Research
| Sarah's CV |
Testifying before the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights about monetary sanctions in 2017
My newest research project is the UGA Rural Jails Research Hub, a collaborative endeavor to study the drivers of rising jail incarceration rates in a sample of rural counties throughout Georgia. In addition to data collection and analysis, the project work involves developing potential policy and practice solutions that are tailored to rural areas, as well as helping to bring these rural-focused policy solutions to the attention of state and national policymakers. The project is a collaboration between several UGA units, including the Department of Sociology, the School of Social Work, and the Carl Vinson Institute of Government, in partnership with the Vera Institute of Justice.
Monetary Sanctions
Since 2015, I have worked with a collaborative team across eight U.S. states to study systems of monetary sanctions as part of the Multi-state Study of Monetary Sanctions (PI: Alexes Harris, University of Washington).
Key Publications:
Growth & Scope of Punishment
In one strand of research I investigate the expansive reach of criminal justice sanctions and its effects on social functioning, including health and voting.
Key publications:
The Nexus of the Welfare State and Criminal Justice System
In another strand of research I focus on intersections between the U.S. welfare state and criminal justice system. In doing so, I examine how these two systems overlap and, in some cases, are functionally integrated in addressing social marginality. This includes examining how rates of punishment affect welfare availability at the state level, measuring how available resources in prisons impact correctional officers attitudes toward prisoners, and analyzing how a publicly funded jobs program lowered recidivism for ex-addicts.
Key publications:
Juvenile Delinquency and the Life Course
I also study the juvenile justice system, adolescent behavior, and the life course. My research has examined racial disparities in the juvenile justice system, the dynamics of reentry among young men leaving juvenile correctional facilities, and how young people navigate the transition to adulthood.
Key publications:
Monetary Sanctions
Since 2015, I have worked with a collaborative team across eight U.S. states to study systems of monetary sanctions as part of the Multi-state Study of Monetary Sanctions (PI: Alexes Harris, University of Washington).
Key Publications:
- “Private Probation Costs, Compliance, and the Proportionality of Punishment: Evidence from Georgia and Missouri.” RSF: The Russell Sage Foundation Journal of the Social Sciences 8(1): 179-199 (with Beth Huebner).
- “Monetary Sanctions: Legal Financial Obligations in the Criminal Justice System.” Annual Review of Criminology 1(1):471-495 (with Karin Martin, Bryan Sykes, Frank Edwards, and Alexes Harris).
- “The Broad Scope and Variation of Monetary Sanctions: Evidence from Eight States.” UCLA Criminal Justice Law Review 4(1): 269-281 (with Beth Huebner, Alexes Harris, Karin Martin, Mary Pattillo, Becky Pettit, Bryan Sykes, Christopher Uggen).
- "Probation and Monetary Sanctions in Georgia: Evidence from a Multi-method Study." Georgia Law Review 54(4):1213-1233.
Growth & Scope of Punishment
In one strand of research I investigate the expansive reach of criminal justice sanctions and its effects on social functioning, including health and voting.
Key publications:
- “Gender Equality And The Shifting Gap In Female-To-Male Prison Admission Rates.” Criminology 60(3):508-537 (with Heather McLaughlin).
- “Carceral Citizens Rising: Understanding Oppression Resistance Work Through the Lens Of Carceral Status.” Social Service Review 96(2): 308-352 (with Denise Woodall).
- "The Growth, Scope, and Spatial Distribution of People with Felony Records in the United States,1948-2010." Demography. 54(5):1795-1818 (with Christopher Uggen, Jason Schnittker, Melissa Thompson, Sara Wakefield, and Michael Massoglia).
- “Systems of Care and Systems of Corrections: Evidence for Spillover Effects from Incarceration to Health Care.” Milbank Quarterly 93:516-560 (with Jason Schnittker, Christopher Uggen, and Suzy Maves McElrath).
- "Locked Out 2020: Estimates of People Denied Voting Rights Due to a Felony Conviction." Sentencing Project (with Christopher Uggen, Ryan Larson, and Arleth Pulido-Nava.
The Nexus of the Welfare State and Criminal Justice System
In another strand of research I focus on intersections between the U.S. welfare state and criminal justice system. In doing so, I examine how these two systems overlap and, in some cases, are functionally integrated in addressing social marginality. This includes examining how rates of punishment affect welfare availability at the state level, measuring how available resources in prisons impact correctional officers attitudes toward prisoners, and analyzing how a publicly funded jobs program lowered recidivism for ex-addicts.
Key publications:
- "State variation in the drug felony lifetime ban on Temporary Assistance for Needy Families: Why the modified ban matters." Punishment & Society, 22(4) 439–460 (with Brittany Martin).
- “Punishment, Religion, and the Shrinking Welfare State for the Very Poor in the United States, 1970-2010.” Socius. DOI: 10.1177/2378023117742259.
- “Bureaucrats on the Cell Block: Prison Officers’ Perceptions of Work Environment and Attitudes Toward Prisoners.” Social Service Review 88:630-657 (with Josh Page).
- “Productive Addicts and Harm Reduction: How Work Reduces Crime - But Not Drug Use.” Social Problems 61:105-130 (with Christopher Uggen).
Juvenile Delinquency and the Life Course
I also study the juvenile justice system, adolescent behavior, and the life course. My research has examined racial disparities in the juvenile justice system, the dynamics of reentry among young men leaving juvenile correctional facilities, and how young people navigate the transition to adulthood.
Key publications:
- “A Life Table Approach to Estimating Disproportionate Minority Contact in the Juvenile Justice System.” Justice Quarterly 35(2):330-355 (with Matt Hauer).
- "From Daddy’s Liquor Cabinet to Home Depot: Shifts in Leisure Activity in the Transition to Adulthood.” Pp. 165-189 in Crossings to Adulthood: How Young Americans Understand and Navigate Their Lives, edited by Doug Hartmann and Teresa Swartz. Leiden, The Netherlands: Brill (with Christopher Uggen, and D. Wayne Osgood).
- "The Cost of Being Cool: How Adolescent Pseudomature Behaviors Map onto Adult Adjustment." Journal of Youth and Adolescence. DOI 10.1007/s10964-017-0743-z (with Leslie Gordon Simons, Tara E. Sutton, Mark T. Berg, and Frederick X. Gibbons).
- “Transition Services for Incarcerated Youth: A Mixed-methods Evaluation Study.” Child and Youth Services Review 30: 522-535 (with Laura Abrams and Cindy Sangalang).
- “Juvenile Offenders as Fathers: Perceptions of Fatherhood, Crime and Becoming an Adult.” Families in Society 88:183-191 (with Laura Abrams).
