The office of Forensic Social Work was established to explore questions and issues related to the application of professional social work expertise to legal matters. Forensic social work is one of the fastest growing sub-specialties in the profession of social work. Broadly speaking, it refers to the various interactions between the fields of law and social work.

The primary mission of the office is to promote social work's contributions to the understanding of law and the legal system with a special focus on investigating child welfare, mental health, and criminal justice/law interactions. The goals of the office are to:

• Promote research and evaluation of forensic social work practice.

• Educate social workers in forensic matters and legal personnel in social work matters.

• Conduct research on the assessment, classification, and treatment of adult and juvenile offenders.

• Contribute to the development of best practices for treating victims of crime.

• Research mental health issues in the civil and the criminal justice systems.

• Promote the establishment of community partnerships with courts and justice agencies concerned with the continuous improvement of social work and law interactions.

The Office currently is involved in projects dealing with institutional reform litigation for the seriously mentally ill, mitigation of criminal punishment in capital murder cases, reducing violent recidivism in offenders diagnosed with serious mental disorders, group trauma and abuse interventions for treating at-risk women in community and in prison settings, exploring juvenile and adult criminal behavior and mental health interactions, and identifying offender profiles for serious juvenile offenders.

The Office research projects involve bachelors and graduate students, community partners and research partners from other universities.

The office will be responsible for advising students involved in the School of Social Work’s joint MSW/JD and MSW/MLS programs.