Research

Sarah's CV
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PictureTestifying before the U.S. Commission on Civil Rights about monetary sanctions in 2017
The goal of my research is to understand systems of criminal punishment and their effects on social life, including monetary sanctions, incarceration, and collateral consequences of felony convictions.  I employ quantitative and qualitative research methods to advance theory in the sociology of punishment. A primary area of my research focuses on understanding the broad reach and burden of monetary sanctions (e.g., fines and fees) on U.S. communities and court systems. I also conduct research on the relationships between incarceration and felony convictions and a wide range of social problems, including gender equality, civic engagement, and health. In other projects, I've examined juvenile delinquency and the life course as well as the nexus of social welfare programs and criminal punishment.

Monetary Sanctions
Key Publications:
  • “’It’s Like a Reverse Robin Hood – We All Know They Can’t Pay’: How Court Actors Navigate the Logics of Monetary Sanctions.” Criminology (with Alexes Harris, Tyler Smith, Mary Pattillo, Karin Martin, Ilya Slavinski, Robert Stewart, Andrea Giuffre, and Aubrianne Sutherland).
  •  “Income Extraction via the Criminal Legal System: A Community-level Perspective.” Socius (with Ryan Larson, Ian Kennedy, Katie O'Neill, and Alexes Harris).
  • “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
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).
  • “Felon History and Change in U.S. Employment Rates.” Social Science Research (with Ryan Larson, Aaron Sojourner, and Christopher Uggen).
  • ​​"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).

The Nexus of the Welfare State and Criminal Justice System
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
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).