Meredith Canada’s research while affiliated with Indiana University – Purdue University Indianapolis and other places

Forensic social work is any practice context involving human interactions with legal systems and phenomena associated with criminal or civil law. This book provides an intermediate exploration of the profession from these angles and offers multiple examples of various forensic social work practice fields. The book is divided into sections focused on theory, policy, and practice and designed for utilization by emerging social workers and those with more extensive experience in the field. Throughout the text, experts from across the profession make significant contributions by explaining the function and practice of social work in forensic settings and identifying and providing information about the nuanced experiences of forensic social workers and the people they serve.

Drug courts are an alternative to incarceration for individuals who have substance use disorders and nonviolent arrests, and these programs can be an avenue to recovery for those who have opioid use disorders. This qualitative study used a focus group methodology to explore drug court team members’ thoughts, opinions, and lived experiences related to how the program treats opioid use disorders and the role of medication-assisted treatment (MAT) in programming. The drug court team had favorable views toward MAT and reported that participants who received MAT experienced many positive outcomes. Additionally, members of the drug court team often had to educate participants on MAT, as some participants had inaccurate information and beliefs about MAT that were based on myths. The drug court team also candidly discussed their paradigm shift from not allowing MAT to incorporating MAT into programming. Implications for drug court practice and future research are discussed.