A Study On The Dilemma Of Judicial Social Workers Acting As Appropriate Adult In China And Countermeasures

In 2021,China implemented the revised Law on the Protection of Minors and the Law on the Prevention of Juvenile Delinquency,and the White Paper on Juvenile Procuratorial Work(2021)pointed out the trend of a rebound in the number of juvenile crimes and the low age of juveniles in China.In the context of the protection of minors and prevention of juvenile crime in the new era,China has put forward the goal of establishing a judicial social support system for minors.As a key part of the social support system,social work has played an important role in recent years.In criminal proceedings,the "appropriate adult system",in which minors whose parents or other legal representatives are unable to attend,choose other eligible appropriate adults to be present,is the first formal process for social forces to intervene in the justice of minors,and is also considered to be the first social support force received by minors involved in the case.As an important part of the social work field,judicial social work includes services such as appropriate adult services,specifically the role of the judicial social worker as an appropriate adult in practice.After 20 years of development in China,the system of appropriate adult still has great potential for development and improvement.This paper draws on social work theory and uses a combination of research methods such as literature research method and participant observation method to sort out the current status of research on judicial social work for minors and appropriate adult.Through participating in the operation of the minors protection project,following and analysing relevant cases,and participating in the judicial process,the paper takes a problem-oriented approach to study the difficulties encountered by judicial social workers working as appropriate adult in China,and summarises the existing problems and puts forward its own opinions and suggestions.Social workers currently have an advantage over other groups in acting as appropriate adult,however,they are not the first choice in terms of policy,and there are also problems of divergent philosophies,inadequate safeguards and negative process performance.The combination of judicial social work and appropriate adult has gained a lot of recognition,but there is still a long way to go before China can strengthen the security in terms of personnel,funding and organisation,and establish a dedicated team of professional social workers for appropriate adult and make it fully functional.