Role of Social Workers in Heightening Rehabilitation of Offenders
Rising crime and drug-related offenses of the 1970s led to the adoption of the “war on
drugs” policy in the early 1980s. The new policy imposed punitive prison terms for low-level
drug offenders, which ultimately led to criminal justice to shift focus from rehabilitation to
punishment (Pfaff, 2015) . While prior to the period, social workers were actively involved in the
criminal justice system, changes in criminal justice system policies ultimately led most social
workers to abandon the field of corrections. The criminal justice system value orders of
punishment and control challenge the principles of social work -social justice, moral neutrality,
confidentiality, self-determination of individuals, and the innate dignity of every person (Gumz,
2004) . Today, the criminal justice system remains punitive and does not largely focus on
rehabilitation. Despite the challenges to the tenets of social justice, social workers have an
important role in heightening focus on rehabilitation. In this paper, the writer will discuss how
social workers can approach this goal.
Advocacy and Diversion Programs
There are thousands of social workers in the criminal justice system who work in a
variety of roles, including administration. They advise courts on sentencing, serve in parole
boards, operate diversion programs, and direct offenders to rehabilitation programs (Barusch,
2018) . As such, forensic social workers have a unique opportunity to provide evidence of
alternative ways of providing justice. Diversion programs provide a way of rehabilitating and
providing mental health help to those offenders suffering from mental or substance abuse
disorders (Shafer & Ashford, 2015) . Since social workers participate in these programs, they can
actively advocate for such offenders prior to their sentencing. The diversionary processes occur
prior to a person being booked for a criminal offense charge and after booking but prior to
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sentencing. Diversionary programs were designed to ensure that those with mental health
problems have access to the care they require if they meet the diversion eligibility requirements
(Shafer & Ashford, 2015) . However, social workers should be aware of the eligibility
requirements and regulations surrounding the diversionary processes to leverage their utility in
preventing people with mental health problems from being incarcerated.
Criminal justice relies on evidence rather than ideology when determining whether
alternative methods of protecting the public are plausible. Participating in research that
determines the utility of restorative or social justice approaches could provide empirical evidence
for supporting changes in current policies (Barusch, 2018) . Such research should focus on issues
such as reoffending rates for offenders who participate in such programs. For example, there is a
need for further research on the role of family group conferences in reducing offending among
juveniles. Family group conferences are decision-making processes where a family of at-risk
juvenile or juvenile offenders hold discussions to determine the best way of action to reduce the
risk of offending or reoffending (Anderson & Parkinson, 2018) . The conferences are
underpinned by restorative justice and could allow social workers to change public perceptions
about juvenile offenders, which could influence criminal and social policies.
Creating public awareness of the negative implications of punitive criminal laws could
change perceptions about prisoners. How society treats those it considers deviant is a barometer
of its social climate. Violent societies tend to develop policies allowing for violent punishment of
offenders, which further increases violent crimes (Gilligan, 2003) . Conditions of oppression and
subjugation are the breeding grounds of hatred and resentment that often lead to crime. The US,
as a moralistic society, has never been able to overcome its Puritan heritage, which prides itself
on a climate that is conducive for both violent punishment and violent crimes (Buchanan, 1998) .
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There is a high availability of guns, a steady diet of horrible crimes in social media, and
widespread poverty among minorities.
For the US to cast off its puritan heritage, social workers should recognize their primary
role in changing perceptions on the link between societal conditions, prevalence of crime, and
violent punishments. They should work as a profession at grassroots levels to create grassroots
efforts with the goal of changing the