County Magazine

Indigent defense provides legal representation to people who can’t afford an attorney, but the work can extend well beyond the courtroom. At the Concho Valley Public Defender’s Office, social worker Monica Diaz helps clients access treatment, housing and other resources that can be critical to their success. A San Angelo native with bachelor’s and master’s degrees from Angelo State University, Diaz returned home after working at a public defender’s office in Del Rio. In this interview, she explains the role social work plays in a field often associated primarily with attorneys.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

What do you do as a social worker in the public defender’s office?

My days are always different. There’s no rhyme or rhythm. I assist with helping find resources for clients, finding rehabs. If there's ever a client in crisis, we do some crisis intervention, getting clients set up with the mental health authority. If they're getting released on a probation, checking in with them, making sure that they are reporting, making sure that they have a job, making sure that they have all the resources needed so that they can successfully complete their probation.

What is the benefit of having a social worker in the public defender's office?

Because the clients are relying on the public defender's office for help, that means that they lack resources. I think probably the best benefit of it is setting them up with the things they need to keep them from reoffending. Substance abuse is a huge thing we see, so it’s taking the time to get them into a program. A lot of time it's not that they don't want to go, it's that they don't know who to call. They don't know how to even get set up. They don't know how to complete a screening. They don't have the vehicle to complete the screening. That’s where social work comes in, right? When you're facing barriers, you don't have transportation, you don't have a phone, that can be very hard to do. So, I think that's the most beneficial. Giving them the resources they need to make sure they get a fair shot.

How did you get interested in social work?

I originally wanted to go to school for criminal justice, and when I went to speak with my advisor, they said, "Did you know that you can get a degree in social work, and you can still do criminal justice?" That sparked an interest in me because I knew I've always loved helping people, so I changed my major to social work. I knew I wanted to do something where I'd be advocating for a population that sometimes not a lot of people are going to want to advocate for. If I'm going to help people, I want to help the people that need the most help. The population we serve now, they face so many barriers. That's definitely a group of individuals that I'd want to work with.

How do you work with the attorneys in the office?

When they send me a referral on a client, I want to go talk to that attorney and make sure I'm understanding exactly what the client's needs are that way I know how I can develop a plan or strategy that's best going to help them. So, it’s a lot of communication and then collaborating with them throughout the entire time that we're representing the client.

Do you continue to follow clients after their charges are dismissed or if their probation finishes?

Sometimes, yes, I will continue to follow through, especially if there's a huge barrier that they're facing. If I have a homeless person and we follow through, get him out of jail, he completes probation, but still doesn't have a home, still doesn't have resources, how successful could they be? There's probably a high likelihood that they would reoffend again. If I can get them set up with respite care, emergency housing, some sort of sober living, they now have the resources.

Some of the charges you see are from stealing from Walmart because they were stealing groceries, they were stealing clothes. If we could just set them up somewhere where they will have these basic needs met, maybe we can deter them from reoffending. A big thing that I have seen is that a lot of these clients are mental health patients that should be on medication, and a lot of time it leads to some of these crimes. Those are huge barriers, and that's where the social worker steps in. I advocate to put them on these medications, and I have seen a difference from when I first meet the client to when I'm able to get them set up with mental health resources. I'll go see them in a few weeks, and it's a night and day difference.

You spoke about stealing food when you don’t have any. Why is it important to get down to those root causes for why they may have committed a crime?

You hear some cases that life has been very unfair to them, right? I can see why there may have been some substance abuse that started. I can see why that path was chosen. Let me give them at least a chance to go to rehab or at least a chance to try to get better. I hear disturbing things. A lot of times I have to remember they are human, as well. Let's try to assess where things may have gone wrong and at least try to give them a fair chance

I imagine you see a lot of really hard things every day. How do you handle that?

I'm human, so of course I have feelings and sometimes I can be sad or feel anxious. I’m  under supervision for my LCSW license, and  through that supervision, I have a biweekly class that I have to go to where we practice a lot of self-care, and we learn how to deal with the emotions and stressors that come from our workplace. What makes it difficult is the cases. You hear the stories and try not to get invested. Then you do an assessment with them, and you hear what happened to them at the age of two and what it transpired into. It is very emotionally and mentally taxing sometimes.

It must be rewarding, too, when you are able to help someone. Is there something that stands out in your mind of a moment that's reaffirmed to you why you do what you do?

When I see clients being successful, when I see them in rehab, when I see them set up with MHMR services, when I see them the next time in jail and they're calm and they're not anxious and they're not crying because they're now medicated and they feel better. When I see them completing classes and being self-sufficient, those things are what make it very rewarding. I think just simply the client telling me, "Thank you so much. Nobody's ever cared." There are a lot of clients I've gone to see that aren’t going to have a conversation with me the first time they meet me. They know I'm a social worker, but they don't trust me. And I don't blame them, right? Sometimes these visits take a while for them to start opening up and then you learn they were in CPS since they were newborns, or you learn they were abandoned, and you think, OK this makes sense. The most rewarding part comes because I've been able to work with clients who had difficult circumstances like that, and they were able to successfully go to rehab, work with the jail, get set up with programs. It’s about seeing beyond the criminal and the crime and seeing everybody as a human.

Any closing thoughts?

I love what I do. I think it's very interesting and very rewarding as well. Yes, it's sad at times, but very rewarding. Everybody in the office, the attorneys, the admin, we are all a team. And we all have to collaborate and work together for it to be successful. Everybody brings in their own little expertise, and it turns into something good.