Running Head: SOCIAL WORK & CRIMINAL JUSTICE

The Social Work Profession and Criminal Justice

Social Work and Criminal Justice: Are We Meeting in the Field?

Article #2 of 3
Mary Price Duncan
University of Kentucky

Running Head: SOCIAL WORK & CRIMINAL JUSTICE

2

The Social Work Profession and Criminal Justice

Social work has the goal of providing assistance to vulnerable populations, and little help
is being provided to those who are incarcerated or otherwise controlled by the justice system.
This lack of representation is beginning to become more and more of a problem as recidivism
rates and prison populations continue to rise here in the United States. The population of people
under some sort of justice control consists of over 7.3 million people in the United States
(Scheyett, Pettus-Davis, McCarter, & Brigham, 2012. p. 439). This group consists primarily of
minorities, those with mental illness, and the poor. These are populations that we, as social
workers, are obligated to assist however we can. Despite the necessity for social workers to assist
this population, there is a lack of participation in the field. A study completed by NASW found
that only 1% of social workers identified criminal justice as their primary area of practice
(Scheyett, et al., 2012. P 439).
This study focused on this key issue by taking a look at the MSW education field as the
root of the problem. The study was completed by sending surveys to all accredited MSW
program directors that could be found nationwide, asking questions regarding criminal justice
field placements, records of availability of such placements, how frequently these placements
were selected, and if stipends were provided for students who were placed in a criminal justice
setting (Scheyett et al., 2012. p. 442). The results showed that there was an average of 18.14 field
placements in criminal justice settings, with responses ranging from none to 135 placements. IT
was also found that only 14% of the accredited institutions provided financial incentives for
students to be placed in justice field training (Scheyett et al., 2012. p. 443).
These responses were expected, and within the section of the survey which asked about
barriers for criminal justice field placement there were clear obstacles for most institutions;

Running Head: SOCIAL WORK & CRIMINAL JUSTICE

3

supervisors for the field and student interest. The need for information about the justice systems
need for social work is clear, and should be provided to social work students nationwide. There
are many skewed perceptions of the criminal population in the United States, and without
informing people of both the need and importance of this career field the cycle will continue.
Proper measures need to be taken to provide supervisors and spark interest in students (Scheyett
et al., 2012. p. 445). This survey took the first steps in drawing attention to a population that
continues to be in need, and encourages change in social work education to provide the training
needed to assist them in the future.
I selected this article because of my interest in social work from a criminal corrections
perspective. It relates to social justice because there is a vast inequality in opportunities provided
to those who are incarcerated or otherwise controlled by the justice system, and it is because of
this that recidivism rates are high in our nation. Convicted felons and criminals are among our
most vulnerable of populations in the United States, consisting of mainly those that are
minorities, impoverished, and have mental and physical health concerns as well as addictions.
This relates to my other courses because my goal for my career in social work is to provide care
and opportunities to convicted felons and to give those that are incarcerated access to education
and job training opportunities.

Running Head: SOCIAL WORK & CRIMINAL JUSTICE

4

References
Scheyett, A., Pettus-Davis, C., McCarter, S., & Brigham, R. (2012). Social Work and Criminal
Justice: Are We Meeting in the Field? Journal of Teaching in Social Work, (32), 348-350.
doi:10.1080/08841233.2012.705241