Handbook on Collaborating Across Differences in Sentencing and Corrections

Ebony Ruhland is an associate professor at Rutgers University Newark School of Criminal Justice. Her research focuses on how criminal justice policies and practices impact individuals, families, and communities. Dr. Ruhland’s research utilizes community participatory action research as well as partners with corrections agencies throughout the country. Through her research, Dr. Ruhland hopes to find ways to improve criminal justice and corrections policies to reduce mass incarceration, racial disparities, and collateral consequences.Julie Marie Baldwin is the interim vice provost for research and innovation, the founding director of the Center for Research and Collaborative Partnerships, and a research professor in the Department of Justice, Law & Criminology (JLC). Dr. Baldwin’s expertise spans external funding, program and research development, grant administration, and the creation of strong researcher–practitioner partnerships. She has secured nearly $70 million in total revenue from grants and contracts, including over $68 million from externally funded grants. She has helped partners across the country build the infrastructure needed for effective grant management and data collection while directly managing federal awards for partners with limited internal resources.Jodi Lane is a professor in the Department of Sociology and Criminology & Law at the University of Florida. She earned her PhD in social ecology in 1998 from the University of California, Irvine. She worked briefly for RAND Corporation before joining the faculty at UF in August 1999. Her work focuses on reactions to crime, including (1) perceptions and attitudes among the public and people involved in crime and (2) policymaker and practitioner policies and practices. Specifically, she studies perceived risk and fear of crime and conducts evaluation research focused on justice programs, primarily court and corrections programs.Ashley Nellis is a nationally recognized scholar in the study of punishment in America’s criminal legal system. Her research focus on life sentences and long-term imprisonment is cited widely because of its unique contribution to the field of criminology and its broad accessibility to policymakers, advocates, litigators, and the public. Dr. Nellis is the author of two books and eight book chapters. Her work has appeared in scholarly journals and law reviews, she regularly appears in the media, and she presents regularly before numerous professional and academic audiences. Dr. Nellis has also served as a sentencing expert in nearly a dozen cases, evaluating the fairness and proportionality of life sentences imposed on young people.

• Introduction: Collaborating Across Differences in Sentencing and Corrections;1 The Black-Hole Problem in Science and Policy: The Translational Work and Researcher–Practitioner Partnership Solution;2 Building a Culture of Data, Transparency, and Innovation in Corrections With Researcher–Practitioner Partnerships;3 From Storytelling to Structural Change: Advancing Meaningful Collaboration with Lived Experience Experts in Academia;4 Partnerships With Purpose: Advancing Policy Through Academic–Practitioner Collaboration in Probation;5 Bridging Theory and Practice: Applying the Principles of Effective Interventions Through Academic–Practitioner Collaboration;6 The Necessity of Critical Participatory Research in Working Toward Justice in Sentencing: Values Enacted and Lessons Learned; 7 Building Effective Cross-System Collaboration in Problem-Solving Courts: An Examination of STRIDES Federal Mental Health Court;8 Making the MAiD Study: Lessons From a Criminology–Law Partnership;9 An Exploratory Study of Trauma-Informed Courts in a Midwestern State;10 Collaborative Research on Mental Health Training for Corrections Officers: Bridging the Gap Between Practitioners and Academics;11 The ELEVATE Model for Advancing Interagency Collaboration in Opioid Use Disorder Treatment Linkage for People on Probation; 12 Corrections Research: The Benefits, Challenges, and Pitfalls of Using Administrative Data to Address Policy and Practice Questions;13 North and South: The Partnership Between Canadians and the Uganda Prisons Service;14 Conversations With the Least of Thee: Implementing a Restorative, Community-Engaged Reentry Model—the Nehemiah Community Reentry Project;15 “This Is How We Do It”: The Implementation of Procedural Justice in a Treatment Court;16 Community Partnerships, Reentry, and Higher Education in Prison;17 Evaluating Criminal Justice Reforms in California: A Partnership Between Researchers and State and Local Criminal Justice Agencies;18 Creating and Maintaining New Partnerships: Initial Findings From the Creation of an Advisory Board and Research Institute Using Translational Criminology;19 Baby and Mother Bonding Initiative: Community Partnerships to Improve Outcomes for Incarcerated Mothers;20 How Drug Court Practitioners and Researchers Adapted to an Ever-Evolving Landscape: Lessons for Developing Courts;21 The Art of Science Translation: Co-Production as a Key Ingredient; 22 Lessons From a Researcher–Agency Partnership That Produces Results; and 23 Enhancing Researcher–Practitioner Partnerships: Lessons From a Randomized Evaluation of a Pilot Pre-Trial Justice Debt Relief Intervention;24 From Evidence to Impact: Advancing Correctional Practices Through More Accessible and Easily Understood Research Dissemination Products;25 Dear Researchers: Practitioners Called, They Want Their Findings;

"The Handbook on Corrections and Sentencing volume “Collaborating Across Differences in Sentencing and Corrections,” is a literal handbook for establishing and maintaining ethical, engaged, and truly collaborative partnerships in research across an array of contexts within courts and corrections. The editors have brought together an impressive group of contributors who have decades of collective experience, who share their experiences from a variety of perspectives, and who offer insights into the unique challenges that often confront those seeking to not just do translational work, but to do it well. The volume covers it all: the when, the why, the how (and the how-not!) of every aspect of collaborating from nurturing relationships, to establishing and maintaining partnerships, to ensuring their longevity. The consistent emphasis across contributions is rightly on the importance of ensuring mutual benefit in partnerships, whether between researchers, practitioners, community groups, and/or individuals with lived experience. Those interested in ensuring their justice system work has impact must engage in collaborative partnerships to effectively do so and will surely return to this handbook again and again."Natasha Frost, Professor, Northeastern University, President, American Society of Criminology"This much needed resource brings together practitioners and researchers to delve into the details of criminal justice collaborations - successes, lessons learned, and tricks of the trade. The chapters highlight the strengths of practitioners and their on the ground expertise of people directly impacted by the criminal justice system, and researchers who have broad in depth knowledge across programs and practices." Eileen M. Ahlin, Ph.D. Professor, Criminal Justice, Interim Director, School of Public Affairs, Penn State Harrisburg"This comprehensive and authoritative handbook explores the challenges posed by collaborative partnerships and describes the salient lessons learned from partnerships involving courts and correctional institutions in the United States and elsewhere. The 25 papers included in the volume illustrate how researchers and practitioners can effectively partner to translate research into policy and practice." Cassia Spohn, PhD, Regents Professor School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Arizona State University"Effective implementation of evidence-based policy and practice continues to be among the most pressing challenges facing justice agencies and, by extension, crime and justice researchers. Rather than just assert the importance of research and practitioner partnership, the Eleventh ASC Division of Corrections and Sentencing Handbook, edited by Ruhland, Lane, Baldwin, and Nellis, blends research and accounts of lived experience to assess where we are and chart a path forward. The chapters included in this volume touch on all aspects of building and sustaining vital partnerships. This handbook is an essential resource for anyone interested in evidence-based sentencing and corrections."Chris Sullivan, Department Chair. Professor, Department of Criminology and Criminal Justice, University of Missouri-St. Louis