ABSTRACT. Criminal justice agencies are increasingly using cognitive
restructuring groups in correctional programs because current
research suggests they are effective in reducing violent recidivism.
However, social group workers are not at the forefront of this important
work. This paper discusses a unique collaboration between an
urban probation department and a school of social work to develop cognitive restructuring groups for offenders. It illustrates an important
opportunity for social group workers to reach people at-risk for
committing violent crime in urban communities. [Article copies available
for a fee fim The Haworth Document Delivery Sewice: 1-800-342-
9678. E-mail address: getinfo@haworth.com]
INTRODUCTZON
Until the 1980s, community correction departments in the United States
employed professional social workers to rehabilitate individuals under
their supervision. However, the current generation of officers is not routinely
trained in social work. The shift away from social work to criminal
justice expertise in the community corrections workforce parallels the
move away from rehabilitation to punitive approaches in the criminal
justice systcm over the past decade.
Ironically, thc most compelling criminal justice research on "what
works" to stop people from continuing to pursue criminal activity strongly
supports certain rehabilitation models (Gendreau, 1993). In recent studies
conducted in Canada and the United States, criminal justice experts have