FOCUS
Brianna seeks to remedy gaps in access to client-centered, trauma-informed, and uninterrupted mental healthcare for individuals accused of crimes in the United States. Her research focuses on the nexus of jail-based and community-based mental healthcare systems. She is interested in studying the clinical outcomes and administrative processes associated with mental-health-focused policing interventions and court diversion programming. Her research draws on the sequential intercept model and abolitionist theories to try to decenter the role of carceral systems in care provision. Utilizing implementation science, archival research, and mixed methods, Brianna’s research will make use of social work and public health frameworks to shift municipal policy and practices in service of anti-carceral outcomes and health equity.
MORE ABOUT BRIANNA
Brianna is a queer, biracial black woman and a native of upstate New York. She has experience working as a clinician and mitigation specialist/forensic social worker in the criminal-legal system. Her research, which focuses on improving health outcomes for system-impacted individuals, is shaped by the wise insights of her former clients.
DISSERTATION GRANT AWARDEE — SUMMER 2024
Social Welfare Policy-to-Practice Translation in Jail Reform Litigation
This dissertation focuses on the implementation of jail and post-jail healthcare policies stemming from a lawsuit filed against the City of New York, the New York City Department of Correction, and several affiliated municipal agencies. The proposed study intends to qualitatively assess whether litigation, settlement, and monitoring of jails and prisons are policy interventions capable of generating long-lasting and meaningful changes in criminal-legal and public health outcomes.
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