Increasing Alternative Sentencing in
the Juvenile Justice System
Through a Partnership Between
Public Defenders and Social Workers
National Organization of Forensic Social
Work Annual Conference, July 2014
Dr. Lynn Geurin, Ph.D., LCSW
Assistant Professor of Social Work
Morehead State University
Agenda
Complete article published in the Journal of
Forensic Social Work, 3:261-277, 2013).
• Background of the Study
• Literature Review
• Alternative Sentencing Social Work Field
Education Program (ASSWFEP)
• Theoretical Framework
• Methodology
• Findings
• Discussion
Background of the Study
• 1.5 million youth processed through the juvenile
justice system (Office of Juvenile Justice and
Delinquency Prevention, 2012).
• Trend toward more punitive responses in the justice
system, despite favorable public opinion to address
underlying causes of juvenile delinquency (Nagin et
al., 2006).
• Detrimental consequences associated with
confinement of youth (Mendel, 2011).
• Purpose of this study is to examine the effectiveness
of a partnership between public defenders and social
work field education programs.
Literature Review
• Evidence to support that programs designed to
promote rehabilitation as alternatives to secure
detention have reduced juvenile recidivism
(Feldman, Males, & Schiraldi, 2001; Mason,
Chapman, Chang, & Simons, 2003; Rodriquez,
2005).
• Evidence to support the effectiveness of programs
that target status offenders (Yearwood & AbdumMuhaymin, 2007; Gavazzi et al., 2005).
• Early literature indicates the positive impact of
social work involvement in public defender
organizations on juvenile rehabilitation (Ashford,
Macht, & Mylym, 1987; Senna, 1975).
Alternative Sentencing Social Work
Field Education Program
• Interdisciplinary program between social work field
education programs at universities and the Public
Defender system in Kentucky.
• Funded by federal block grant to place social work
students with public defender attorneys to work on
juvenile cases and award stipends.
• Orientation, training, and supervision required.
• Social work students utilized practice skills,
conducted assessments, identified underlying
issues, and prepared and presented alternative
sentencing plans that linked juveniles to resources
that promote rehabilitation.
Geographical Counties of Juvenile
Courts in the Study
Therapeutic Jurisprudence
• Multidisciplinary approach to law that draws upon
insights from psychology, sociology, social work,
criminology, etc.
• Legal system provides a venue to promote positive
therapeutic outcomes for those who come into with
the system.
• Provides a framework for understanding the
Alternative Sentencing Social Work Field Education
Program.
• Good fit between Therapeutic Jurisprudence and the
social work profession.
Methodology of the Study
• Social Work Field Education Program cases (n = 116)
▫ Data collection instrument used by social work students
• Comparison group from conventional public defender
representation (n = 94)
▫ Secondary data collected
• Demographic characteristics of entire sample (n = 210)
▫ Age (m = 15.4); Gender (male = 68.1%; female = 31.9%); Race
(Caucasian = 83.5%; African American = 12.1%; Biracial = 4.4%)
• Juvenile issues assessed by social workers
▫ Mental health = 55.6%; Education = 41.7%; Chemical Dependency =
20.4%; Child Maltreatment = 19.4)
• Measures
▫ IV = ASSWFEP
▫ DV = Alternative sentencing outcome
▫ Control Variables = Severity of current charge and prior juvenile record
Findings
• Hypothesis
▫ Juveniles who receive legal representation with input from
the ASSWFEP will have greater odds of receiving
alternative sentencing decisions than those in the
comparison group.
• Binary Logistical Regression Analyses
▫ Control variables
▫ Predictor variable
• Hypothesis supported
▫ Juveniles receiving input from the ASSWFEP were nearly
three times as likely to receive alternative sentencing
decisions than juvenile receiving conventional legal
representation (Wald = 8.58, p < .001, odds ratio = 2.72).
Copyright Lynn Geurin,
Ph.D.
Figure 1: Social Work Program and
Conventional Group on Alternative Sentences
Discussion
• ASSWFEP had positive impact on status offenses in
particular.
▫ Findings support recommendations (Kendall & Hawke,
2007) for community systems to promote alternative
dispositions to judges that meet juvenile needs.
• ASSWFEP helped to sustain continued interdisciplinary
effort between social work field education programs and
the public defender system in Kentucky.
• Findings supported development of a subsequent project
to hire social workers in the public defender system.
• Findings suggest potential benefits reaped by
formalizing partnerships between social workers and
attorneys in the juvenile justice system.
What are the Implications for Forensic
Social Work Research and Practice?
• Much of the previous research has focused on adults in
the legal system and more research should be done on
juveniles.
• Future research should be conducted to determine
whether or for what types of populations alternative
sentences work best.
• Future research should be conducted to better
understand what specific skills of social workers are
most effective in forensic social work practice.
• The findings increase our knowledge of what social work
field education programs embedded in the legal setting
can accomplish.
Comments or Questions?