Routes towards equity look different for all types of helping professionals. A forensic social worker might contemplate “how could clients, families, communities, organizations, laws, policies, and outcomes be different if I am truly successful at what I do?” The possibilities are limitless…

• Extra-legal factors including race/ethnicity would not influence encounters with law enforcement and the courts, which would in turn decrease disparities in juvenile and justice systems.
• Service providers would better understand their clients mental and physical health, substance abuse challenges, and trauma histories and be able to treat them more effectively.
• Prevention practices would supersede punitive practices such that diversion, restorative justice, mediation, specialty courts, etc. are provided more often than punishment and incapacitation.
• Cycles of domestic violence would be broken.
• Zip codes would no longer correlate to better or worse health outcomes, longer or shorter life expectancies, or the likelihood of going to college or getting a job.

As forensic social workers, we are uniquely positioned to forge pathways to equity, today and for generations to come.

With a focus on diversity, access, inclusion, and deep respect for lived experience, we invite you to partner with NOFSW to gain the knowledge, skills, and strategies to address explicit/implicit bias and advantage/oppression at micro, mezzo, and macro levels. Join us in New Orleans for the 37th annual conference to become a forensic social work Equity Trailblazer!