Research

Child Welfare and Inequality among U.S. Children and Adolescents

One of my research areas examines the implications of child welfare system involvement for inequality in the U.S., in childhood and beyond, with particular focus on foster care placement and racial/ethnic inequality. For this work I use both survey and administrative data, including data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Wellbeing, the National Child Abuse and Neglect Data System, and the Adoption and Foster Care Analysis and Reporting System. My work in this area includes:

Incarceration and Family Life

My work in this area focuses on the consequences of incarceration on the lives of those incarcerated as well as those to whom they are socially and/or biologically connected. I use survey and administrative data from such sources as the Family History of Incarceration Survey, Fragile Families and Child Wellbeing Study, the 1997 National Longitudinal Study, and the New York City Departments of Corrections and Health and Mental Hygiene. My work within this area includes:

Race, Immigration, and Social Stratification

Another research area examines racial/ethnic categorization and immigrant status and generation as dimensions of social and spatial stratification and inequality in the social lives of people in the U.S., particularly among those who are Latinx or of Hispanic ethnicity. My work in this area includes:

Inequality in the Transition to Adulthood

My research on inequality in the transition to adulthood in the U.S. cuts across many of my other research fields and examines variation in and predictors of variation in wellbeing of young people as they transition into adult roles and experiences. For an example of how I conceptualize the role of institutions in the childhood and the transition to adulthood, I invite you to take a peek at my remarks for the Youth Justice Institute’s Lunch & Learn Brown Bag series here. My work in this area includes: