National Association of Social Workers

Forensic Field Broader Than Most Think

Sentencing Mitigation Part, But Not All, of Practice

"Many in the field don't even know" they are practicing forensic social work.

By John V. O'Neill, MSW, News Staff

Illustration: John Michael Yanson

June's U.S. Supreme Court ruling overturning a death sentence because the defendant's social history, prepared by a social worker, was not introduced as mitigating evidence put a little-known field of practice — forensic social work — momentarily in the limelight.

But the limelight isn't where forensic social work is accustomed to being. It is a specialty for which BSW and MSW programs in most schools of social work offer little or no formal academic preparation and for which no proven career path exists. Knowledge must be pursued by individuals in workshops and seminars, gained from mentors or acquired in the biggest learning center of them all, on-the-job training.

While many practice forensic social work, it has yet to claim a distinct identity among many in the profession. "Many in the field don't even know that they are [practicing forensic social work]," said Karen van Beyer, past president of the National Association of Forensic Social Workers (NOFSW). For instance, she said, "young social workers in correctional facilities don't have a consciousness of themselves as forensic social workers."

"Forensic" means "before the court," said van Beyer. While some once may have thought of forensic social work as limited to collecting social histories in hopes of mitigating sentences in criminal cases and evaluating and treating criminal defendants on issues of competency and responsibility, its meaning is much broader. "Forensic social work is anything a social worker is doing in the field of criminal or civil law, whether defendant- or client-based, including child protection," said Ovita Williams, head of a 12-person forensic social work department in the office of Kings County (Brooklyn, N.Y.) District Attorney Charles Hynes.

NOFSW says a broader definition of forensic social work includes child-custody issues involving separation, divorce, neglect, termination of parental rights, implications of child and spouse abuse, juvenile and adult services, corrections and mandated treatment.

A range of practice, caseloads and ethical issues fall under the forensic rubric.

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From November 2003 NASW News. © 2003 National Association of Social Workers. All rights reserved. NASW News articles may be copied for personal use, but proper notice of copyright and credit to the NASW News must appear on all copies made. This permission does not apply to reproduction for advertising, promotion, resale, or other commercial purposes.