U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government, Department of Justice.

NCJRS Virtual Library

The Virtual Library houses over 235,000 criminal justice resources, including all known OJP works.
Click here to search the NCJRS Virtual Library

Student Field Units: A Rehabilitative Educational Response in the Juvenile Justice System

NCJ Number
191416
Journal
Social Work Education Volume: 20 Issue: 2 Dated: 2001 Pages: 233-245
Author(s)
Ana M. Leon; Kenneth J. Kazmerski; Sophia F. Dziegielewski
Date Published
2001
Length
13 pages
Annotation
This article describes the integration of social work students into the development of a juvenile justice field unit in Florida.
Abstract
The model resulted from a joint proposal between a school of social work and the juvenile justice system and received funding through a collaborative initiative program in the 1995-96 academic year. The social work students who were undergraduates and first-year graduate students focused mainly on enhancing their interviewing and assessing skills, applying case management strategy, and making and forwarding written recommendations for case disposition. The second-year students provided comprehensive mental health assessments and helped in providing group services as group co-facilitators and as providers of psychoeducational material to juvenile offenders and their parents. The onsite supervisor used several mechanisms to protect the safety of the students and ensure accountability and quality of services provided. Thirty-one students gained direct practice knowledge as well as assessment and disposition skills. Self-reports and ratings from supervisors and participating students were positive overall. The analysis concluded that this pilot project demonstrated and supported the usefulness of this service. Tables and 14 references (Author abstract modified)