Forensic Social Work Practice Standards: Definition and Specification

Social work practice is coming under increased scrutiny due to increased statutory regulation of practice and promotion of evidence-based practice (EBP). The social work profession has generated minimal, generic practice standards that are not well-suited to modern, specialized practice in social work. Forensic social work is a specialty that is vulnerable to misapplication of generic, minimal practice standards to highly complex clinical situations forensic practitioners face in routine practice. This article defines the various levels of performance expectations (standard of care, practice standards, professional ethics, generally accepted practice, practice guidelines, practice protocols, and best practices) in rank order based on the degree of mandated performance. Issues faced in developing concise and precise performance expectations are explored. The articles concludes with a preliminary generic model of forensic social work practice standards.