Social Workers as Potential Agents for Drug Policy Reform
Bibliographic Data
| ID | 2501593 |
|---|---|
| Authors | Annie Grace Benjamin (Columbia University, corresponding author), Kendra M Ivy (Hunter College), Ashton E Santos, Ashton E Santo (AIDS United), Sheila P Vakharia (0000-0003-0892-071X, Drug Policy Alliance), Sheila P Vakharia Sheila P Vakharia, Kasia Malinowska-Sempruch (Open Society Foundations) |
| Year | 2022 |
| Volume | 22 |
| Issue | 2 |
| Pages | 797-817 |
| Publication date | 2022-11-08 |
| Peer Reviewed | Yes |
| Open Access | Yes |
| Type | ARTICLE |
| Venue | Advances in Social Work (JOURNAL) |
| Journal identifiers | ISSN: 1527-8565 • E-ISSN: 2331-4125 |
| Publisher | IUPUI University Library (PUBLISHER) |
| DOI | 10.18060/24950 |
| OpenAlex | W4308609571 |
| Language | EN |
| Citations received | 1 |
| References cited | 18 |
There is a growing recognition that our society must address systemic racism, mass criminalization and violent policing with alternative responses to crises in communities. Reform advocates have increasingly proposed that social workers, equipped with the skills and training to de-escalate tensions and respond to mental health and substance use crises, should work in teams alongside police officers. Despite broad support by community stakeholders, law enforcement, and the National Association of Social Workers (NASW), this approach remains fraught if we do not critically examine our role as agents of social control in such systems. A clear case study is the War on Drugs, wherein social workers have assumed the role of frontline enforcers through our employment in the criminal legal and child welfare systems, health care, and coercive drug treatment programs. The harsh and punitive laws stemming from the War on Drugs have contributed to the mass criminalization of people who use drugs, devastated communities, separated families, and so much more. Our focus should shift towards upstream advocacy for policies to reduce the scope of the criminal legal system altogether. We propose suggestions to re-envision social work's role in less punitive and carceral responses
Criminal justice · Criminalization · Criminology · Law enforcement · Mass incarceration · Political science · Public relations · Punitive damages · Social policy · Social Welfare · Sociology · Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis · Homelessness and Social Issues · Law · Social Work Education and Practice · Social Work
Crack in America
Critical Race Theory
Pregnant women and substance use
Enforcing Freedom
A Social Worker’s Role in Drug Court
White opioids
Overdose among mothers
Defund the Police
Social Work as a Product and Project of Whiteness, 1607–1900
Radically Rethinking Social Work in the Criminal (in)Justice System in Australia
Drug Courts and the Logic of Coerced Treatment 1
Racial/Ethnic Differences in Drug- and Alcohol-Related Arrest Outcomes in a Southwest County From 2009 to 2018
Do drug courts reduce the use of incarceration
The New Politics of Social Work Practice
The Discursive Construction of Risk
Lessons from Social Work’s History for a Tumultuous Era
A behind-the-scenes perspective on the key components of drug court
Coloring the War on Drugs
| Unique citing works | 1 |
|---|---|
| Citations per year | 0,5 |
| Citation span | 2024 - 2024 (1) |
| Citation velocity | recent |
| Highly cited | No |
| Citation types | Neutral: 1 |