Mission Statement & Vision

California Defense Social Workers (CDSW) Mission Statement

CDSW is a relationship-based organization comprised of indigent defense based social workers and mitigation specialists.  Our mission is to provide and promote networking, knowledge sharing, and professional development opportunities within the context of holistic indigent defense. Our commitments include expanding criminal defense practice to advocate for community-based alternatives to incarceration, developing re-entry programs for clients, assessing clients to meet their individual needs, and providing psychoeducation to clients and officers of the court. 

Who We Are

CDSW was formed in 2016 through an initial commitment of twenty professional social workers working in eight public defense offices throughout Northern California and continues to be based in Northern and Central California.  Quarterly meetings are held in person, in those regions.  However, since 2022, CDSW has also divided into three smaller subgroups, juvenile, pre-conviction, and post-conviction.  Meetings for these subgroups are held remotely once a month and include social workers and mitigation specialists all throughout California.  

CDSW also manages a listserv for indigent defense based social workers and mitigation specialists across the state. 

Purpose and Vision of CDSW

We are a team of social workers dedicated to supporting indigent juveniles and adults charged with criminal conduct. Our mission is to train, promote and professionalize the field of social work within the context of indigent criminal defense. Our membership is comprised of social workers throughout Northern California.

We are committed to developing best practices and protocols in the support of profession and our clients with the goal of increasing social justice, decreasing racial disparities in the criminal justice system, and reducing recidivism.

We also represent a broader commitment to expand criminal defense practices to include holistic approaches to adjudicating felony and misdemeanor defendants. Our work includes, in part: developing re-entry plans and advocating for community based solutions as alternatives to sentencing, assessing clients from a person-in-environment social work perspective, and providing psycho-education to clients, public defenders, district attorneys and judges.