Anti-Oppressive Social Work Practice and the Carceral State

Patricia O'Brien, PhD, MSW, is Associate Professor (retired) at the Jane Addams College of Social Work at the University of Illinois at Chicago (UIC). Nationally known for her advocacy and research on women in and out of prison, she published one of the first studies examining how women succeed in the community after release from incarceration.Judith S. Willison, PhD, MSW, LICSW, is Associate Professor in the Bridgewater State University School of Social Work. Her scholarship focuses on understanding the place of criminalized behavior within existing systems of social inequity and institutionalized white supremacy to support activist interventions.

Anti-oppressive Social Work Practice and the Carceral State is a contribution that fills a significant gap. Increasingly there are calls for anti-oppressive social work, particularly related to carceral systems, and this book provides language and context. O'Brien and Willison have created a text for those who are new to the topic to begin to understand the important issues, and for someone who is familiar, to expand their knowledge. Anyone interested in anti-oppression should add this resource to their library.

• PART 1: FOUNDATIONS FOR ANTI-OPPRESSIVE SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE IN THE CARCERAL STATE CHAPTER 1: How We Got Here and Where We Want to Go How We Got Here: Carceral State SummaryWhere We Want to Go: Social Work in the Carceral StateOverview of the Criminal Legal SystemA Brief HistoryFunctions and Components of the Criminal Legal SystemAnti-Oppressive Social Work Practice (AOP)Book Structure and ChaptersExpanding Our Vision Online ResourcesReferences CHAPTER 2: The Sociopolitical Context of Social Work Practice and the Carceral State Anti-Oppressive Social Work: Why Sociopolitical Context Matters Understanding the Sociopolitical Evolution and Expansion of the Carceral StateDefining the Carceral State Evolution and Expansion of the Carceral State Introduction to Institutional Mechanisms of the Carceral State Transforming the Carceral System: Implications of a Sociopolitical Analysis for Anti-Oppressive Social Work ConclusionExpanding Our Vision Online Resources References CHAPTER 3: An Anti-Oppressive Framework for Social Work Practice in the Carceral State Empowerment and Strengths PerspectivesAnti-Oppressive Practice in the Carceral State Engagement Phase Teaching and Learning Assessment Phase Action and Accompaniment Intervention Phase Evaluation Phase Evidence-Informed Practice in the Criminal Legal System Trauma-Informed Care Public Health Approach Conclusion Expanding Our Vision Online Resources References CHAPTER 4: The Criminalization of People with Mental Illness The Evolution of the Criminalization of Mental IllnessMechanisms of the Criminalization of Mental IllnessAnti-Oppressive Social Work and Public Health InterventionsConclusion Expanding Our Vision Online Resources References PART 2: ANTI-OPPRESSIVE SOCIAL WORK PRACTICE IN CARCERAL SETTINGS CHAPTER 5: An Anti-Oppressive Social Work Approach to Public Safety and Judicial ResponsesAnti-Oppressive Social Work and Policing he Changed Nature of Contemporary Police Forces Policing and Community-Based Behavioral Crises An Anti-Oppressive Analysis of Police-Social Work CollaborationsA Community-Based Approach to Public SafetyAnti-Oppressive Social Work and Problem-Solving Courts Drug CourtsMental Health Courts (MHCs)An Anti-Oppressive Analysis of Problem-Solving CourtsCommunity-Based Restorative ResponsesConclusion Expanding Our Vision Online ResourcesReferences CHAPTER 6: Transparency and Transformation in Carceral DetentionHealthcare During Detention Suicide in Jail Immigrant Detention Anti-Oppressive Social Work in Jails and Detention Centers ConclusionExpanding Our VisionReferences CHAPTER 7: Challenges and Possibilities of Anti-Oppressive Social Work Practice in Prison with MenThe Mass Incarceration of Man The Build-up of Incarcerated Men: A History of Gendered RacismMechanisms of Men's Criminalization Men's Convictions Violent Crime Men Sentenced to the Death Penalty for Capital Offenses Life Sentences Prison Conditions Solitary Confinement and Supermax Prisons Prison Suicide and Self-Injurious Behavior Health Conditions Practice Interventions with Men in Prison Conclusion Expanding Our Vision Online ResourcesReferences CHAPTER 8: Challenges and Possibilities of Anti-Oppressive Social Work Practice in Prison with Women Prison as a Gendered Organization The Buildup of Women's Incarceration: Reform The Buildup of Women's Incarceration: Punishment Characteristics of Women in Prison Women's Convictions Drug Crimes Sexual Crimes Women Sentenced to the Death Penalty for Capital Crimes Pathways to Criminalization Prison Conditions Solitary Confinement Pregnancy/Birth/Loss Sexual Assault in PrisonHealth Conditions Social Work Practice with Women in Prison Promising Interventions From Prison to the Community: Advocacy and Concluding Thoughts Expanding Our Vision Online Resources References PART 3: LEVELS OF INTERVENTION CHAPTER 9: How Families Resist the Carceral State and MoveToward Healing Parental Incarceration CaregivingCompounded Pain: The Child Welfare System Visitation During Incarceration Community Rebuilding Conclusion Expanding Our Vision Online ResourcesReferences