[This article by Dave Shelles with photo by Matt Yung first appeared on the Kennesaw State University website, republished with permission]

The way Kennesaw State University professor Oluwayomi Paseda sees it, if a social worker does their job correctly, the social worker becomes obsolete to those who needed help and received what they needed to thrive.

Put more bluntly, Paseda said, “We want to fire ourselves.”

The assistant professor of social work wants to advance systems that help people involved in the criminal legal system transition from incarceration to community life, which aligns with the principles of Smart Decarceration.

“My focus is on reentry and reintegration into society,” she said. “You’ve done the crime, you’ve done the time, and now it’s time to rejoin society. What are we doing to allow that to happen most effectively? What are the barriers to allowing that to happen? Are we kind to this population? What are we doing to make sure society works for this population? Those are the questions I seek to answer.”

Paseda said the current criminal legal system focuses on punishment when its stated mission is rehabilitation. Smart decarceration expands on rehabilitation through a data-driven, evidence-based approach that seeks to significantly reduce the U.S. prison population while advancing public safety, addressing structural inequalities and promoting justices for people impacted by incarceration.

Paseda joined the KSU faculty in the Department of Social Work and Human Services in 2024, and immediately pioneered expertise in smart decarceration. That expertise has gained attention on a national level.

She has been selected to join the Promote Smart Decarceration Futures Team as part of the Social Work Grand Challenges Futures Project, a special initiative marking the 10th anniversary of the Grand Challenges for Social Work. In addition, she has been awarded the Grand Challenges Futures Fellowship, which includes a $1,000 honorarium in recognition of her participation as an early career faculty fellow. The fellowship offers opportunities for future-thinking training, collaborative project development, and contributions to publications and presentations at professional conferences.

Grand Challenges for Social Work is a national initiative from the American Academy of Social Work and Social Welfare (AASWSW) to address societal issues through scholarly scientific research in fields such as criminal justice, sociology, psychology, and criminal justice. Paseda has already presented at conferences and published papers under this program, most recently in the journal Feminist Criminology on the experiences of Black women upon reentry, work she began while earning her doctorate at the University of Georgia.

This points to Paseda’s goal of involving a wide range of colleagues throughout campus, as the study of interactions with the criminal justice system takes in the disciplines of political science (legislation involving the system), sociology (reintegration efforts), criminal justice (the study of legal issues) and social work.

“There are different topics with public health, mental health, disability – all kinds of areas for people to get involved with,” she said. “It involves our student body, too, because students come from all walks of life, including the experience with the criminal legal system. So, this touches on different areas of study and making connections between them.”

In addition to her doctorate, Paseda is a licensed clinical social worker with a focus on mental health in the criminal justice system with experience in working with incarcerated individuals. She said the department has expressed interest in adding a smart decarceration track to undergraduate studies in human services. The Master of Social Work program already has a class in forensic social work related to decarceration.

Denise Green, chair of the Department of Social Work and Human Services, said Paseda has made an impact in proposing curriculum to support scholarship in smart decarceration, and that her experience as a social worker also lends credibility to her scholarship.

“Her dedication to creating a more equitable and effective justice system is evident in both her academic work and her practical engagement with the community,” Green said. “An emerging and accomplished scholar, Dr. Paseda has shared her insights through a number of publications. Her research provides critical analysis of the systemic issues within the carceral system and proposes evidence-based solutions that prioritize human dignity and social well-being. These publications have significantly advanced our understanding of smart decarceration strategies.”

The future involves decreasing the stigma that comes from being involved in the criminal legal system, and when the formerly incarcerated can participate fully in society, Paseda and others will have no more work to do.

“The fellowship I received is part of the Futures Project within the Grand Challenges for a good reason,” Paseda said. “Smart decarceration is a forward-looking field, but we’re also considering the future of social work itself.”