Social Work Practice in Court Settings: The Case of Jimma Zone High Court and Jimma Town Woreda Court

Abstract

Social workers can serve as forensic social workers, psychotherapist, mediators, case managers and facilitators in the court setting. The main objective of this study was to explore social work practice in the court setting the case of Jimma town woreda court and Jimma zone High court. This study was a cross sectional, descriptive and case study qualitative research. Purposive sampling was used to select participant of the study, in-depth interview, key informant interview and observations were employed in order to collect data In addition, secondary sources of data were exhaustively reviewed. Thematic analysis strategy was used in order to analyze the data. The finding of the study reveals that there is serious gap on the application of social work skills and knowledge in the court settings. There are no regular trainings provided for social workers. The finding of the study further shows that limited staffs, lack of awareness about the service and contribution of social workers are challenges for social work practice in the court settings. The services provided in the court settings are mainly limited to children. There is limited collabora tion with other government offices and even within a court. Interdisciplinary collaboration be tween social workers and other professionals in court setting is very limited. I suggest that ap plication of skill and knowledge of social work has to be fully operationalized in both courts and to deliver this service professional social workers has to be employed in both court. In addition, continuous training has to be provided for the social workers in order to equip them with the necessary knowledge and skills that help them deliver appropriate and effective services. Fur ther, Awareness creation training about the contribution of social work practice in the court has to be given for lawyers and judges by school of social work and other concerned parties