Being a Social Worker in a private, criminal defense law firm presents a unique set of difficulties. Quite often, we serve clients who aren’t poor but are nowhere even close to rich. This is a very difficult position to be in when you practice holistic advocacy – a model in which we try to identify the needs of our clients (and assist them in addressing those needs) in order to adequately and appropriately resolve the current charges and to prevent any future incidences.

It’s very similar to the problems that face the working poor. The working poor make just enough money to not be considered impoverished - a status which would give them access to local, state, and federal assistance - but not enough money to thrive on, or even survive, for that matter. In our case, our clients may make enough money to afford an attorney but accessing services beyond that is nearly impossible. Primarily, they don’t qualify for many services because they aren’t “poor”. Our clients rarely have great (if any) insurance that will cover services. And even if they did, many of the services they require wouldn’t be covered by insurance – DWI classes, anger management, impact panels, alcohol awareness, etc. They certainly can’t afford to pay out of pocket for services like therapy or addiction treatment.

So, here’s my wish list that would make serving and supporting our clients so much easier:

1. I wish society stopped looking at people who commit crimes as low lifes, throwaways, undeserving, or any other title which alludes to a second (or third or fourth) class citizen. We are talking about people who fall into one of two categories: 1) People who have made a mistake or 2) People who have needs (often serious) that are not being met. That’s it. In my time working in a criminal defense law firm, I have not met one “bad” person. I have not met one sociopath. They are the rarest of the rare in the criminal world and, yet, society treats all people who enter the system as such. This simple change in perspective alone would facilitate my next two wishes:
2. I wish the criminal justice decision makers would stop, halt, and desist in spending even one more penny on institutions of incarceration. Instead, I would like them to begin funding programs and services which will address issues that lead to criminal behaviors that are available to all people (rich or poor).
3. I wish every person in America had healthcare that would adequately pay for all services related to health and well-being. Personally, I think the criminal justice system should pick up some of that ticket. They would save money on the back end by a long shot. Happy, healthy people rarely need to be prosecuted or convicted and certainly not incarcerated. Cha-ching, Mr. Attorney General.

Here’s to wishing…

posted by Athan   permalink   0 Comments