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Social Work and Forensic Practice SOCIAL WORK AND FORENSIC PRACTICE: AN ASSESSMENT OF ATTITUDES AND EXPERIENCES by LAURA A. LOWE (Under the Direction of Edwin A. Risler) ABSTRACT Criminal justice populations represent oppressed groups with which the social work profession has traditionally identified. However, relatively few social workers are currently practicing in this area. This research study compared social workers with and without educational exposure to and work experience with criminal offenders. It explored the impact of educational exposure on the rate of choosing to practice with criminal offenders. It compared attitudes and experiences in this area of practice. A mail survey was conducted with 400 social workers belonging to two professional organizations. The survey inquired about educational experiences and attitudes towards internship, employment, and the general field of social work with offenders. A response rate of 60% was achieved. The respondents were primarily female (78%) and White (82.9%), with a mean age of 48 (SD=10.98). Approximately 50% of the respondents had professional experience working with criminal offenders. Results indicated that social workers with professional work experience with offenders were more likely to have completed an internship with offenders or to have taken a specific course on offender work than those without offender experience. Respondents who took an offender course or completed an offender internship reported more years of practice with offenders. Respondents who reported being exposed through coursework or internships felt more prepared to work with offenders; however, they did not report higher feelings of comfort with this field of practice. While respondents with professional experience with offenders had significantly more positive attitudes toward offender social work than those without such work experience, educational exposure did not appear to influence this issue. For the most part, attitudes toward internship and employment experiences were not impacted by whether the experience was with or without offenders. Results indicated that social workers practicing with offenders are exposed to a wide variety of client social problems, ethnic groups, and other social agencies. It is suggested that the social work academy has the potential to have a significant impact on the number of social workers who practice with offenders. Exposure to offender issues through specific coursework and internships may encourage students and new professionals to consider this area of practice. INDEX WORDS: Social Work, Offenders, Forensic, Social work education, Internships, Field experiences, Coursework SOCIAL WORK AND FORENSIC PRACTICE: AN ASSESSMENT OF ATTITUDES AND EXPERIENCES by LAURA A. LOWE BA, Texas Tech University, 1990 MSW, The University of Georgia, 1996 A Dissertation Submitted to the Graduate Faculty of The University of Georgia in Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY ATHENS, GEORGIA 2003 © 2003 Laura A. Lowe All Rights Reserved SOCIAL WORK AND FORENSIC PRACTICE: AN ASSESSMENT OF ATTITUDES AND EXPERIENCES by LAURA A. LOWE Major Professor: Edwin A. Risler Committee: Larry Nackerud Stephanie Bohon Electronic Version Approved: Maureen Grasso Dean of the Graduate School The University of Georgia May 2004 iv DEDICATION To Will Queen, my love and companion, for giving me the encouragement I needed to take on this endeavor. To my father George Lowe, who never had any doubt, and my mother Frances Davis Lowe, who was always there. I thank you both for your love and for granting me the gift of individual thought. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS I would like to thank Dr. Ed Risler for his years of support and friendship. Without his encouragement and dedication, I would not be in the position to submit this document today. I also thank Dr. Larry Nackerud for his professional guidance and humor throughout this process. I extend deep gratitude to Dr. Stephanie Bohon who has greatly enhanced my knowledge of research methodology, provided much encouragement and support, and answered many e-mails. I would also like to thank Dr. Margaret Elbow, who introduced me to what it means to be a social worker, has supported me throughout my career, and has provided good counsel in dark times. My gratitude also goes to the National Organization for Forensic Social Workers and its dedicated members for extending their support for and participation in this research. Likewise, many thanks to the members of the National Association of Social Workers for their participation. Finally, I would like to thank the faculty, staff, and student body of the University of Georgia’s School of Social Work. Their assistance and support throughout my doctoral education has been critical. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS Page ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS.............................................................................................................v LIST OF TABLES....................................................................................................................... viii CHAPTER 1 INTRODUCTION .........................................................................................................1 Individuals Involved in the Criminal Justice System................................................2 Social Work and Criminal Justice.............................................................................6 Social Work Education............................................................................................19 Conclusion...............................................................................................................22 2 LITERATURE REVIEW............................................................................................24 Education.................................................................................................................24 Research Questions .................................................................................................62 Conclusion...............................................................................................................65 3 METHODOLOGY ......................................................................................................66 Procedures ...............................................................................................................67 Participants ..............................................................................................................72 Survey Instrument ...................................................................................................74 Data Coding and Analysis.......................................................................................75 Conclusion...............................................................................................................80 vii 4 RESULTS ....................................................................................................................82 Group Comparisons.................................................................................................83 Analysis...................................................................................................................86 Conclusion.............................................................................................................105 5 DISCUSSION............................................................................................................107 Education and Offender Work ..............................................................................107 Attitudes and Experiences.....................................................................................110 Limitations.............................................................................................................113 Implications for Social Work Education...............................................................114 Conclusion.............................................................................................................118 REFERENCES ............................................................................................................................120 APPENDICES .............................................................................................................................131 A ATTITUDE SURVEY...............................................................................................132 B SURVEY DATA CODING KEY..............................................................................138 viii LIST OF TABLES Page Table 1: Demographic Characteristics of Overall Sample ............................................................73 Table 2: Rotated Factor Loadings for Components 1 & 2.............................................................78 Table 3: Rotated Factor Loadings for Components 3, 4, 5, & 7....................................................79 Table 4: Membership Group t-test Comparisons on Demographic Variables...............................83 Table 5: Membership Group Chi-Square Comparisons on Demographic Variables ....................84 Table 6: Experience Group t-test Comparisons on Demographic Variables.................................85 Table 7: Experience Group Chi-Square Comparisons on Demographic Variables.......................85 Table 8: Logistic Regression Coefficients for Offender Work Experience...................................87 Table 9: Regression Coefficients for Years of Offender Work Experience ..................................89 Table 10: Regression Coefficients for ‘Preparation
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