Thank You, National Organization of Forensic Social Work

Richard Ducote

          I deeply appreciate your Sol Gothard Lifetime Achievement Award given me on April 17.   Judge Gothard’s support, confidence, and encouragement throughout my career were indispensable, and I thank him for the 36 years I have known him.  NOFSW could not have selected a more iconic figure to embody lifetime achievement than Judge Gothard, who has always led a life of service, humanity, scholarship, leadership, inspiration, and courage.  Few judges have so boldly challenged their own ranks to shed the bias, ignorance, complacency, and lethargy which have gravely disserved the abused, battered, and troubled appearing before them for redress daily.  Now, long after his “retirement,” he continues to energize and shape the practical and intellectual debates confronting all of us in the classrooms and courtrooms, with the same acuity and wit endearing him to us for decades.

I also thank Dr. Viola Vaughan-Eden for nominating me, and for bringing to the field- locally, nationally, and internationally- a whirlwind of competence, integrity, and professional coalescence.

So many are indebted to forensic social workers.  Child sexual abuse victims would still be chained by the misguided Freudian psychiatrists, were it not for pioneering insightful social workers in the early 70’s.  Special needs adoption would likewise be an alien notion, and effective therapeutic intervention for the traumatized would not exist, were it not for those in your profession.

I thank you again for this honor, and hope to continue to work with you in the years ahead.

Presenters: Kathy Carty, PhD, LCSW; Ronald Schneider, MSW; Alicia White, MSW

Date: Monday March 26, 2012; Time: 12:30 pm-2:00 pm

Free for NOFSW Members

Click here to register.  Click here to download announcement with presenter bios.

The award will be presented at the NOFSW annual conference at 8:00 AM, Tuesday, April 17, 2012 at the Tremont Plaza Hotel in Baltimore, Maryland. This is the highest award bestowed upon an individual by the NOFSW.  It is presented to an individual who has made outstanding contributions to the forensic social work profession, public welfare, and humankind. The Honorable Sol Gothard has devoted his entire career to protecting the abused and to improving the legal system to which they are entrusted. For this and for his continued work with the National Organization of Forensic Social Work, he was honored at the 28th annual conference with the Sol Gothard Lifetime Achievement Award from NOFSW and this award was made a permanent honor by NOFSW.

In his remarks, Judge Gothard reflected on his personal experience with forensic social work. “My child-hood was traumatic because of the domestic violence that occurred in the home. It was so bad that child protection workers actually appeared at my home to remove me to a foster home or some kind of institution for neglected children.”

Judge Gothard received his B.A. from the City College of New York (1953) and his Masters of Social Work from Case Western University (1957). While serving as a probation officer, and eventually Assistant. Director of Probation in the Orleans Parish Juvenile Court, he attended law school at night for 4 years. In 1962 Judge Gothard graduated from Loyola University School of Law in New Orleans. In 1972, he was elected to the bench of the Jefferson Parish, Louisiana, Juvenile Court.

Sol stated that “the social workers that helped define me, gave me hope and a purpose in life, and expanded my horizons were the most important people in my life throughout this time. Social workers were my heroes, father figures, role models, and mentors until they, were ultimately re-placed by my wife (whom I met in Case Western Reserve University’s School of Social Work) and my family.

During his tenure as Chief Judge on the juvenile bench, the court was nationally recognized for its comprehensive and innovative evaluation and treatment programs. Under Judge Gotthard’s leadership, in 1978, the Jefferson Abuse and Neglect Advocacy Project, which created the Tulane Juvenile Law Clinic, began. The Clinic jointly trained law students, social work students, and volunteer local attorneys to  advocate for abuse and neglect victims in the court. He was elected to the Louisiana Fifth Circuit Court of Appeal where he served until his retirement in 2005. He served as a board member of the National Organization of Forensic Social Work. Judge Gothard taught at the Tulane School of Social Work, served on the National Council of Juvenile and Family Court Judges, The Institute on Violence, Abuse and Trauma, The American Humane Association, Loyola University, and Southern University Graduate School of Social Work.

Judge Gothard was also selected “Citizen of the Year” by the Louisiana State Chapter of the National Association of Social Workers.

“Receiving the (NOFSW) award was a complete shock to me,” said Gothard, who has been an active participant in NOFSW meetings and activities for 25 years.

Click here (Gothard Award Nomination Form) to download a copy of the Sol Gothard Lifetime Achievement Award nomination form. Nominations are due to NOFSW by January 31, 2012.