American Social Work, Corrections and Restorative Justice: An Appraisal

Abstract

Social work played an active role in American corrections until the 1980s when the ethic of rehabilitation began to give way to a more conservative doctrine of retribution. Changes in the field of social work, characterized by preference of social workers to work only with certain populations, contributed to social work’s diminishment in corrections. Although efforts at rehabilitation continue in corrections, the concept of restorative justice that emphasizes assisting victims, communities, and offenders in dealing with the consequences of crime is gaining acceptance in the field of corrections in the United States and in other countries. This study explored social work’s presence in corrections, the decline of that presence, and how the concept of restorative justice can invigorate social work within the field of corrections. Several examples of social work’s contemporary efforts to use the concept of restorative justice in the United Kingdom are presented.