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For several decades, public defender offices and other indigent defense providers have incorporated social workers, mitigation specialists, and other holistic practitioners into their representation in an effort to both reduce reliance on incarceration and better address the needs of individuals impacted by the criminal legal system. In recent years, a handful of researchers have attempted to measure the impact of such providers on client outcomes, but generally speaking, there has been little conversation nationally of the importance of data collection related to these services. In this session, we will discuss ways to collect and utilize data on social worker/mitigation services to educate others about their utility, demonstrate the impact of services on clients, and advocate for more funding. We will share the four-tiered approach to collecting social work data developed by a collaboration of practitioners and researchers in Michigan for your use and also your feedback. The tiered approach aims to make data collection simple and accessible for all providers. We will also discuss early efforts to connect with other practitioners across the country to develop best practice data points for broader use.
Dr. Siegel is a researcher who has worked on issues related to the criminal legal system for more than fifteen years. He approaches his work through an anti-racist, abolitionist lens with the goal of eradicating the systemic and racialized harms of the carceral state while building pathways for restorative and transformative justice. He completed his doctoral research at the University of Michigan on the prevalence and implications of parole revocation among technical violators in the state of Michigan, and has conducted research for a wide range of institutions including the Vera Institute of Justice, Michigan’s State Appellate Defender Office, and the State of Michigan. At the MIDC, Dr. Siegel is responsible for identifying institutional research priorities, overseeing data collection and analysis, and translating research findings into best practices and policy reform.
Lauren Harris (she/her/hers) is currently a Writing and Mitigation Consultant at The Bronx Defenders, and a freelance Mitigation Specialist. After receiving her M.S.W. from Columbia University in 2011, Lauren joined The Bronx Defenders as a social worker in the Criminal Defense Practice. In her five-year tenure she served as a staff social worker, helped develop the Adolescent Defense Project, and supervised social workers in the Criminal Defense Practice. Lauren left in 2015 and later began her own mitigation practice. Working primarily in the Southern and Eastern districts of New York, applying the holistic defense model to her attorney collaborations to better represent clients. She then returned to The Bronx Defenders, as the Director for the Center for Holistic Defense where she oversaw the provision of in-depth technical assistance to public defender offices, individual advocates, policymakers, and others who were interested in adopting a holistic approach to public defense. Lauren received her B.A. in English Literature and Journalism from New York University.
