The Future for Social Work in Juvenile and Adult Criminal Justice

Critical contemporary issues in juvenile and adult criminal justice are identified followed by an examination of particular issues for social workers, including the increase in incarceration, the over representation of people of color, and the numerous negative effects on children. The various roles for social workers in the criminal justice systems are presented and discussed. The paper also addresses the decline of social work professionals in the criminal justice systems and why it is imperative that the pattern be reversed now that there is growing interest in the rehabilitation and reintegration of offenders.