Holistic Indigent Defense in Criminal and Civil Legal Settings: Creating a Pipeline of Social Work Opportunities Beyond Private Practice Therapy

• In Event: Data In Indigent Defense: Social Work Innovations In Holistic Indigent Defense

Abstract

Holistic indigent defense should not be limited to the criminal legal system and is highly relevant to civil legal settings. Legal aid offices nationwide have social workers as part of their legal teams to address their clients’ needs more holistically, recognizing that their clients' lives are more complex than the limited scope of their presenting legal issue. Disability Rights California is the federally designated protection and advocacy agency (P&A) for California, and has been the first among the P&As to incorporate social workers and social work interns into their legal services model. Additionally, models of holistic indigent defense in legal settings are training opportunities for social work graduate students to learn more about potential career pathways as forensic social workers and mitigation specialists, rather than limiting their professional outlook to private practice therapy. These social work internships can serve an integral role in creating a pipeline of trained social workers to effectively collaborate in legal settings.

Author

• Kathy Ho, Disability Rights California