The Evaluation and Legal Standards in Forensic Social Work Immigration Practice

Abstract

This is the second in a series of papers concerning forensic immigration social work. The first paper examined the broad issues and types of cases that require consultation by a forensic social worker in immigration cases. This paper will examine the pertinent legal standards that the forensic social worker must be aware of and the essential areas of inquiry in the evaluation of spousal abuse cases. The following two papers will examine the other two major types of cases referred from immigration lawyers: asylum and criminal and “hardship” immigration cases. The final paper in the series will examine the forensic social worker's presentation of the case as expert testimony in immigration court and highlight winning strategies.     

School Disorder and Student Achievement

Abstract

The study develops a school safety and student achievement model, incorporating the concepts of student background, school structure, school culture, school disorder, and student academic achievement, and fits it to 613 elementary schools in New York City, using Structural Equations Modeling technique. The model fits the data well based on both Chi-square test statistic and goodness of fit indexes. The model accounts for 71% of school variance in student achievement. The study confirms that student background is associated with student behavior and student learning. School disorder affects student achievement negatively directly and indirectly mediated by student attendance. The study suggests that policy initiative could be implemented to improve school climate, therefore reduce school disorder and improve student achievement.     

Mentally disordered offenders and the European Court of Human Rights

Mentally disordered offenders find themselves at the intersection of the healthcare system and the criminal justice system in most European countries. Decisions on their care often involve lengthy discussions in relation to care versus control in society. In this article, the focus is on one aspect of this debate — that of human rights. An analysis of cases, taken to the European Court of Human Rights by mentally disordered offenders, demonstrates the difficulties inherent in ensuring appropriate care to individuals and safeguards to the public at the same time. The issues raised include the problems raised by indeterminate sentences, the use of detention for preventive purposes, and debates about treatment.The countries represented in this selection of cases are Belgium, Norway, Poland, the Netherlands, Russia and the United Kingdom.     

RESIDENT PERCEPTIONS OF CRIME AND DISORDER: HOW MUCH IS “BIAS”, AND HOW MUCH IS SOCIAL ENVIRONMENT DIFFERENCES?*

This study attempted to disentangle the extent to which residents are systematically biased when reporting on the level of crime or disorder in their neighborhood. By using a unique sample of households nested in household clusters, this study teased out the degree of systematic bias on the part of respondents when perceiving crime and disorder. The findings are generally consistent with theoretical expectations of which types of residents will perceive more crime or disorder and contrast with the generally mixed results of prior studies that used an inappropriate aggregate unit when assuming that residents live in the same social context of crime or disorder. Estimating ancillary models on a sample of respondents nested in tracts produced mixed results that mirror the existing literature. This article shows that Whites consistently perceive more crime or disorder than their neighbors. It also shows that females, those with children, and those with longer residence in the neighborhood perceive more crime or disorder than their neighbors.     

家庭与戒毒—不同年龄段吸毒人员家庭支持力度与戒毒成效的分析和思考

目的:分析家庭对药物滥用人员戒毒成效的影响,探讨相应的家庭治疗和家庭护理的方法。方法:2005年9月-11月,在上海市虹口区嘉兴路街道老城区,对在册吸毒人员按老、中、青三个年龄段各随机抽取20%,共65名,采用档案查阅、家庭访视、个别访谈等方式,收集其家庭基本信息资料并进行综合分析。结果:从吸毒人员戒毒的成效看,家庭结构健全、家庭氛围良好者的戒毒效果优于家庭结构畸形、家庭沟通缺失(破碎型家庭)者的效果。结论:家庭对药物滥用者戒毒康复存在着深刻的影响,而正确的家庭治疗方法与合理的家庭护理措施是戒毒成功与否的重要环节。     

时代呼唤统一的刑事责任能力鉴定标准

阐述了我国制定《精神障碍者刑事责任能力评定大纲》必要性、可行性和历史意义,对如何统一精神疾病刑事责任能力鉴定的评定标准,如何有利于同行专家和司法机关对司法精神病学鉴定结论可采信性的审查提出见解。     

Autism behind bars: a review of the research literature and discussion of key issues

Individuals with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) may experience difficulties coping at all levels of involvement in the criminal justice system. Questions remain, however, regarding the presence and type of difficulties faced by individuals with ASD in the context of incarceration within prison settings. Despite the potential impact for community safety and concerns regarding justice, these issues have received very little academic attention. The research that does exist is generally limited by poor methodology and small sample sizes. The current paper provides a brief review and discussion of the limited extant literature regarding the experiences of prisoners with ASD with the view to summarising areas of difficulties potentially faced by such individuals. It is hoped that this brief review may highlight the need for academic attention in order to inform practice and policy regarding the criminal justice response to this potentially vulnerable population.     

Prisoners,pups, and PTSD: the grass roots response to veterans with PTSD

As the human–animal bond is increasingly recognized as therapeutic, the role of animals, most frequently canines, grows. A contemporary pairing of animals and humans can be found inside prisons. While the dogs trained by inmates are most frequently adopted out to the community, today dogs are being trained to assist veterans with post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) as part of a grass roots effort to fulfill the mental health needs of veterans. The growing number of veterans with PTSD and concomitant issues including addiction, unemployment, homelessness, and crime, makes the mental healthcare issues of veterans a social problem. The civilian-led effort to provide veterans with dogs is a continuation of the public’s involvement with the proliferation of prison-based animal programs. While this next generation of animal programs has overwhelming community support, it also suffers from similar limitations as its predecessors. With no universal agreement as to the training methods or level of skills needed by the dogs, their efficacy at lessening the symptoms of veterans’ PTSD remains largely unknown.     

Relationship Abuse and Victims’ Posttraumatic Stress Disorder Symptoms: Associations with Child Behavior Problems

This study examined associations among male-to-female physical and psychological relationship aggression, female partners’ PTSD symptoms, and behavior problems among the children (n = 62) of men enrolled in a treatment program for relationship abuse perpetration. Psychological aggression was a stronger predictor of child behavior problems than physical assault. Restrictive engulfment and hostile withdrawal behaviors evidenced the strongest bivariate associations with child behavior problems, and were the strongest predictors of this outcome when considering four distinct forms of psychological aggression together. Victim PTSD symptoms largely mediated the effects of psychological aggression on child behavior. Findings suggest that male-to-female psychological aggression and victim PTSD symptoms play an important role in understanding behavior problems among children living with male relationship abuse perpetrators. Portions of this work were presented at the annual convention of the Association for the Advancement of Behavior Therapy, New Orleans, Louisiana, November, 2004.