ABSTRACT
This final chapter presents a number of issues that will be pertinent for the future of social work practice in the criminal justice system. These issues include the use of technology, science and research, the influence of global trends, and interdisciplinary collaboration. Earlier in this book we established the decline of social work involvement in the criminal justice system. Despite declining involvement, social workers continue to practice in the criminal justice system. Notably, the future of social work practice in the criminal justice system will involve much more interdisciplinary collaboration and research than in the past. This is already beginning to occur in the area of funding given to agencies for criminal-justice-related programs and services. Therefore criminal justice practice will necessitate that social workers possess skills in collaboration and research in addition to criminal-justice-specific knowledge. This chapter also reviews the lessons learned from social work practice models in the criminal justice systems found in the Netherlands and Scotland.
