Published Work
2022
The Feather and the Pen: An Evaluation of the Tribal Youth Media Workshop
The Tribal Youth Media workshop model is a promising practice in decolonizing and Indigenizing STEM education for American Indian/Alaska Native youth. It offers an alternative to the traditional classroom that is demonstrating great potential for empowering Native youth to reclaim ancestral ways of knowing and apply these to modern problems facing their communities. By design, the program is as far from a school as possible. Youth are immersed in their natural environments on and around their home communities. There, they learn first-hand from the land, their more-than-human relatives, elders, community members, and leaders. Using an Indigenous evaluation framework inspired by the Seven Grandfather Teachings, this report expounds upon the burgeoning evidence that Native youth can begin to reimagine the role they can play in the realm of STEM as Indigenous people.
Journal of Trauma and Dissociation
Trauma Informed Treatment Decreases PTSD Among Women Offenders
Traumatic experiences among women offenders can impact their psychological well-being and patterns of substance use and offend- ing. However, rigorous research in this area for women offenders with a history of trauma is sparse. This study combined data from 2 previous studies of women offenders in order to provide greater statistical power in examining the psychological trends found in the individual studies.
Violence and Gender
Examination of a Violence Prevention Program for Female Offenders
Only a few interventions have been designed to address violence in women’s lives, both as victims or as perpetrators. Moreover, women in prison are consistently reported to have more complex histories of exposure to violence, trauma, and abuse than their male counterparts. This study examines results from the intervention, Beyond Violence, a trauma-informed and gender-responsive approach to violence prevention that was provided to women serving sentences for violent crimes in two California prisons.
Technical Report
Solano County's Mentally Ill Offender Crime Reduction (MIOCR) Adult Program Evaluation Report
The Solano County MIOCR Adult Project created a county-wide response to the issues of services, treatment and recidivism reduction for justice-involved individuals with mental illness. This evaluation report examines whether the program worked as intended, problems and barriers faced and how they were addressed, and lessons learned.
Substance Abuse and Rehabilitation
Improving the outcomes of children affected by parental substance abuse: a review of randomized controlled trials
Substance abuse is a major public health concern that impacts not just the user but also the user's family. The effect that parental substance abuse has on children has been given substantial attention over the years. Findings from the literature suggest that children of substance-abusing parents have a high risk of developing physical and mental health and behavioral problems. The purpose of this study is to review randomized controlled trials of intervention programs targeting parents with substance abuse problems and/or children with at least one parent with a substance abuse problem in order to identify programs that show some promise in improving the behavioral and mental health outcomes of children affected by parental substance abuse.
Journal of Child Sexual Abuse
Colonized Silence: Confronting the Colonial Link in Rural Alaska Native Survivors’ Non-Disclosure of Child Sexual Abuse
Though there is evidence linking the history of colonialism and oppression of Indigenous people to the high rates of rape and child sexual abuse experienced by this population today, it is less understood how colonial processes, past and present, condition the decision to disclose or report victimization. Drawing on a survivorship storytelling study of rural Alaska Native survivors of child sexual abuse, this paper underscores the importance of centering colonialism in understanding the culture of silence surrounding sexual victimization among Indigenous people. Results show that reasons for non- disclosure are quite embedded within larger social, historical and political themes of colonialism, oppression, and marginalization. Implications for policy and praxes are discussed, as well as a broader mandate of social change to remove barriers to disclosure.
American Journal of Criminal Justice
An Assessment of Recidivism of Female Sexual Offenders: Comparing Recidivists to Non-Recidivists over Multiple Years
In this study, we examine recidivism in a cohort of 471 registered, adult female sexual offenders for an average follow-up of 18.83 years. About half (52%) of the female sexual offenders were re-arrested for a subsequent offense during the follow-up period. Nine percent were re-arrested for a violent offense, and 7 % were re-arrested for a sexual offense. Recidivists for any offense, compared to non-recidivists, were younger, had more extensive criminal histories, and were more likely to have a sexual assault as an index offense. Recidivists for violent (non-sexual) offenses, compared to non- recidivists, were younger, had more extensive criminal histories, and were more likely to have a male victim for an index offense. Recidivists for sexual offenses, compared to non-recidivists, had more prior arrests for any offense, more prior arrests for alcohol/ drug offenses, and were more likely to have an acquaintance victim for an index offense. These results are compared to prior studies.
Federal Probation
Preventing Delinquency Through Integrated Physical and Behavioral Health Screening and Services: Lessons Learned for Policy and Practice
The authors describe a pilot universal screening program developed and implemented by Health Care Integrated Services to identify high school students in need of services to address any physical and behavioral health issues that may have contributed to engagement in delinquent activities and poor engagement in studies. Lessons learned during the implementation and delivery of this program are provided.
November 2019
Evaluation of an Integrated Universal Screening Program
Overview of a pilot integrated primary care and behavioral health screening program developed and implemented by Health Care Integrated Services to identify high school students in need of services to address any trauma exposure, physical health, and behavioral health issues in this population.
2016
“That’s Just the Tip of It Because It Goes Deeper Than That”: A Qualitative Exploration Into the Role of Mental Illness in Offending Onset and Subsequent Offending Behavior
There continues to be considerable debate regarding the most effective ways to reduce the number of mentally ill offenders in the adult criminal justice system. What is often missing from this national discussion is an examination of the factors associated with their initial involvement in illegal activities. This qualitative study assesses the self-perceived role that psychiatric symptoms had in the onset and continued offending of a sample of 28 parolees with mental illness. The findings showed that psychiatric symptoms rarely played a direct role in the onset and continued offending in this sample. Furthermore, the majority of the sample started offending prior to the age of 18, highlighting the need to devote more resources toward delivering evidence-based interventions to youth at risk of becoming involved in a criminal lifestyle as one strategy for reducing the number of mentally ill who become involved in the adult criminal justice system.