Working with Female Offenders: A Gender-Sensitive Approach - Softcover

Van Wormer, Katherine

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0470581530 ISBN 13: 9780470581537

Publisher: Wiley, 2010

Synopsis

Mandated for work in the juvenile justice system by the federal government and highly recommended for work with adult female offenders as well, the gender sensitive approach takes into account the special needs of girls and women. Addressing this gap in the literature, this book shows how professionals can address the needs of female offenders. Social workers, counselors, psychologists, and correctional officers who work with female offenders are provided with counseling skills in treating female offenders on anger management, communication, stress management, and other issues.

About this title

Review

"This book is a comprehensive, compelling text in which Katherine van Wormer artfully addresses areas that are absent from the literature on criminal justice and the helping professions as they relate to the special needs of girls and women offenders.... Noting that 'a paradigm shift is in the wind, ' the book is brilliantly constructed as it underscores the contradictions and paradoxes within the penal system.... The author's writing style is a notable strength as she convincingly advocates for a multidimensional, gender-sensitive approach while she systematically dissects the micro- and macrolevel dynamics that affect policy, programs, and research on female offenders." (Affilia: Journal of Women and Social Work, February 2012)

From the Back Cover

Praise for Working with Female Offenders

"Encyclopedic in scope and full of very relevant work drawn from the fields of biology, psychology, criminology, and corrections, this book is a must–read for those working with girl and women offenders."
Meda Chesney–Lind, Professor, Women′s Studies University of Hawaii at Manoa

"In this timely and thoughtful book, van Wormer provides a gender–sensitive lens through which the reader can examine pathways to female criminality, a global perspective on female crime and punishment, and innovative treatment approaches. This book is a must–have for any student or professional who wishes to truly impact and empower the lives of female offenders."
David W. Springer, Associate Dean for Academic Affairs, School of Social Work The University of Texas at Austin

"This book is timely in light of promising developments that are taking place at every level of the criminal justice system. It is a must–read for policymakers, practitioners, academics, and students in criminal justice, social work, and other related fields."
Barbara E. Bloom, Professor, Criminology and Criminal Justice Studies Sonoma State University, California

The first book to combine elements from the social work, counseling, and criminology fields to create a framework tailored to working with female offenders

Taking into account the special needs of girls and women within a system designed by men for male offenders, Working with Female Offenders offers counselors, correctional officers, lawyers, probation officers in short, anyone who works in some capacity with female offenders an evidence–based, gentler approach for working effectively and successfully with girls and women in trouble with the law.

Working with Female Offenders provides coverage devoted to the nature of female crime and to the institutional settings in which much of the female–specific programming is designed to take place. This timely volume equips professionals with proven counseling strategies tailored to fit this population.

Practical guidelines are included for case management interventions, teaching skills of communication and assertiveness, and anger and stress management for female offender populations, as well as:

• A strengths/empowerment/restorative framework for counseling women in crisis

• Narratives from personal interviews with female offenders and correctional counselors

• Discussion of controversial topics such as prison homosexuality, AIDS in prison, girls in gangs, and women on death row

• Examples of successful, innovative programs for female offenders from the United States and abroad

Working with Female Offenders addresses the unique challenges of female offenders and those who treat them, and provides a much needed addition to the literature on innovative programming for female offenders.

About this edition

• Publisher: Wiley
• Publication date: 2010
• ISBN 10: 0470581530
• ISBN 13: 9780470581537
• Binding: Paperback
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 352