Police Social Work and Social Justice: Lessons for Clinical Social Work Practice

Abstract

Clinical social work practice is increasingly informed by theoretical frameworks that attend to social justice. These frameworks include the just practice framework, the structural approach, and critical social theories such as critical race theory, feminist theory, and post structural theory, among others. Moreover, host settings that employ clinical social workers may be both consistent and inconsistent with social justice. Integrating clinical social work and social justice can be a complex process because it requires a clear definition of social justice to guide practice, and knowledge about racial disparities and how attitudes, values and beliefs might influence presenting problems. Consequently, a major competency for the clinical social worker is the ability to assess the influence of social injustice, racial disparities, and attitudes, values and beliefs on presenting problems. Additional competencies include the ability to assess the practice setting to address social injustice and provide clinical interventions, and apply social justice frameworks. Despite the fact that racial disparities exist in mental health and substance abuse treatment and services affecting black and Hispanic populations, limited information is available to guide clinical social workers with integrating social justice interventions. The purpose of this article is to consider the lessons from police social work practice to inform the integration of clinical social work practice and social justice when providing mental health and substance abuse services to black and Hispanic populations. These lessons offer recommendations intended for clinical practice in other host settings that provide services to these populations.