Research and Publications

Research	Reports	Research and Policy Briefs	Academic Publications

Research

Current Projects

2024 Adult Treatment Court Training Initiative
2024 Veteran Treatment Court Training and Technical Assistance
2024-25 Lancaster Jail Forecasting
2022-26 Nebraska Correctional Program Evaluation (funded by NDCS)
2022-24 Washington ONE
2023-25 Vocational & Life Skills Evaluation (funded by NDCS)
2021-23 Nebraska STRONG-R 2.0 (funded by NCDS)
2020-23 Douglas County Department of Corrections Assessment (funded by Douglas County, Nebraska)
2019-24 Reducing Violence and Recidivism through VRP Aftercare and CBI Open Groups (funded by the Bureau of Justice Assistance)

Completed Projects

Achieving Change Together Evaluation. Evaluation of a Bureau of Justice Assistance Second Chance Act, Community-Based Adult Reentry Program (funded by the Safer Foundation) 2020-23
Alternatives to Detention Evaluation
Assessment of Young Adults in Nebraska's Correctional System
Blue Courage® Police Training Assessment
Borders Up in Smoke: Marijuana Enforcement in Nebraska after Colorado's Legalization
Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Evaluation
Byrne Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Strategic Plan
Classification Process and Flow Evaluation 2021-2023
Completely KIDS: Liberty School Project Evaluation
Connected Youth Initiative Evaluation
Crossover Youth Practice Model Evaluation
Defy Ventures Evaluation
Douglas County Juvenile Assessment Center Evaluation (Juvenile Diversion)
Douglas County Juvenile Justice Collective Impact Initiative Evaluation
Douglas County Juvenile Justice Prevention Assessment
Examining the Effects of Nebraska's "Good Time" Laws
Expanding the Knowledge Base about Child Advocacy Centers
Minority Health Initiative Evaluation: Colfax and Platte Counties
Nebraska Sex Offender Registry Evaluation
Operation Youth Success Evaluation
Project Safe Neighborhoods: BJA Gun Violence Reduction Program 2016-18 Grant
Project Safe Neighborhoods: BJA Gun Violence Reduction Program 2015-17 Grant
Project Safe Neighborhoods: BJA Gun Violence Reduction Program 2014-16 Grant
Project Safe Neighborhoods: BJA Gun Violence Reduction Program 2013-15 Grant
Project Safe Neighborhoods: BJA Gun Violence Reduction Program 2012-14 Grant
Remote Recovery: Video conference technology for substance use treatment in rural Nebraska
Strength-based Assessment of the Nebraska Coalition of Juvenile Justice
Technical Assistance Provision for Corrections
Transformation Project: Correctional Transition Program
Traumatic Brain Injury Screening: youth referred to the Office of Vocational Rehabilitation
Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Protection Order Project
Violence Against Women Act (VAWA) Strategic Plan
Vocational & Life Skills Evaluation
Youth Impact! Cost/Benefit Analysis Update

Reports

2023 Annual Report
Evaluation Report: Violence Reduction Program at Nebraska Department of Correctional Services
Employer Perspectives in Hiring and Working with Justive-Involved Individuals
Personal Recognizance Interview & Needs Screen (PRINS) Evaluation and Revalidation
Best Practices for Neglected Assumptions: Multi-Site Confirmation of the MPACT-6
Victimization Prior to Jail Report
Evidence-Based Inventory of Criminal Justice Programs in Nebraska
2022 Annual Report
Ready & Resilient: Qualitative Findings from Life Story Interviews with VLS Participants
2021 Annual Report
Technical Assistance Provisions for Corrections
Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Criminal Justice System In Nebraska
The Nebraska Screening and Assessment Tool, The N-SAT
2020 Annual Report
Douglas County Youth Impact! Cost/Benefit Analysis. 2019.
2019 Adult Justice Report
2019 NCJR Annual Report
Assessing the Effectiveness of ShotSpotter in Omaha: Addendum to the Project Safe Neighborhoods 2016 Final Evaluation Report. 2019
Transformation Project Program Update & Recommendations for the Future - 2019
Adult Justice in Nebraska 2018
2018 NCJR Annual Report
CYPM Evaluation Executive Summary Report 2017. 2018
VLS Client Perceptions of Program Services and Ability to Reintegrate: A Qualitative Analysis. 2018
Evaluation of Moral Reconation Therapy (MRT) Program at the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services. 2018
Defy Ventures Evaluation Plan Report. 2018
Alternatives to Detention Final Report. 2018
Adult Justice Report. 2017
Defy Ventures Situational Analysis Report. 2017
Defy Ventures Program Theory Report. 2017
Marijuana Enforcement in Nebraska 2013-15. 2017
2017 NCJR Annual Report
Transformation Project Program Update. 2015-16
Alternatives to Detention: Year One Report
Evaluation of the Crossover Youth Practice Model (Youth Impact!) Final Report
Validation of the Proxy Triage Risk Screener for Douglas County Detention Center. 2017
Project Safe Neighborhoods: 2014 Final Evaluation Report. 2017
Transformation Project: NCYF Readiness Assessment Results. 2016
Transformation Project: NCCW Readiness Assessment Results. 2016
Adult Justice in Nebraska. 2016
JAG Strategic Plan. 2016-2018
NCJR Annual Report. 2016
Development and Validation of the Nebraska Department of Correctional Services Prison Classification System. 2016
Operation Youth Success (Douglas County Collective Impact) Developmental Evaluation Report. 2016
EPIC Alternative Education Program: Formative Evaluation Report. 2016
Douglas County Youth Impact Challenges Evaluation Report. 2016
Douglas County Youth Impact Successes Evaluation Report. 2016
Alternatives to Detention Theory of Change Report. 2016
Completely KIDS Final Report (2014-2015). 2016
Marijuana Enforcement in Nebraska (2009-2014). 2016
Adult Justice in Nebraska. 2015
Nebraska Center for Justice Research: 2015 Annual Report
2013-2015 Nebraska Minority Health Initiative Final Evaluation Report for the East-Central District Health Department. 2015
The Impact of After-School and Family Strengthening Programs on Student Outcomes: The Completely KIDS Liberty Project. 2015
Nebraska Coalition of Juvenile Justice Strength-Based Assessment. 2015
Colorado’s legalization of medicinal marijuana: The effects on Nebraska’s law enforcement and local jail system. 2015
Evidence Based Practice in Juvenile Justice. 2014
Examining the Effects of Nebraska's Good Time Laws - Final Report. 2014
Examining the Effects of Nebraska's Good Time Laws - Research Brief. 2014
Transformation Project Annual Report. 2014
Trends in Adult Justice. 2014
Project Safe Neighborhoods Final Evaluation Report. 2013
Trends in Young Adult Male Incarceration Admissions in Nebraska. 2000-2013
Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Assistance Grant (JAG) Program: Evaluation Report. 2013. For the Nebraska Crime Commission.
Nebraska Sex Offender Registry Study: Final Report. 2013. For the Judiciary Committee of the Nebraska Legislature.
Nebraska Sex Offender Registry Study: Interim Report. 2012. For the Judiciary Committee of the Nebraska Legislature.
Edward Byrne Memorial Justice Grant, Nebraska Strategic Plan, 2012-2015. For the Nebraska Crime Commission.

Research and Policy Briefs

Academic Publications

Hamilton, Zachary, Kigerl, Alex, Allen, Baylee, Ursino, John, and Krushas, Amber. 2024. "Never Going to Let You Down: Preventing Predictive Shrinkage via the STRONG-R Assessment Method." Justice Quarterly. (Online first)

Kowalski, Melissa, Michael Campagna, Emily M. Wright Steiner, and Ryan Spohn. 2024. “Type of Victimization Exposure, Perpetrator Type, and Timing of Victimization: The Impact on Behavioral Health Outcomes.” Journal of Interpersonal Violence. 39: 1132-1160.

Kowalski, Melissa, Michael Campagna, Emily M. Wright, and Ryan Spohn. 2023. “Understanding Abuse, Mental Health, and Substance Use: The Role Victimization in a Jail Population.” American Journal of Criminal Justice 48: 1320-1342.

Kowalski, Melissa, Zachary Hamilton, Alex Kigerl, Michael Baglivio, and Kevin Wolff. 2023. "Protecting Against Adversity: The Role of Positive Childhood Experiences in Youth Recidivism." Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, 21(3), 248-274.

Krushas, Amber E.*, Teresa C. Kulig, Emily M. Wright, Ryan E. Spohn, and Lynn M. Castrianno. 2023. “Identifying Successes and Barriers to Working with Youth Exposed to Trauma: An Examination of Five Services Areas in a Child Advocacy Center.” Child & Youth Services 44: 275-299.

Towne, Katelynn, Michael Campagna, Ryan Spohn, and Amber Richey. 2023. “Put it in your Toolbox: How vocational reentry programs support formerly incarcerated persons through desistance.” Crime & Delinquency, 69: 316-341.

Butler, H. Daniel., Michael Campagna, Ryan Spohn, and Katelynn Towne. 2022. “Understanding Volunteerism: The Role of the Participant in Non-Clinical Correctional Programming” Journal of Offender Rehabilitation 61: 357-374.

Allen, Baylee, Addison Kobie, and Zachary Hamilton. 2022. “Modernizing needs assessment scoring to improve agency outcomes.” The Journal of the American Probation and Parole Association, 46:2, 18-26.

Kigerl, Alex, Zachary Hamilton, Melissa Kowalski and Xiaohan Mei. 2022. “The great methods bake-off: Comparing performance of machine learning algorithms.” Journal of Criminal Justice, forthcoming.

Romain, Danielle and Amber Krushas. 2022. “Examining the interaction of race and probationer noncompliance on sanctioning decisions.” Race and Justice, 12:2, 231-251.

Towne, Katelynn. 2022. “My friends keep me woke about these things: How college students experience and engage with police use of force content on social media.” Sociological Spectrum, 42:1, 61-74.

Church, Abere Sawaqdeh, David Marcus, and Zachary Hamilton. 2021. “Community service outcomes in justice-involved youth: Comparing restorative community service to standard community service.” Criminal Justice and Behavior, 48:9, 1243-1260.

Hamilton, Zachary, Grant Duwe, Alex Kigerl, Jason Gwinn, Neal Langan, and Christopher Dollar. 2021. “Tailoring to a nation: The development and validation of the Prisoner Assessment Tool Targeting Estimated Risk and Needs (PATTERN).” Justice Quarterly, forthcoming.

Hamilton, Zachary, Melissa Kowalski, and Alex Kigerl. 2021. “Prediction is local: The benefits of optimization.” Justice Quarterly, 39:4, 722-744.

Hsieh, Ming-Li, Kuan-Ju Chen, Pak-Sing Choi, and Zachary Hamilton. 2021. “Is more, better? The joint effects of multiple evidence-based treatment.” Criminal Justice & Behavior, 49:6, 911-929.

Mei, Xiaohan, Zachary Hamilton, Melissa Kowalski and Alex Kigerl. 2021. “Redesigning the Central Eight: Introducing the M-PACT Six.” Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, 19:4, 445-470.

Schwartz, Joseph, Emily Wright, Ryan Spohn, Michael Campagna, Benjamin Steiner, and Ebonie Epinger. 2021. “Changes in jail admission before and after traumatic brain injury.” Journal of Quantitative Criminology, forthcoming.

Hamilton, Zachary, Melissa Kowalski, Douglas Routh, and Alex Kigerl. 2020. “Optimizing youth risk assessment performance: Development of the Modified Positive Achievement Change Tool (M-PACT) in Washington State.” Criminal Justice and Behavior, 46:8, 1106-1127.

Hermsen, Joan, Eileen Avery, and Katelynn Towne. 2020. “Crime victimization distress, neighborhood social cohesion, and perceived police effectiveness.” Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 30:6, 581-592.

Campagna, Michael F., Ming-Li Hsieh, and Christopher M. Campbell. 2019. The Contours of Assessment: Considering Aspects that Influence Prediction Performance. Corrections: Policy Practice and Research, published online November.

Chenane, Joselyne L., Emily M. Wright, and Chris L. Gibson. 2019. Traffic stops, race, and perceptions of fairness. Policing and Society, published online March.

Steiner, Benjamin, Emily M. Wright, and Sara Toto. 2019. The Sources of Violent and Nonviolent Offending among Women in Prison. Justice Quarterly, published online April.

Campagna, Michael F., Melissa A. Kowalski, Laurie A. Drapela, Mary K. Stohr, Elizabeth Thompson Tollefsbol, Youngki Woo, Xiaohan Mei, and Zachary K. Hamilton. 2019. Understanding Offender Needs Over Forms of Isolation Using a Repeated Measures Design. The Prison Journal 99:639-661.

Batton, Candice, and Emily M. Wright. 2019. Patriarchy and the Structure of Employment in Criminal Justice: Differences in the Experiences of Men and Women Working in the Legal Profession, Corrections, and Law Enforcement. Feminist Criminology 14:287-306.

Richards, Tara N., Marie Skubak Tillyer, and Emily M. Wright. 2019. When Victims Refuse and Prosecutors Decline: Examining Exceptional Clearance in Sexual Assault Cases. Crime & Delinquency 65:474-498.

Schwartz, Joseph A., Emily M. Wright, and Bradon A. Valgardson. 2019. Adverse childhood experiences and deleterious outcomes in adulthood: A consideration of the simultaneous role of genetic and environmental influences in two independent samples from the United States. Child abuse & neglect 88:420-431.

Zavala, Egbert, Ryan E. Spohn, and Leanne F. Alarid. Gender and Serious Youth Victimization: Assessing the Generality of Self-control, Differential Association, and Social Bonding Theories. Sociological Spectrum 39:53-69.

Butler, H. Daniel, Starr Solomon, and Ryan Spohn. Programming in restrictive housing: Considerations for improving outcome evaluations. Criminal Justice and Behavior 45:1174-1191.

Chenane, Joselyne L., and Emily M. Wright. 2018. The Role of Police Officer Race/Ethnicity on Crime Rates in Immigrant Communities." Race and Justice, doi:2153368718777278.

Ellison, Jared M., Benjamin Steiner, and Emily M. Wright. 2018. Examining the Sources of Violent Victimization Among Jail Inmates. Criminal Justice and Behavior 45:1723-1741.

Ellison, Jared M. and Ryan E. Spohn. 2017. "Borders up in Smoke: Marijuana Enforcement in Nebraska after Colorado's Legalization of Medicinal Marijuana." Criminal Justice Policy Review. 28:847-865.

Spohn, Ryan, Abby L. Bjornsen, and Emily M. Wright. 2017. "Factors Associated with Perceptions of Rape Events and Reporting of Rape among College and Non-College Women. Journal of Aggression, Conflict, and Peace Research. 9:279-289.

Steiner, Benjamin and Calli M. Cain (2017). "Punishment within Prison: An Examination of the Influences of Prison Officials' Decisions to Remove Sentencing Credits." Law and Society Review, 51: 70-98.

Wright, Emily M., Ryan E. Spohn, Joselyne Chenane, and Nick Juliano. 2017. "The Importance of Interagency Collaboration for Crossover Youth: A Research Note." Youth Violence and Juvenile Justice, 15:481-491.

Radatz, Dana L., and Emily M. Wright. 2016. "Integrating the Principles of Effective Intervention into Batterer Intervention Programming: The Case for Moving Toward More Evidence-Based Programming." Trauma, Violence, & Abuse, 17: 72-87.

Spohn, Ryan, Emily M. Wright, and Johanna Peterson. 2017. "Rape and Mental Health Outcomes among Women: Examining the Moderating Effects of 'Healthy' Fear Levels." Violence Against Women, 23:1055-1075.

Wright, Emily M., Gillian M. Pinchevsky, Michael L. Benson, and Dana L. Radatz. 2015. "Intimate Partner Violence and Subsequent Depression: Examining the Roles of Neighborhood Supportive Mechanisms." American Journal of Community Psychology, 56: 342-356.

Spohn, Ryan E. and Spencer D. Wood. 2014. "Spare the Rod, Endanger the Child? Strain, Race/Ethnicity, and Serious Delinquency." Journal of Ethnicity in Criminal Justice. 12:159-193.

Zavala, Egbert and Ryan E. Spohn. 2013. "The Role of Vicarious and Anticipated Strain on the Overlap of Violent Perpetration and Victimization: A Test of General Strain Theory." American Journal of Criminal Justice. 38:119-140.

Spohn, Ryan E. 2012. "Delinquent Friends and Reactions to Strain: An Examination of Direct and Indirect Pathways." Western Criminology Review. 13:16-36.

Spohn, Ryan E. and Don Kurtz. 2011 "Family Structure as a Social Context for Family Conflict: Unjust Strain and Serious Delinquency." Criminal Justice Review. 36:332-356.

Zavala, Egbert and Ryan E. Spohn. 2010. "Emotional Abuse and Controlling Behaviors in Heterosexual Relationships: The Role of Employment and Alcohol Use for Women and Their Partners." Sociological Spectrum. 30: 526-549.

Griffiths, Elizabeth, Robert D. Baller, Ryan E. Spohn, and Rosemary Gartner. 2008. "Is There Such a Thing as Defended Community Homicide? The Necessity of Methods of Triangulation." Victims and Offenders. 3:228-244.

Kurtz, Don, Travis Linnemann, and Ryan E. Spohn. 2008. "Investigating Racial Disparity at the Detention Decision: The Role of Informal Control and Respectability." Southwest Journal of Criminal Justice. 5:140-157.

Fitzgerald, Scott F. and Ryan E. Spohn. 2005. "Pulpits and Platforms: The Role of the Church in Determining Protest among Black Americans." Social Forces. 84:1015-1048. (Equal contribution)

Spohn, Ryan E. 2000. "Gender Differences in the Effects of Child Maltreatment on Criminal Activity over the Life Course." Pp. 207-231 in Families, Crime and Criminal Justice, Vol. 2, edited by G. L. Fox and M. L. Benson. New York: Elsevier Science.

Spohn, Ryan E. and Howard B. Kaplan. 2000. "Adolescent Substance Use and Adult Health Status: A Critical Analysis of a Problematic Relationship." Pp. 45-65 in Advances in Medical Sociology, Vol.7, edited by J. A. Levy, D. Stephens and D. McBride. Stamford, CT: JAI Press.