Protective Webs: Exploring a Role for School Social Workers on Behalf of Delinquent Youths

Annually, 100,000 delinquent youths return to their communities from a detention facility and are required to attend a community school. School social workers may be best positioned to provide assistance with this transition; however, little is understood about how they are presently servicing this population. This study explores the interactions of school social workers and the advocacy and assistance they provide on behalf of juvenile justice youths. The author surveyed a national sample of current school social workers (n = 4,279) and reports on their involvement with juvenile justice, their work on behalf of the youths' families as well as their interagency collaborations.