About Forensic Social Work

Becoming a forensic social worker requires training above and beyond the normal training for social workers. Forensic social work deals with the legal and moral side of the legal system and requires extra training in everything from civil and criminal law to child custody issues.  

Duties of a Forensic Social Worker

As forensic social worker, you will have many duties. Some of them include providing training for the criminal and juvenile justice systems and having consultations with law enforcement officers and even attorneys at times. Forensic social workers are often called upon as expert witnesses at trials and they often have to make recommendations based on a child’s mental or physical status.

Adversary Process

While a normal social worker has plenty of training to deal with issues in the real world, forensic social workers will need to be trained to withstand opposition. They must give objective and concrete opinions and be able to back this up with facts in order to withstand rebuttal and cross-examination.

Training

Without the special training it takes to go from a normal social worker to a forensic social worker, it would be hard to appear in court. Normal social workers just have not been taught the things they need to know in order to withstand questioning during court proceedings. Many states require that you get a degree in forensic social work and others just require extra education and give a certificate.

There are many colleges online and on campus, that offers a variety of courses in forensic social work available.