Forensic Social Work Research Articles

Power of Discernment: When and How to Use Why Questions as Clarifying Skills

ABSTRACT Clinical social workers apply clarification skills to elucidate clients’ expressions, using the 6Wh questions: What, When, Where, Who, Who else, and Why. Research in forensic social work with children has criticized the why due to its perceived accusatory tone. This article explores the various uses of clarifying questions for therapeutic goals, drawing from forensic interviewing research and the 5E (explore – explain – elaborate – examine – evaluate) inquiry model. The 5E cycle guides the Wh-sequence, proposing a sequential application of 6Whs ;(who, when, where, what, who else, and why+how) with an empathic tone and a gradual shift of a cycle of concrete-abstract-concrete explorations. This application advocates asking developmentally appropriate and situation-specific questions, one at a time, coupled with active listening, before further seeking clarification.

The knowledge and skills needed for forensic social work in Australia: A Delphi study

Summary Forensic social work is the application of social work knowledge, skills, values and ethics within a legal and criminal justice context. Globally, social workers play an integral role in the criminal justice system but in many countries, including Australia, there is limited conception of the competencies needed for this specialist practice. Australia serves as an example of forensic social work regulated through a generalist social work competency framework, where specialist skills and knowledge are not distinctly outlined or assessed. The purpose of this study was to identify the knowledge and skills used by forensic social work practitioners in Australia. This study used a 3-round Delphi method with an expert panel of social workers working in forensic practice across Australia. It consisted of a 1-hour semi-structured individual interview followed by 2 rounds of online surveys. Findings Consensus was obtained for 30 skill and knowledge items for Australian forensic social work. The panel identified these competencies as specialist, meaning requiring further training beyond generalist proficiency. Of these, eight of the skill and knowledge items were seen as essential for graduates entering forensic social work. Applications The findings from this study contribute to an evidence-based model of forensic social work competency. In Australia, they can be used to consider potential gaps between current generalist mechanisms and specialist practice expectations. With further research, these findings can be used to inform professional standards for forensic social work in Australia and potentially internationally.

‘A home to dream love into’ – An autoethnographic analysis of mothering with mental illness

This paper examines the links between mothers, mental illness, estrangement from children, and systemic power and control, through a critically creative autoethnographic methodology. A historical and contemporary discursive analysis of two kinds of documentation is made. Firstly, my great-grandmother’s psychiatric hospital records from almost one hundred years ago are analysed, incorporating parts of my own story, as well as the personal account of a family member. These are then contrasted against four Family Court Judgement, where mothers have been found to be incapable of caring for their children. ‘Found poetry’ is then created from the documents presented, to elucidate the argument that a century since my great-grandmother’s forced separation from her children, women with mental illness still face stigma, marginalisation, and hopelessness in the face of outdated, narrow constructions of mothering. Implications for those who work in forensic social work fields are noted in terms of addressing systemic abuses of power against mothers.

“Helping Me Get Through the Day”: The Importance of Social Contact and Support for Incarcerated Young People During the COVID-19 Pandemic

Background: There is limited knowledge about how incarcerated young people have been affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. An improved understanding of the impact of pandemic circumstances could help to advance a multitude of practices and policies, including those that strengthen personal relationships. Objectives: This study aimed to (a) describe self-reported perceptions that social contact and support for incarcerated young people are powerful protective factors with the potential to attenuate the negative impacts of incarceration, (b) explore the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on their personal and relational well-being, (c) determine the extent to which the pandemic restricted access to social support and other resources, and (d) consider potential identity-related differences in these perceptions and impacts. Methods: This exploratory study employed interpretative phenomenological analysis (Smith et al., 2010) of semi-structured interviews with 30 incarcerated youth in an adult correctional setting, ages 16-21 years, in addition to some preliminary information about social contact and multidimensional social support. Results: Significant benefits of family support were identified, such as moral guidance, hopefulness, and goal maintenance, as well as the necessity of relationships for youth well-being given the especially challenging circumstances created by the pandemic. Limitations and barriers to social support, as well as access to services, were identified that may have implications for programmatic and system-level changes. Conclusion: Contact with and involvement in supportive relationships is important for incarcerated young people, perhaps especially so during times of crisis. Specific implications for both forensic social work practice, such as family-focused advocacy and services, and further qualitative social work research, including with incarcerated young people, are further explored.

Flipping the Narrative: A Unifying Framework for Juvenile Court-based Forensic Social Work Practice

Professional social workers are trained in multiple competencies and occupy various positions within the forensic landscape. Unified by a code of ethics that emphasizes social justice and the protection and empowerment of marginalized populations and a philosophical approach that recognizes the interplay of individual and environmental factors, social work leadership in youth justice policy and practice is vital. This article proposes a unifying framework for macro, mezzo, and micro court-based forensic social work practice in the 21st century that draws from post-modern critical social work theory. The lifelong negative impacts of court involvement for young people are well documented and contribute to persistent societal inequities. Pre-disposition court practices can mitigate or further harm court-involved youth. “Flipping the Narrative” is a culturally relevant practice framework for evaluating and designing youth court practices that recognize the intersectionality of the identities and experiences of court-involved youth. The proposed framework incorporates the practical implications of Critical Theory, specifically Critical Race Theory, the Theory of African American Offending, and Queer Theory, and relevant practice approaches, such as Social Justice Youth Development and Narrative Therapy, to analyze current youth court practices, propose areas for further evaluation and innovation, and recommend practice enhancements for defense-based forensic social workers. The urgency for innovation in one New England state is illustrated through a case study.

Social representation of social expert reports in court judgements. A relevant analysis to forensic social work

This article presents a novel contribution in the judicial field through the analysis of the social representation of expert reports in judgments handed down in Spain from 2000 to 2019. Social expert opinions are presented as evidence in judicial proceedings to assist judges in their decision-making, and despite their distinction and contribution, they currently represent an underexplored field. The purpose of this article is relevant in that it allows evidence to be generated through the analysis of the themes or issues that appear in judgments together with the content used by judges to uphold or reject claims. The strategy for this analysis is based on lexicometry using Iramuteq software, which allows us to deepen and categorise the lexical worlds, the type of relationships established between terms, as well as the contextual-relational dimension of the conditions of production of the judges' discourse around the social expert report.

Burnout amongst Generalist and Forensic Social Workers: A Comparative Study

Forensic social work poses obstacles that can increase the risk of burnout among practitioners. Prior research studies have explored burnout among generalist social workers; however, there is a noticeable deficiency in the literature regarding burnout among forensic social workers, as well as the absence of comparisons between these two professions to discern variations in burnout patterns. The aim of this study was to compare burnout patterns among generalist and forensic social workers using a quantitative approach and a comparison group design. Qualified generalist and forensic social workers from an accredited South African university participated in an all-inclusive willing participation sample approach. The study found that, while both groups had moderate degrees of emotional exhaustion, forensic social workers experienced higher levels. There were also significant disparities in depersonalisation, with forensic social workers suggesting higher levels. This study contributes to understanding burnout patterns in forensic social workers, highlighting the need for targeted efforts to mitigate their effects.

Possibilities and Limits of forensic Social Work in the prison Environment

The term forensic refers to anything related to the justice system, the legal system of a state and the responsibilities of social workers in dealing with and resolving legal problems. The very meaning of the term suggests as much. Forensic social work can be broadly characterized as a specialization in social work that focuses on law, legal issues and litigation. In a narrower sense, forensic social work refers to the knowledge, skills, measures and procedures applied when working with forensic social work clients. With this narrower definition, forensic social work can be considered synonymous with the term criminal justice social work (Neszméry, 2021). The primary purpose of our study is to empirically state and define the possibilities, roles and importance of social work in the prison setting. The ethical and legal framework and position of the forensic social worker in the prison setting, as well as their role and scope of practice in this setting, are directly related to this. Secondarily, we analyze crime in the prison environment and its prevention, as forensic social workers also encounter this socio-pathological phenomenon in addition to many others. In connection with this topic and the focus of the study, we also provide a definition of basic terms in the field of forensic social work. We include a number of factors that influence the functioning of a forensic social worker in the prison environment and shape the actual practice of the forensic social worker as the basic starting points of the conducted study and empirical research. The most important factors, which represent the basic starting points of the empirical research and the conducted study, are ranked as follows: practice, representing the basic performance and delivery of social work in the prison environment; prevention, meaning the prevention of criminal behavior and other forms of undesirable behavior in the prison environment; the position of the forensic social worker and all the related possibilities for the performance of his/her position, but also the limitations of the performance of his/her activities in the prison environment; and finally, communication, which constitutes the basic tool and means of communication between the forensic social worker and his/her client in the prison environment, between the state authorities, other organizations and the forensic social worker, but also between the convicted person and his/her family

Challenges of Social Workers in the Multidisciplinary Team in the Penitentiary System

Today, social workers are found in many communities and institutional environments, including social service agencies, child care agencies, schools, hospitals, mental health programs, substance abusers, courts, prisons worldwide. Regardless of where they practice, to be effective social work practitioners, they share some unique professional needs. Today, the ability to assist and empower clients struggling with various issues, involved in legal matters, injustices, and on the brink of legal protection, is required. Social workers are required to be able to collaborate with professionals and other parties interested in helping the client navigate through a variety of financial, psychological, emotional, and legal concerns. This study addresses the importance of the practical development field of a forensic social worker, a field that is usually neglected and misunderstood. The study focuses on preliminary work on this field by showing a broader view of forensic social work which includes the knowledge and skills necessary to practice effectively in the socio-legal environment. "Forensic social worker" encompasses not only a narrow group of victims or abusers involved in juvenile justice and criminal justice but also individuals with mental health issues and programs affected by the police and state laws. Interdisciplinary practice and legal knowledge are essential for social workers to ensure that clients are provided with effective service. The inclusion of legal rules is rarely addressed in social work in a meaningful and practical way. This study provides practical knowledge in the collaborative work of forensic social workers.
 
 Received: 13 February 2024 / Accepted: 19 March 2024 / Published: 23 March 2024

In bed with the state

The aim of this paper is to unsettle dominant discourses about the state and forensic social work though “dehistoricization” through two historical case studies from Canada: the eugenics movement and the Indian Act. This critical and structural analysis will demonstrate how the state historically and contemporarily disproportionately disadvantages disabled and Indigenous peoples independently and intersectionally through social control tactics. Using a conceptual framework from Foucault’s History of the Present approach, I problematize how historical practices manifest in present-day technologies of the state. I also utilized Blackstock’s Touchstones of Hope, a model for reconciliation in children’s services through four phases: Truth Telling, Acknowledging, Restoring, and Relating. After situating myself in the work, I will then articulate the key concepts including forensic social work, the state, intersectionality, and settler colonialism followed by the dominant historical discourses in forensic social work. Next, I dehistoricize the eugenics movement and the Indian Act as case studies to demonstrate how the state used and uses social control tactics of surveillance, categorization, segregation, and containment of disabled and Indigenous peoples. Contemporary forensic social work practices with disabled and Indigenous peoples will demonstrate that the historical practices continue in the present. I conclude with a call for reconciliation and transformative change.

Identifying Indicators of High-Conflict Divorce Among Parents

The burgeoning field of forensic social work supports clients engaged in the legal system. Forensic social work professionals working in family court will often be called upon to assess family dynamics, provide treatment to reduce maladaptation post-divorce, and advise divorcing parents as they navigate the complexities of court. Of particular interest to the forensic social work field are the various risks and protective factors that escalate or mitigate interparental conflict throughout the divorce process. Interparental conflict is a primary moderator accounting for psychological and physiological differences between children of divorced parents and children with intact parents. This systematic review examined the factors that contribute to conflict in divorcing parents and ways to identify high-conflict cases,. Peer-reviewed articles (n=11) were systematically selected using rigorous methods, including PRISMA-P protocols for systematic reviews and database searches using the search string “conflict AND divorce*.” Articles were extracted to identify themes of varying levels of conflict. There is no consistent definition of high conflict in pre-divorce parents, and recent articles offer new conceptualizations of this construct. All studies that met inclusion criteria for the review identified at least one of five themes of pre-divorce conflict: conflict resolution/communication, social network, parent characteristics, satisfaction with agreements, and pervasive mistrust.

Global forensic social work education: A cross-national comparison of education models in 10 countries

Unlike qualifying education, forensic social work education is heterogeneous. This review provides a cross-national comparison of 10 countries: the United States, Brazil, England, the Netherlands, Hungary, Kenya, South Africa, Thailand, India and Australia. It aims to understand education models across diverse contexts and encourage further reflection on forensic social work pedagogy. Findings revealed that there is little mandating of educational standards or curriculum requirements in forensic social work. Moreover, current modelling is drawn from Eurocentric epistemologies and has a duty to incorporate and celebrate First Nations, non-Western and culturally inclusive paradigms. Opportunities exist to develop international standards for forensic social work education.

Forensic Social Work in the Slovak Republic

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 Effects of Internal and External Risk Factors in Forensic Social Workers’ Experience of Secondary Traumatic Stress

Forensic social workers are vulnerable to secondary traumatic stress due to their direct exposure to trauma narratives from sexually abused children. They face the unique challenge of distinguishing between their roles as expert witnesses and therapists. However, research on the risk factors for secondary traumatic stress in forensic social workers is frequently disregarded both internationally and in South Africa. The purpose of this study was to look at the effect of internal and external risk factors on secondary traumatic stress symptoms among forensic social workers. An all-inclusive voluntary sample method was used to include all trained forensic social workers with a master’s degree in forensic practice who graduated from a recognised South African university between 2006 and 2019. The study used a quantitative cross-sectional descriptive design and data was collected using Google Forms, which was distributed via email. IBM SPSS version 27 was used to analyse the data. Internal factors such as race and relationship status as well as external factors such as clinical supervision, social support, and exposure to traumatic experiences were found to have varied effects on secondary traumatic stress symptoms in the study.

Forensic Social Work in Australian Undergraduate Social Work Education: A Generic Practice Versus Specialisation Consideration

ABSTRACT Australian social workers are routinely employed in forensic roles, including forensic medicine, domestic and family violence, youth justice, probation or parole, and correctional work. Forensic social work often is considered to be a specialist area of social work due to the required additional knowledge of the law, crime, victimology, comorbidity, and intersectionality. Globally, and in Australia, concerns have been raised about the training and education of forensic social workers. In Australia, there is no clear forensic social work education pathway; there are no tertiary forensic social work courses, and the AASW does not recognise forensics in their credentialing program. Thus, practitioners are seen to qualify through their generic studies. The purpose of this study was to ascertain the extent to which forensic knowledge features in the current AASW accredited undergraduate social work programs. A content analysis of available 2023 Bachelor of Social Work programs was undertaken to reveal any disparity of forensic offerings under a generic qualification. This research is positioned within the wider “generic practice versus specialisation” debate in Australian social work education. It raises concerns about the fragmented nature of forensic studies within Australian social work education. IMPLICATIONS There is a lack of clarity around what constitutes useful and sufficient forensic studies within Australian social work education, in the absence of specialist programs. There is little opportunity for social work students to gain “social work specific” forensic training in their qualifying education. Further consideration of a specialist forensic social work pathway could assist with the advanced training of this workforce.

The Parents Divorcing Conflict Scale

Practical measures to screen for high levels of pre-divorce conflict offer a unique opportunity for early intervention by forensic social work professionals in divorces where children are at risk of being exposed to high levels of interparental conflict and subsequent maladjustment. There is a lack of validated short screening instruments specifically addressing pre-divorce conflict for parents with at least one minor child. An instrument of this nature would support those in the forensic social work field in identifying families that may be at risk for a high-conflict divorce process. Accordingly, this study describes the development of a self-report measure to assess conflict in parenting couples who are in the process of divorce. An Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) was conducted with data from a sample of parents in the process of divorce (n=114), and multiple factor structures were examined. The EFA confirmed that a one-factor model offered the best fit. The short 8-item Parents Divorcing Conflict Scale (PDCS) is a promising measure for use in forensic social work, research, and clinical and policy settings as it captures pertinent themes of conflict, including communication, social network, parent characteristics, satisfaction with agreements, and mistrust, and can inform early intervention strategies that will serve to support healthy communication practices amongst divorcing couples throughout the marriage dissolution process.

Teaching Forensic Social Work: Innovative Education through Service-Learning

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.

Ethical Challenges in Forensic Social Work

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.

Collateral Consequences: The Impact of Incarceration on African American Fathers and Their Sons

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.

ASSOCIATION BETWEEN COPING STRATEGIES AND SECONDARY TRAUMATIC STRESS AMONG FORENSIC SOCIAL WORKERS IN SOUTH AFRICA

Forensic social work in South Africa is challenging, increasing the likelihood of secondary traumatic stress among its practitioners. Proactive coping strategies are necessary to reduce the impact of secondary traumatic stress on forensic social workers. The aim of this study was to describe the association between the frequency of different coping strategies and the frequency of secondary traumatic stress symptoms in forensic social workers. The study applied a quantitative approach with a cross-sectional descriptive design. An all-inclusive willing participation sampling method was used, focusing on all qualified forensic social workers who graduated from a South African university. The study found that avoidant and emotion-focused coping strategies were linked to an increase in secondary traumatic stress symptoms. Employers and therapists can support forensic social workers by offering techniques that encourage the use of problem-focused coping strategies, aiming to alleviate symptoms of perceived secondary traumatic stress. Keywords: coping, forensic social work, secondary traumatic stress, trauma symptoms, symptoms