Forensic Social Work: Why Social Work Education Should Change

ABSTRACT

Rising rates of incarceration in the United States and continuing use of the death penalty in over half of the states in the United States signal a need for more involvement of social workers in forensic roles to mitigate unjust sentencing. The National Association of Social Workers has consistently maintained a professional policy stance in opposition to the death penalty and in support for alternative sentencing plans, citing that the death penalty disproportionately impacts communities affected by poverty and communities of color, and is prone to error. The purpose of this article is to highlight the importance of educating social workers to mitigation as a primary role among forensic social workers, with a focus on death penalty mitigation with its critical skills and knowledge. After describing mitigation in death penalty cases, we examine four major social work roles in capital cases that expanded education should cover: (1) mitigation investigation, (2) consulting expert, (3) expert witness, (4) teaching expert. This article also addresses important ethical considerations when working as a member of capital defense teams and provides recommendations for social work graduate curricula to tailor content to better prepare students for capital mitigation practice.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Athena Kheibari

Athena Kheibari, PhD, is an assistant professor at the Wayne State University School of Social Work.

Robert J. Walker

Robert J. Walker, MSW, LCSW, is a retired faculty member of the Department of Behavioral Science, College of Medicine, and member of the Center on Drug and Alcohol Research at the University of Kentucky.

James Clark

James Clark, LCSW, PhD, is currently Dean of the Florida State University College of Social Work where he currently has oversight responsibility for the BSW, MSW, and PhD programs, as well as for clinical, research, and public policy institutes that impact the well-being of children and families.

Grant Victor

Grant Victor, MSW, PhD, is a postdoctoral fellow at Center for Behavioral Health and Justice at Wayne State University.

Ed Monahan

Ed Monahan is a national criminal and public defense consultant and trainer and Executive Director of the NAPD Fund for Justice, Inc.