Pub Date : 2023-03-24DOI: 10.15763/issn.1936-9298.2023.7.1.91-110
Crystal J. Giesbrecht, Katie A. Berens, Matthew Baker, Shanna Williams, Angela D. Evans, Heather L. Price, Kaila C. Bruer
The present study adds to the growing body of knowledge on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic by examining the experiences of Canadian child maltreatment investigators. Three focus groups were conducted with child maltreatment investigators (n = 16) from across Canada to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on child maltreatment investigators and the children and families they work with. Findings from this qualitative study relate to the personal and professional impact of COVID-19 on child maltreatment investigators and the impact of COVID-19 on investigators’ work practices. Subthemes relating to the impact of COVID-19 on child maltreatment investigators include fatigue, stress, and burnout; self-care and isolation; working from home with increasing workloads; child maltreatment investigators as essential workers; and workplace support. Participants’ work practices were impacted by rates of reporting throughout the pandemic, reduced in-person contact with clients, remote services and communication, and COVID-related safety protocols and challenges. Recommendations stemming from these focus groups include the recognition of child maltreatment investigators as essential workers, access to adequate counseling services for child maltreatment investigators, workplace flexibility for child maltreatment investigators, and ensuring that child protection agencies are adequately resourced to maintain manageable workloads.
{"title":"Working with Child Victims During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A Qualitative Study of Child Maltreatment Investigators’ Experiences","authors":"Crystal J. Giesbrecht, Katie A. Berens, Matthew Baker, Shanna Williams, Angela D. Evans, Heather L. Price, Kaila C. Bruer","doi":"10.15763/issn.1936-9298.2023.7.1.91-110","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15763/issn.1936-9298.2023.7.1.91-110","url":null,"abstract":"The present study adds to the growing body of knowledge on the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic by examining the experiences of Canadian child maltreatment investigators. Three focus groups were conducted with child maltreatment investigators (n = 16) from across Canada to investigate the impact of COVID-19 on child maltreatment investigators and the children and families they work with. Findings from this qualitative study relate to the personal and professional impact of COVID-19 on child maltreatment investigators and the impact of COVID-19 on investigators’ work practices. Subthemes relating to the impact of COVID-19 on child maltreatment investigators include fatigue, stress, and burnout; self-care and isolation; working from home with increasing workloads; child maltreatment investigators as essential workers; and workplace support. Participants’ work practices were impacted by rates of reporting throughout the pandemic, reduced in-person contact with clients, remote services and communication, and COVID-related safety protocols and challenges. Recommendations stemming from these focus groups include the recognition of child maltreatment investigators as essential workers, access to adequate counseling services for child maltreatment investigators, workplace flexibility for child maltreatment investigators, and ensuring that child protection agencies are adequately resourced to maintain manageable workloads.","PeriodicalId":89974,"journal":{"name":"Journal of forensic social work","volume":"1 1","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-24","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"41413870","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-03-21DOI: 10.15763/issn.1936-9298.2023.7.1.72-90
Laura N. Honegger, Stacy Dewald
Considering the disproportionate number of people in the criminal justice system with trauma histories, in conjunction with the disproportionate number of people with mental illness who have experienced trauma, examining the trauma histories of mental health court (MHC) participants is essential. However, no studies to date have explicitly examined the trauma histories of this vulnerable population. Therefore, the present study aimed to describe the lifetime prevalence of traumatic events and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnosis among a sample of 163 participants within a Northeastern U.S. MHC. Gender differences were also explored. Overall, about 83% of MHC participants reported any lifetime trauma, with significantly higher rates among female participants (94.2%) as compared to male participants (78.4%). Approximately half of MHC participants reported experiencing childhood maltreatment, with women being significantly more likely to have experienced physical and sexual abuse during childhood than men. Further, women had higher rates of sexual assault and intimate partner violence. The percentage of women diagnosed with PTSD was about twice that of the men. These findings underscore the need for a trauma-informed and gender responsive approach to MHCs. Suggestions for MHCs to consider are offered, including trauma screening tools into MHC assessment procedures, cultivating a more trauma-informed culture by adapting key principles, and incorporating trauma-specific programming and therapies into their offerings.
{"title":"Making a Case for Gender-Responsive, Trauma-Informed Mental Health Courts: An Exploration of Participant Trauma Histories","authors":"Laura N. Honegger, Stacy Dewald","doi":"10.15763/issn.1936-9298.2023.7.1.72-90","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15763/issn.1936-9298.2023.7.1.72-90","url":null,"abstract":"Considering the disproportionate number of people in the criminal justice system with trauma histories, in conjunction with the disproportionate number of people with mental illness who have experienced trauma, examining the trauma histories of mental health court (MHC) participants is essential. However, no studies to date have explicitly examined the trauma histories of this vulnerable population. Therefore, the present study aimed to describe the lifetime prevalence of traumatic events and posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) diagnosis among a sample of 163 participants within a Northeastern U.S. MHC. Gender differences were also explored. Overall, about 83% of MHC participants reported any lifetime trauma, with significantly higher rates among female participants (94.2%) as compared to male participants (78.4%). Approximately half of MHC participants reported experiencing childhood maltreatment, with women being significantly more likely to have experienced physical and sexual abuse during childhood than men. Further, women had higher rates of sexual assault and intimate partner violence. The percentage of women diagnosed with PTSD was about twice that of the men. These findings underscore the need for a trauma-informed and gender responsive approach to MHCs. Suggestions for MHCs to consider are offered, including trauma screening tools into MHC assessment procedures, cultivating a more trauma-informed culture by adapting key principles, and incorporating trauma-specific programming and therapies into their offerings.","PeriodicalId":89974,"journal":{"name":"Journal of forensic social work","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-21","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44280885","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
The high impact, experiential education of service-learning was utilized in a Forensic Social Work class to enhance students’ social work skills. Students and faculty, along with another community partner provided animal-assisted grief support groups to individuals who were incarcerated. Two support groups were provided to individuals who suffered a recent or unresolved loss, one with women and one with men. Social work skills of empathy, professional boundaries, social justice, group facilitation, and applying theory to practice were greatly enhanced through this service-learning, high impact practice. The added value of therapy dogs in enhancing the therapeutic process was also noted.
{"title":"Teaching Forensic Social Work: Innovative Education through Service-Learning","authors":"Yvonne Eaton-Stull, Noelle Potts, Serena Pridgen, Doris Farren","doi":"10.15763/issn.1936-9298.2023.7.1.62-71","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15763/issn.1936-9298.2023.7.1.62-71","url":null,"abstract":"The high impact, experiential education of service-learning was utilized in a Forensic Social Work class to enhance students’ social work skills. Students and faculty, along with another community partner provided animal-assisted grief support groups to individuals who were incarcerated. Two support groups were provided to individuals who suffered a recent or unresolved loss, one with women and one with men. Social work skills of empathy, professional boundaries, social justice, group facilitation, and applying theory to practice were greatly enhanced through this service-learning, high impact practice. The added value of therapy dogs in enhancing the therapeutic process was also noted.","PeriodicalId":89974,"journal":{"name":"Journal of forensic social work","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-03-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44248468","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-02-17DOI: 10.15763/issn.1936-9298.2023.7.1.44-61
Mamta U. Ojha, Megan M Petra, Melissa Burek, Neely Mahapatra
Knowledge and understanding of reentry challenges, reentry programming, and reentry evaluations is primarily limited to formerly incarcerated persons (FIPs) who return to urban areas despite the structural and contextual differences between urban and non-urban locales. These differences may be especially salient when it comes to access to services for behavioral health needs that, if left untreated, increase the likelihood of recidivism. Reentry planning prior to release has been found to be beneficial, as well as providing direct linkages to services post-release. However, barriers or competing priorities may keep FIPs from accessing needed behavioral health services after release. To increase the probability for more successful post-release transitions, studies need to determine and understand soon-to-be-released inmates’ likelihood of utilizing these services. Thus, the purpose of this research was to examine the importance of demographic characteristics, ecological factors, and utilization of treatment services for drugs, alcohol, mental health, and anger management prior to release to FIPs’ intent to receive these services after their release. Data was collected from 173 individuals incarcerated in either a prison or a community-based correctional facility (CBCF) and analyzed via logistic regressions. Results suggest that being female and utilization of services while incarcerated predicted intent to use drug and mental health services after release; not surprisingly, crime type and type of facility was predictive of intent to utilize anger management services post release; type of facility, and interaction of housing and concentrated disadvantage was predictive of intent to take advantage of alcohol treatment services. These findings have micro, mezzo, and macro implications and are especially relevant given the limitations of resource availability and accessibility in urban and non-urban areas. Streamlining these services to FIPs’ needs and building community capacity to meet specific needs identified by FIPs is more likely to engage them and increase their likelihood to improve reentry outcomes.
{"title":"Accessing Behavioral Health Services and the Justice-Involved: The Significance of Ecological Considerations","authors":"Mamta U. Ojha, Megan M Petra, Melissa Burek, Neely Mahapatra","doi":"10.15763/issn.1936-9298.2023.7.1.44-61","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15763/issn.1936-9298.2023.7.1.44-61","url":null,"abstract":"Knowledge and understanding of reentry challenges, reentry programming, and reentry evaluations is primarily limited to formerly incarcerated persons (FIPs) who return to urban areas despite the structural and contextual differences between urban and non-urban locales. These differences may be especially salient when it comes to access to services for behavioral health needs that, if left untreated, increase the likelihood of recidivism. Reentry planning prior to release has been found to be beneficial, as well as providing direct linkages to services post-release. However, barriers or competing priorities may keep FIPs from accessing needed behavioral health services after release. To increase the probability for more successful post-release transitions, studies need to determine and understand soon-to-be-released inmates’ likelihood of utilizing these services. Thus, the purpose of this research was to examine the importance of demographic characteristics, ecological factors, and utilization of treatment services for drugs, alcohol, mental health, and anger management prior to release to FIPs’ intent to receive these services after their release. Data was collected from 173 individuals incarcerated in either a prison or a community-based correctional facility (CBCF) and analyzed via logistic regressions. Results suggest that being female and utilization of services while incarcerated predicted intent to use drug and mental health services after release; not surprisingly, crime type and type of facility was predictive of intent to utilize anger management services post release; type of facility, and interaction of housing and concentrated disadvantage was predictive of intent to take advantage of alcohol treatment services. These findings have micro, mezzo, and macro implications and are especially relevant given the limitations of resource availability and accessibility in urban and non-urban areas. Streamlining these services to FIPs’ needs and building community capacity to meet specific needs identified by FIPs is more likely to engage them and increase their likelihood to improve reentry outcomes.","PeriodicalId":89974,"journal":{"name":"Journal of forensic social work","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-02-17","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45740981","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-02-10DOI: 10.15763/issn.1936-9298.2023.7.1.32-41
F. Reamer
Many social workers become involved in legal proceedings on their clients’ behalf. A subset of practitioners identify themselves as forensic social workers. Forensic social work is typically defined as the application of social work knowledge and skills to questions and issues relating to law, legal institutions, and legal proceedings. This social work specialization often entails collaboration with other professionals, especially attorneys, on clients’ behalf. This collaboration sometimes leads to ethical dilemmas, especially related to commitment to clients; informed consent; client confidentiality and privileged communication; conflicts of interest; and interdisciplinary collaboration. The purpose of this article is to identify common ethical challenges in forensic social work; apply relevant social work ethics standards; discuss risk management models and protocols to protect clients and practitioners; and discuss potential ethics challenges when forensic social workers are subpoenaed during legal proceedings.
{"title":"Ethical Challenges in Forensic Social Work","authors":"F. Reamer","doi":"10.15763/issn.1936-9298.2023.7.1.32-41","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15763/issn.1936-9298.2023.7.1.32-41","url":null,"abstract":"Many social workers become involved in legal proceedings on their clients’ behalf. A subset of practitioners identify themselves as forensic social workers. Forensic social work is typically defined as the application of social work knowledge and skills to questions and issues relating to law, legal institutions, and legal proceedings. This social work specialization often entails collaboration with other professionals, especially attorneys, on clients’ behalf. This collaboration sometimes leads to ethical dilemmas, especially related to commitment to clients; informed consent; client confidentiality and privileged communication; conflicts of interest; and interdisciplinary collaboration. The purpose of this article is to identify common ethical challenges in forensic social work; apply relevant social work ethics standards; discuss risk management models and protocols to protect clients and practitioners; and discuss potential ethics challenges when forensic social workers are subpoenaed during legal proceedings.","PeriodicalId":89974,"journal":{"name":"Journal of forensic social work","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-02-10","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"42199933","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-01-27DOI: 10.15763/issn.1936-9298.2023.7.1.14-31
Mike Bartlett
The most frequently requested forensic evaluations are to assess a defendant's competency to proceed, yet inefficiencies in the competency review process often lead to wasted state resources and prolonged detainment. When a judge identifies a defendant as incompetent, criminal proceedings are postponed and the defendant is typically ordered to receive competency restoration treatment. The court also schedules a hearing to review the defendant’s progress toward competency and orders a competency examiner to prepare a progress report for that hearing. If the court then determines the defendant is competent their case will proceed, otherwise the court will generally order that competency restoration treatment continue. These competency examinations and their associated court hearings typically occur in standard intervals, such as every three months. It is common for defendants to be restored to competency prior to their next scheduled court hearing, but competency examiners and courts are often not apprised of this development. This is partially due to dynamics associated with treatment providers. Though treatment providers such as psychiatrists and clinical social workers are trained in mental health issues, they are not typically trained to determine if a defendant is competent. Consequently, they may inadvertently continue to provide daily competency restoration treatment to a defendant who has already been restored to competency. Such occurrences contribute to a waste of resources, unnecessarily long detainment for competency restoration treatment, and an unnecessarily long postponement of legal proceedings. This study examines whether the Bartlett Competency Assessment Tool (BCAT) could be utilized by treatment providers to assist them in determining if a defendant is likely competent to proceed and thus ready for a formal competency examination. The recommendation of the BCAT was compared to the recommendation of formal competency examinations for 27 defendants and accurately predicted the outcome of the examinations in 25 cases, or 92 percent of the time (96 percent of the time if situations with feigned symptoms are excluded). Implications and limitations of these findings are discussed, including the potential of the BCAT to help states better utilize resources and reduce unnecessary treatment and detainment.
{"title":"Introducing the BCAT: A Tool to Aid Treatment Providers in Assessing Adjudicative Competence","authors":"Mike Bartlett","doi":"10.15763/issn.1936-9298.2023.7.1.14-31","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15763/issn.1936-9298.2023.7.1.14-31","url":null,"abstract":"The most frequently requested forensic evaluations are to assess a defendant's competency to proceed, yet inefficiencies in the competency review process often lead to wasted state resources and prolonged detainment. When a judge identifies a defendant as incompetent, criminal proceedings are postponed and the defendant is typically ordered to receive competency restoration treatment. The court also schedules a hearing to review the defendant’s progress toward competency and orders a competency examiner to prepare a progress report for that hearing. If the court then determines the defendant is competent their case will proceed, otherwise the court will generally order that competency restoration treatment continue. These competency examinations and their associated court hearings typically occur in standard intervals, such as every three months. It is common for defendants to be restored to competency prior to their next scheduled court hearing, but competency examiners and courts are often not apprised of this development. This is partially due to dynamics associated with treatment providers. Though treatment providers such as psychiatrists and clinical social workers are trained in mental health issues, they are not typically trained to determine if a defendant is competent. Consequently, they may inadvertently continue to provide daily competency restoration treatment to a defendant who has already been restored to competency. Such occurrences contribute to a waste of resources, unnecessarily long detainment for competency restoration treatment, and an unnecessarily long postponement of legal proceedings. This study examines whether the Bartlett Competency Assessment Tool (BCAT) could be utilized by treatment providers to assist them in determining if a defendant is likely competent to proceed and thus ready for a formal competency examination. The recommendation of the BCAT was compared to the recommendation of formal competency examinations for 27 defendants and accurately predicted the outcome of the examinations in 25 cases, or 92 percent of the time (96 percent of the time if situations with feigned symptoms are excluded). Implications and limitations of these findings are discussed, including the potential of the BCAT to help states better utilize resources and reduce unnecessary treatment and detainment.","PeriodicalId":89974,"journal":{"name":"Journal of forensic social work","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-27","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45560003","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2023-01-03DOI: 10.15763/issn.1936-9298.2023.7.1.1-13
Precious Skinner-Osei, Dhiny Mercedes
Throughout history, the role of African American fathers has been plagued by oppression and persecution. As predicted by Daniel Patrick Moynihan in "The Negro Family: The Case for National Action," centuries of mistreatment and racism would plague African American families for generations and deem them in a constant state of despair and dysfunction. Relentless rhetoric about African American families and the father's role has been significant in the systemic degradation of African American men. The systemic oppression of African American men has led to more than 1.1 million imprisoned in the United States, and approximately 500,000 are fathers. Many of these fathers inherited their father's incarceration, and their children continue to fuel the cycle. For decades researchers linked the effects of parental incarceration to adverse childhood outcomes, including increased likelihood of imprisonment, particularly for African American males. Therefore, this study explored the impact of incarceration on African American fathers and their sons. The data revealed four major themes: caregiving, stigma, paternal bonds, and reentry. The findings implied that specialized knowledge through a forensic social work lens might offer more comprehensive solutions by focusing on paternal relationships, long-term consequences of incarceration, and objective criteria that can assist with treatment outcomes.
纵观历史，非裔美国父亲的角色一直受到压迫和迫害的困扰。正如丹尼尔·帕特里克·莫伊尼汉（Daniel Patrick Moynihan）在《黑人家庭：国家行动的理由》（The Negro Family:The Case for National Action）一书中所预测的那样，数百年的虐待和种族主义将困扰非裔美国家庭几代人，并使他们处于持续的绝望和功能障碍状态。关于非裔美国人家庭和父亲角色的无情言论在非裔美国人的系统性堕落中起到了重要作用。对非裔美国人的系统性压迫导致110多万人在美国被监禁，大约50万人是父亲。这些父亲中的许多人继承了父亲的监禁，他们的孩子继续助长这种循环。几十年来，研究人员将父母监禁的影响与儿童时期的不良后果联系起来，包括监禁可能性的增加，尤其是对非裔美国男性而言。因此，本研究探讨了监禁对非裔美国人父亲及其儿子的影响。数据揭示了四个主要主题：照顾、耻辱、父亲纽带和重返社会。研究结果表明，通过法医社会工作视角获得的专业知识可以通过关注父亲关系、监禁的长期后果和有助于治疗结果的客观标准来提供更全面的解决方案。
{"title":"Collateral Consequences: The Impact of Incarceration on African American Fathers and Their Sons","authors":"Precious Skinner-Osei, Dhiny Mercedes","doi":"10.15763/issn.1936-9298.2023.7.1.1-13","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15763/issn.1936-9298.2023.7.1.1-13","url":null,"abstract":"Throughout history, the role of African American fathers has been plagued by oppression and persecution. As predicted by Daniel Patrick Moynihan in \"The Negro Family: The Case for National Action,\" centuries of mistreatment and racism would plague African American families for generations and deem them in a constant state of despair and dysfunction. Relentless rhetoric about African American families and the father's role has been significant in the systemic degradation of African American men. The systemic oppression of African American men has led to more than 1.1 million imprisoned in the United States, and approximately 500,000 are fathers. Many of these fathers inherited their father's incarceration, and their children continue to fuel the cycle. For decades researchers linked the effects of parental incarceration to adverse childhood outcomes, including increased likelihood of imprisonment, particularly for African American males. Therefore, this study explored the impact of incarceration on African American fathers and their sons. The data revealed four major themes: caregiving, stigma, paternal bonds, and reentry. The findings implied that specialized knowledge through a forensic social work lens might offer more comprehensive solutions by focusing on paternal relationships, long-term consequences of incarceration, and objective criteria that can assist with treatment outcomes.","PeriodicalId":89974,"journal":{"name":"Journal of forensic social work","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2023-01-03","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47216999","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-03-25DOI: 10.15763/issn.1936-9298.2022.6.1.43-56
Burcu Ozturk, Andrew M. Bell, D. McLeod, R. Gentzler
The United States has among the highest recidivism rates globally, with at least 1 in 4 rearrested within the same year of their initial charge. Many of these individuals are significantly impacted by poverty, mental illness, and substance use disorders. Recidivism reduction has become a significant focus of criminal justice reform and is gaining attention nationwide. Current scholarly literature suggests evidence-based reentry policies and programs can improve individual-level outcomes. This paper introduces the concept of diversion programming and measures how one diversion program impacted recidivism rates in a mid-sized metropolitan area of the US. Researchers examined one year's worth of data from 757 individuals released from the local county jail (January 2021 - December 2021) and calculated the average one-year recidivism rate comparing that of program participants to those of the larger community. Findings revealed that only 3.70% of those who completed this specific diversion program were rearrested within a year after their completion date. In comparison, members of the local community, who were not part of the program, were rearrested at a rate of 28.4%. Moreover, when clients were not retained in the program, recidivism rates were significantly higher at 31.22%. The authors suggest justice navigation-based diversion programs can effectively reduce recidivism if, and when, those programs ensure retention. This study can be a resource for future researchers, stakeholders, policymakers, and practitioners to support diversionary programming to reduce recidivism.
{"title":"Criminal Justice Diversion and the Importance of Program Retention","authors":"Burcu Ozturk, Andrew M. Bell, D. McLeod, R. Gentzler","doi":"10.15763/issn.1936-9298.2022.6.1.43-56","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15763/issn.1936-9298.2022.6.1.43-56","url":null,"abstract":"The United States has among the highest recidivism rates globally, with at least 1 in 4 rearrested within the same year of their initial charge. Many of these individuals are significantly impacted by poverty, mental illness, and substance use disorders. Recidivism reduction has become a significant focus of criminal justice reform and is gaining attention nationwide. Current scholarly literature suggests evidence-based reentry policies and programs can improve individual-level outcomes. This paper introduces the concept of diversion programming and measures how one diversion program impacted recidivism rates in a mid-sized metropolitan area of the US. Researchers examined one year's worth of data from 757 individuals released from the local county jail (January 2021 - December 2021) and calculated the average one-year recidivism rate comparing that of program participants to those of the larger community. Findings revealed that only 3.70% of those who completed this specific diversion program were rearrested within a year after their completion date. In comparison, members of the local community, who were not part of the program, were rearrested at a rate of 28.4%. Moreover, when clients were not retained in the program, recidivism rates were significantly higher at 31.22%. The authors suggest justice navigation-based diversion programs can effectively reduce recidivism if, and when, those programs ensure retention. This study can be a resource for future researchers, stakeholders, policymakers, and practitioners to support diversionary programming to reduce recidivism.","PeriodicalId":89974,"journal":{"name":"Journal of forensic social work","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-03-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"45570815","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-03-25DOI: 10.15763/issn.1936-9298.2022.6.1.22-42
Dana E. Prescott
In child custody litigation, parents engage in complex and iterative patterns of conflict. These patterns may include allegations of interpersonal violence, addiction, mental health disorders, and parental alienation. In such cases, a licensed mental health professional (LMHP) may be providing clinical services for a child. However, the education and training of LMHPs may not include a thorough understanding of risk when exposed to child custody litigation, including ethical complaints and civil lawsuits. This article explores preventative strategies for managing that risk by applying a forensic model for case management when child custody conflict and litigation enters the clinical portal.
{"title":"Weaponizing Clinical Mental Health in Family Justice Courts: Ethical and Legal Minefields","authors":"Dana E. Prescott","doi":"10.15763/issn.1936-9298.2022.6.1.22-42","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15763/issn.1936-9298.2022.6.1.22-42","url":null,"abstract":"In child custody litigation, parents engage in complex and iterative patterns of conflict. These patterns may include allegations of interpersonal violence, addiction, mental health disorders, and parental alienation. In such cases, a licensed mental health professional (LMHP) may be providing clinical services for a child. However, the education and training of LMHPs may not include a thorough understanding of risk when exposed to child custody litigation, including ethical complaints and civil lawsuits. This article explores preventative strategies for managing that risk by applying a forensic model for case management when child custody conflict and litigation enters the clinical portal.","PeriodicalId":89974,"journal":{"name":"Journal of forensic social work","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-03-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"44056744","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
Pub Date : 2022-03-25DOI: 10.15763/issn.1936-9298.2022.6.1.11-21
A. Winters, M. Buser
Substantial evidence on the damaging psychiatric and health-related effects of prolonged solitary confinement has been well-documented in decades of research and civil rights litigation. The emerging ethical dilemma for forensic social work concerns the dual loyalty when social workers are tasked with providing services to clients in restrictive housing. Using Frederic Reamer’s ethical decision-making framework, in concert with the NASW Code of Ethics and the NOFSW Specialty Guidelines on Values and Ethics, the ethical dilemma of dual loyalty in this practice context is explored. Forensic social workers experiencing this unique ethical dilemma are encouraged to consider rational and mindful decision making guided by social work ethical codes and principles of social justice.
{"title":"Forensic Social Work Ethics in Prolonged Solitary Confinement: A Struggle with Dual Loyalty","authors":"A. Winters, M. Buser","doi":"10.15763/issn.1936-9298.2022.6.1.11-21","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.15763/issn.1936-9298.2022.6.1.11-21","url":null,"abstract":"Substantial evidence on the damaging psychiatric and health-related effects of prolonged solitary confinement has been well-documented in decades of research and civil rights litigation. The emerging ethical dilemma for forensic social work concerns the dual loyalty when social workers are tasked with providing services to clients in restrictive housing. Using Frederic Reamer’s ethical decision-making framework, in concert with the NASW Code of Ethics and the NOFSW Specialty Guidelines on Values and Ethics, the ethical dilemma of dual loyalty in this practice context is explored. Forensic social workers experiencing this unique ethical dilemma are encouraged to consider rational and mindful decision making guided by social work ethical codes and principles of social justice. ","PeriodicalId":89974,"journal":{"name":"Journal of forensic social work","volume":" ","pages":""},"PeriodicalIF":0.0,"publicationDate":"2022-03-25","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"47467508","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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