Across the nation, social workers are not always employed or readily available in police organizations. Therefore, instilling social work practices in police work can supplement the need for an alternate police response when resources are limited or nonexistent. This article examines the potential integration of social work values and principles as a complement to policing and delineates the identities and challenges of each profession through the lens of social identity theory. Suggestions are made to overcome the challenges by providing insight for future implications. The integration of the values and principles of social workers with the practices of police officers could promote a shift in policing toward restorative justice for community enrichment. These shifts could bring about resolution in the tumultuous relationship between communities of color and police departments across the United States and is worth consideration.

Embedding Social Work into a Police Department in the South

2023-11-02T08:48:39-05:00

In 2020, the Fayetteville Police Department (FPD), located in a small urban community in Arkansas, began efforts to develop alternative responses to crisis-related calls for service. The main motivation for this effort was the influx of calls related to crises involving substance use, mental health, and homelessness both before and during COVID-19, although the George Floyd protests during that summer also played a meaningful role. FPD collaborated with the University of Arkansas School of Social Work (UA) to develop an MSW internship within the department with the intent of ultimately creating a co-response program. It is crucial to determine a baseline of staff attitudes when developing a new program or implementing organizational change to assess any subsequent shifts over time. As such, this paper presents baseline data from a survey assessing attitudes among sworn and civilian staff at FPD toward incorporating a social worker into the department. Data from semi-structured interviews provide a deeper understanding of these attitudes along with insight into lessons learned during the implementation of the internship and the eventual Crisis Intervention Response Team (CIRT). Survey results indicated that overall, FPD staff were supportive but somewhat hesitant about the programmatic change, particularly regarding safety concerns when bringing unarmed civilians into the field. Themes from the interviews showed that although there was certainly doubt among FPD staff initially, the intentionally collaborative efforts made by FPD administrators and UA faculty to support organizational acceptance of the program produced early successes. By highlighting crucial aspects of the implementation process and the lessons learned along the way, the results from this study can guide future replication efforts in similarly situated localities.

Holistic Defense: Attorney Perception and Social Work Integration in the Courtroom

2023-11-02T08:48:27-05:00

The goal of this project is to survey attorney perceptions of social workers. This will lead to suggestions on how social workers can be more effectively integrated into the courtroom and legal system as well as to suggestions for further study. This goal reflects Person-In-Environment theory by highlighting the importance of attorneys needing to understand the contextual variables social workers can explain to the court, thereby explaining what social, political, and economic issues may have caused a client to be involved in crime in the first place. This goal also reflects Holistic Defense Theory by ensuring that clients legal and social needs are met by highlighting the need for both attorneys and social workers as part of the defense team. Lastly, this project may contribute to making justice in the courtroom reachable for traditionally disaffected people who can be made whole again by legal and social intervention.

Paternity and Child Welfare

2023-11-02T08:48:18-05:00

This theoretical and conceptual analysis, rooted and organized by frameworks and empirical literature, aims to explain biases against fathers in the United States’ family court system. Positive paternal involvement has been shown to be correlated with positive child outcomes, placing an emphasis not just on quantity, but quality as well. Despite these findings, fathers are societally expected to be less involved than mothers. Fathers are also in positions to be held financially hostage even when alternatives to pregnancy are legally accessible, suggesting that paternal financial contributions are viable substitutes for paternal involvement. The court of law and the court of public opinion may be in opposition as to where we go from here.