Social Work students' opinions on the need for more juvenile justice-centered curriculum

Historically, social workers helped create and were deeply involved in the juvenile justice system. Due to various obstacles, social workers abandoned the field altogether. In recent years, it was has been acknowledged that social workers need to return to the field of juvenile justice, but the percentages of social workers entering into the field of juvenile justice have not increased. This thesis explored the opinions and perceptions of MSW students on the areas of their academic programs, their beliefs about the juvenile justice field, and their perceptions of social workers in the juvenile justice field. A 19-question survey was provided to 46 participants. The majority of the participants believed that there is a need for social workers in the juvenile justice field and that their current academic programs have not placed enough focus on the juvenile justice field. Participants also believed that if academic programs provided more courses and field placements in juvenile justice that student interest in the field would increase.