Active Research Projects

Research Summary

My program of research has focused on examining the experiences of girls involved in the juvenile legal system while simultaneously highlighting the system’s responses to youth whether it be punitive, therapeutic, or some combination of the two. Specifically, I strive to address the multitude of gendered pathways that lead youth into the system, via trauma and victimization, as well as individual, familial, environmental, and structural factors. Perhaps most importantly, my work has direct policy and practice implications related to the implementation of trauma-informed care in responses to youth delinquency. In addition to providing specific evidence-based practices for service providers, my research details the importance of adopting a trauma-informed framework at all levels of care. To this end, I have employed several methodological approaches including the use of mixed methods, qualitative interviews and focus groups, regression and survival analyses, participatory action research as well as process and outcome evaluation studies that analyze influences of delinquency, the needs of youth, services provided to them, and implementation at individual, facility, and national levels.

My engagement with community-based organizations and diverse communities demonstrates my commitment to challenging the dominant narrative of the criminal legal system as rehabilitative and effective, providing a critical perspective that centers the voices of those most impacted by the system’s failures.

Student Perceptions of Justice & Punishment after Visiting Inactive Prisons (Co-PI)

Students in Criminal Justice (CJ) academic programs are more likely to hold punitive beliefs about justice compared to students in other academic programs
One common "experiential learning" activity in CJ programs is a tour of an active prison. These tours may contribute to further separation between students and incarcerated people, akin to the experience of a "human zoo."
This project explores a possible alternative to tours of active prisons--tours of inactive prisons--to maintain the experiential learning objective in a more humane way.
Students in 6 undergraduate courses at John Jay attended a tour of Eastern State Penitentiary, completing pre- and post- surveys focused on punishment, justice, and intersectionality. Students also took photos during the tour and participated in PhotoVoice style focus groups after the tour.
Learn more about our findings at the John Jay Student Research and Creativity Expo in May 2024, at the American Society of Criminology in November 2024, and in the upcoming issue of Feminist Pedagogy.

Reproductive Justice in Carceral Settings Scoping Review

Reproductive justice has historically and is currently under attack in the United States.
People who are incarcerated are an often-overlooked population when considering the right to reproductive justice.
This scoping review reports on the state of reproductive justice care in correctional facilities in the United States.
The review seeks to examine whether the principles of reproductive justice: the right to not have a child, the right to have a child, and the right to parent children in safe and healthy environments, are afforded within correctional settings.
Further, are there principles that are prioritized over others in providing this care? And, does this care differ by type of correctional institution? The review also seeks to understand the facilitators and/or barriers in promoting reproductive justice within these facilities.
Check back soon for updates on this project!

Trauma-Informed Care in Juvenile Detention Facilities
(PI)

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A multi-year project beginning in 2020, the Trauma-Informed Care in Juvenile Detention Facilities Project is a mixed methods study analyzing the implementation of trauma-informed care and examining how these practices may be trauma-responsive or, in contrast, trauma-inducing.
In 2020, my research team began surveying juvenile detention staff and administrators regarding their practices and policies around trauma-informed care. To date, 60 surveys from detention facilities across the United States have been completed and data collection is ongoing.
Follow-up follow-up interviews with detention staff, administrators, and mental health practitioners began in Spring 2023. These interviews will provide additional context, diverse voices, and deeper insight into trauma-informed care within juvenile detention facilities. To date, 8 interviews have been completed.
A mixed methods analysis using the survey data and the interview data from tan adjacent study focused on girls' experiences in detention to analyze the preliminary data. Two integrated themes were developed to examine the tensions of implementing trauma-informed care in a punitive environment in my dissertation: “Detention as Trauma-Informed?” and “Detention as Jail.”
- The first theme framed survey results and interview findings using the six principles of trauma-informed care.
- Related to the second theme, detention was designed as a short-term holding facility and prioritizes the legal system’s system goals of punishment and safety over well-being and healing as demonstrated by their practices and girls’ experiences.
- This integrated analysis addressed how detention facilities attempt to address trauma but fall short on the reaching this goal based on girls’ experiences. Three manuscripts are currently in development to share findings with a wider audience.
Thank you to the following organizations for supporting this project:
- Society for Community Research and Action (SCRA, Division 27 of the American Psychological Association, APA)
- International Association for Correctional and Forensic Psychology (IACFP)
Results have been presented at the American Society of Criminology annual conference (2022) and the Society of Research on Child Development (2023).
Results will be shared in an upcoming issue of Feminist Criminology.
Results will also be shared with participating detention facilities and state level agencies in summer 2024.

Undergraduate Research Assistant Olivia Riggs shared preliminary findings at the University of Cincinnati's Undergraduate Scholarly Showcase.

Evaluation of Restorative &
Transformative Justice Pilot in New Jersey
(Co-PI)

In 2021, the New Jersey Senate passed legislation to allocate funding for a two-year Restorative and Transformative Justice Pilot with the goal of diverting youth from the juvenile system and creating alternatives to incarceration.
In collaboration with the New Jersey Juvenile Justice Commission, our research team (myself, Drs. Jacquelynn Duron and Paul Boxer) is conducting a process and outcome evaluation of the RTJ pilot programs across five sites in New Jersey.
Our team is working closely with each site to conduct surveys with youth participating in the program, conduct focus groups with staff, engage in PhotoVoice with participating youth, and analyze agency data to understand individual and system level effects of this intervention.
Initial insights on this project have been shared at the American Society of Criminology (2023).
Stay tuned for updates on this project!