The Development of Forensic Social Work in Spain

Abstract

Keywords: forensic social work, social familial expertise, assistant and family relationships. FORENSIC SOCIAL WORKThis paper will cover the state of affairs in Spain, and will give a brief comparison with the state of affairs of this professional specialty in Great Britain, the United States and Argentina.In Spain, Law 7/81, 7th of July, which was modified by the Civil Code, contained the provisional and circumstantial terms about the lives of couples and the terms which marriages should be subject to in order to agree on a divorce. The legal possibility of a marital breakdown caused the formation of the first Family Courts (by Royal Decree 1322-81 on the 3rd of July) in different Spanish cities, and in 1983 they were equipped with psychosocial teams.In 1983, the professional career in the field of administration of justice for social workers began in the family courts when a social worker and a psychologist formed and set up two expert teams.The role of the social worker in the administration of justice was consolidated after the call for official selective From this moment on, the different administrations have gone on to create forensic social worker positions as public servants of the Ministry of Justice or for the autonomous communities with the competencies to administer justice in their territory (Gomez & Soto 2015b). The professionals would be subject to the authority of these institutions and the relevant judges in the family proceedings. These social workers have the role of assisting the judges in any family law proceedings by providing recommendations through a report which follows the format of expert evidence, also called a specialist´s report. Therefore, we can talk about professionals who are civil servants (Gómez & Herrador, 2009) who depend on the public administrations, either from the central or regional governments, but who respond to the judges´ request for advice in family law proceedings. This is the situation of this profession and specialty in Spain, but it is worth comparing this reality with the way forensic social work is organized in other countries as well.In Great Britain, legal proceedings are regulated by the Children Act of 1989 in England and Wales; in Northern Ireland, the law (Children NI Order 1995) is narrowly based on the Children Act of 1989.All the cases in relation to the custody and access to children are dealt with by adhering to the legislation mentioned above. Parents can appeal to the courts in an effort to resolve an issue of dispute. Initially, the court together with the legal team will work to resolve any difficulties as much as possible and/or aim to negotiate an agreement. If this is impossible, the court will send a social worker to mediate, evaluate and recommend a possible resolution.In England and Wales, the tribunal refers the case to an independent organization called Children and Family Court