MSW Students Support Juvenile Justice Reform: Service-Learning and an Avenue to Career Development
by John Gallagher, PhD, LCSW, LCAC, Rebecca Green, BA, Grace Parente, BA, Jocelyn Morton-Elzie, BS, and Adebambo Adeyiga, MBA
Service-learning is a method of teaching in which students learn about social work topics and advocate for social change by doing an activity that gives back to the community. The goals of this article are to highlight the benefits of service-learning—especially the benefits to students and their career development—and to provide an example of how schools of social work can incorporate this pedagogy into the curricula.
Dr. John Gallagher, Associate Professor at Morgan State University, a historically Black university (HBCU) in Baltimore, MD, developed a service-learning juvenile justice class to support students in exploring their career goals. As part of the class, in April 2023, MSW students participated in a training and fundraiser to support juvenile justice reform. The training was titled Juvenile Justice Through a Compassionate and Empathetic Lens: A Paradigm Shift From “What’s Wrong With the Child?” to “What Happened to the Child?” The training addressed timely and important topics related to juvenile justice reform, including best practices in treating Oppositional Defiant Disorder (ODD) and Conduct Disorder and the role of juvenile drug courts in justice reform.
Consistent with service-learning, students were presenters at the event, 100% of the profits were donated to a nonprofit that supports juvenile justice reform, and students reflected on how the learning from this class supported their social work career goals. In what is sure to be a lasting memory of their social work careers, the students presented with key stakeholders in juvenile justice reform, including Dr. Jerome Adams, 20th Surgeon General of the United States, and Brooke Siem, author of May Cause Side Effects. Siem shared her lived experiences and mental health advocacy work related to the use of antidepressant medications with juveniles.
In addition to enhancing their professional presentation skills, raising money to support juvenile justice reform, and collaborating with others, the students also developed skills in marketing, an essential skill for social work leadership. Specifically, the students participated in The HBCU Audio Experience podcast (Gallagher et al., 2023), where they marketed the service-learning event and discussed a variety of other topics, such as their educational experiences at an HBCU, their career goals, and what motivated them to be social workers.
Service-learning is a résumé builder. The students now have a professional presentation, podcast interview, and this article on their résumés to enhance their employability following graduation. Rebecca Green, Grace Parente, Jocelyn Morton-Elzie, and Adebambo Adeyiga share how participating in the service-learning class supported them in developing their career goals.
Rebecca Green
This semester, I had the honor to take the juvenile justice and delinquency prevention class with Dr. Gallagher. The service-learning class shaped my outlook on the type of social work I hope to practice in the future. I learned the ins and outs of the juvenile justice system and that children need guidance and grace. When children are involved in the juvenile justice system, it is often due to bigger forces like trauma and other crises. I learned that childhood is a critical time that shapes behaviors, and adolescents are often trying to navigate bias, discrimination, and stigma that can impact their mental health and decision-making.
In my career, I want to work in the criminal justice system, perhaps as a social worker in a courthouse. Therefore, it is important that I understand that trauma and other negative life experiences can create a path to crime. In the future, I would like to work with children and be an advocate for them, because, at times, their voices and opinions are ignored. Sometimes children are put at a disadvantage because of things they cannot always control. As social workers, it is important to understand our clients’ histories, but at the same time, empower them to not allow the past to dictate the future. Service-learning provided me an opportunity to present on this important topic and to be a voice and advocate for juvenile justice reform.
Grace Parente
Dr. Gallagher’s juvenile justice service-learning class has been instrumental in guiding my future social work career. Prior to taking this course, I was uncertain about the direction that I wanted my career to go. However, this class has reinforced my desire to enter the world of macro social work, with the goal of creating a system that better serves its vulnerable populations. This course advanced my understanding of the ways in which the juvenile justice system in our country is ineffective in its goals of rehabilitation and reform.
Furthermore, this course challenged me to reimagine ways in which the system can be transformed to promote healing and justice over punishment and retribution. Although I have not secured post-graduation employment, nor do I have a specific job in the forefront of my mind, I am certain that my social work career will involve the pursuit of systemic change in the form of program creation and/or policy reform that benefits urban communities.
Jocelyn Morton-Elzie
Participating in the service-learning class and juvenile drug court training has been a transformative experience for me. The training has broadened my knowledge and understanding of the current state of juvenile justice reform and has given me a new perspective on how we, as social workers, can improve the lives of young people who find themselves within the justice system. The training provided me with an opportunity to conduct research and engage in meaningful discussions with my peers. I found myself wanting to learn more and bring this newfound knowledge into my social work career. I believe that by incorporating this knowledge into my work, I can contribute to reforming the juvenile justice system and positively impact the lives of young people.
While working with my co-presenters to develop our training, it became clear that juvenile justice reform is necessary and social workers can play a key role in the process. We need to move away from punitive measures and adopt a lens of treatment and rehabilitation. Compassion, listening, and empowerment should be at the forefront of our approach, as they are essential for the well-being of juveniles and their families.
While presenting at the service-learning event, I felt nervous, but I was also excited to share my insights with others. Overall, the training and fundraiser provided me with a valuable platform to learn, grow, and contribute to this important cause.
Adebambo Adeyiga
Based on my experience in this service-learning class, I developed firsthand knowledge of how academia and community agencies collaborate to ensure the clients we serve are receiving evidence-based services that are consistent with social work values and ethics, such as competency and integrity. Furthermore, I became aware of the underlying factors that place urban families at a socioeconomic disadvantage and the importance of addressing these factors through strengths-based interventions, such as the use of compassion and empathy as part of juvenile justice reform. I learned a lot about the dynamics of juvenile drug court. I also learned how African Americans continue to be underrepresented in some programs and tend to have lower graduation rates than their white counterparts. Factors contributing to these disparities include a lack of culturally specific treatments, socioeconomic and environmental risk factors, and structural barriers to accessing juvenile drug courts.
Social workers are best suited to advocate for social justice, equity, and inclusion in these programs. My future social work practice will surely be guided by my learning in this service-learning class, particularly as I advocate for the use of culturally informed interventions in the juvenile justice system to promote healing, well-being, and recovery in urban, African American communities.
Reference
Gallagher, J. R., Adeyiga, A., Green, R., Morton-Elzie, J., & Parente, G. (2023, April). Episode# 60 – Dr. John Gallagher’s juvenile justice class, school of social work, Morgan State University [Audio podcast]. In The HBCU Audio Experience. Chicago, IL: HBCU GRAD. Available to view at:
John Gallagher, PhD, LCSW, LCAC, is an associate professor at Morgan State University, School of Social Work, where he teaches MSW classes in substance use and mental health disorder treatment and recovery. His research agenda is related to criminal justice reform and best practices in serving African Americans in treatment courts.
Rebecca Green, Grace Parente, Jocelyn Morton-Elzie, and Adebambo Adeyiga are MSW students at Morgan State University, School of Social Work, where they have advocated for juvenile justice reform that is consistent with social work values and ethics.