When most people hear the term forensic, they immediately think of the popular television show CSI: Crime Scene Investigation or, perhaps, other crime shows that feature highly sophisticated laboratory and computer equipment that quickly lead the police to identifying the perpetrator of a sensational crime. Needless to say, this is not an accurate portrayal of real-world forensic investigation, as recently evidenced by the alarming discovery of between 100,000 and 400,000 untested rape kits nationwide, with some sitting in police evidence lockers for many decades (Graham, 2015). Importantly, this is also not an accurate depiction of forensic social work, which rarely relies on laboratory evidence. And yet, forensic practice is fairly widespread in our profession, even though most social workers in forensic settings do not identify themselves as forensic social workers. Although there are a number of definitions of what, exactly, forensic social work encompasses, in the narrowest sense it is the intersection of social work practice and the legal system. Maschi and Killian (2011), however, have argued for a broader and more integrative definition that not only explicitly includes our profession's commitment to social justice and human rights but also stresses the collaborative nature of forensic social work. Forensic social workers are found in a variety of settings and perform diverse roles and functions, including child and elder protection, child advocacy, child custody cases, termination of parental rights and adoptions, services to juvenile and adults in correctional institutions, court mandated mental health and substance abuse treatment, services for crime victims, community service for offenders and restitution to victims, human trafficking, domestic violence, education, health care, welfare rights, kinship and elder care, evaluation of competency in civil and criminal trials, sentence mitigation, and mediation. In addition, social workers in many settings may be called to testify in court as either fact or expert witnesses (Barker & Branson, 2000; Maschi & Killian, 2011; Munson, 2011). Given the numerous arenas in which forensic social work is present, we believe it is important for social work educators to be aware of the breadth of forensic social work and the unique challenges that social work practitioners face when they are involved in forensic roles and settings. Not coincidentally, forensic social work evolved concurrently with social work practice and shares the same roots. From the English Poor Laws, which determined the categories of people who legally deserved assistance and became embedded in colonial policies of the United States, to the formation of the juvenile court, to the social reform movements of the early 1900s, forensic social work has been present, at least to some extent, in community and clinical practice from the onset (Maschi & Killian, 2011; Roberts & Brownell, 1999). However, according to Munson (2011), forensic social work did not take on a larger role within the profession un...

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Social work ethical codes help to define our profession as well as to provide guidelines for resolving challenging social work dilemmas. Forensic social work is a specialty area that is broadly defined as social work activities involving criminal or civil court proceedings, criminal offenders, victims of crime, or other systems of justice. Forensic social workers are most often involved with adversarial court proceedings and emotionally charged civil cases that require special attention to ethics. The National Organization of Forensic Social Workers (NOFSW) has maintained a Code of Ethics for its members since 1987. As the field continues to evolve a discussion of current ethical dilemmas and a revision of the code of ethics are needed. This article reviews the major ethical challenges faced by forensic social workers, discusses key considerations for practice, and presents a revised edition of the NOFSW Code of Ethics.