UTCSW Alumni Use Their Skills to Make a Difference in Their Communities DALLAS KING HELPS CLIENTS THROUGH THE PUBLIC DEFENDER SOCIAL WORK PROGRAM

Two-time UTCSW alumnus Dallas King (BSSW ’17 & MSSW ’18, Trauma certification) works as the Public Defender Social Work (PDSW) Program Director, employed through Tennessee Community Services Agency, TNCSA, contracted with the Public Defender’s Conference.

“I am the Public Defender Social Work (PDSW) Program Director,” King explained. “The Public Defender Social Work program is funded through a federal Byrne/ JAG grant from the Tennessee Office of Criminal Justice Programs. The governor’s office watches this grant closely and with their blessing, we have been able to expand and provide the state with more social workers and offices following the client-centered holistic defense model.”

The PDSW Program is staffed by master-level social workers who have had substantial training geared toward client needs: struggling with substance abuse, untreated mental health concerns, homelessness, unemployment, poverty, and life consequences that follow arrests. Forensic Social Workers in the PDSW Program are integrated members of the client’s defense team. King’s biggest tasks as Program Director are creating and implementing policies and procedures and providing continued training to all social workers, as well as attorney staff to best support this multidisciplinary practice model.

Going back to school as a single mother, King really appreciated the support she received from the faculty and staff at the college. “One of my favorite memories was having my son attend Dr. Bowie’s class with me on some early mornings before I could take him into preschool,” she said. “He was barely four years old and called him Dr. Dude. To have faculty and staff truly understand my situation, continually encourage me to succeed, and loving my little boy through it, meant so much to me.”

King learned how to best work in an integrated practice setting. She focused on the medical side of that in school, but the principles surrounding the theories they discussed stayed the same when she moved over from her medical field placements to law offices with the public defenders. “Ethics are always at play, and we follow different ones, but I’m always able to utilize ethical decision-making models to consistently maintain awareness of how to best support staff and clients,” she stated. “I honestly never thought I would land in a macro position or have anything to do with policy, but Dr. Bowie’s consistent passion about policy made a significant impression on how I advocate for my clients and this program. He encouraged us to reach out to legislators and explained how policies and legislation can either drastically help or hurt you and your client population. I think of his lectures often when I’m stepping in the capital building in Nashville to speak with legislators about this program. I loved my time at UTCSW. All my experiences helped shape me into the person and social worker I am today.”