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:

• “Can Foster Care Interventions Diminish Justice System Inequality?” Future of Children 28(1):37-58. (with Christopher Wildeman, 2018). See my recent panel presentation on this work at a Brookings Institution/Future of Children event here.
• “Putting Foster Youth in Context: Instability in Care and Living Arrangements” Working Paper

Incarceration and Family Life

My work in this area focuses on the consequences of incarceration on inmates’ lives an the lives of 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:

• “Paternal Incarceration and Family Functioning: Variation across Federal, State, and Local Facilities.” ANNALS of the American Association of Political and Social Science 665(1):80-97. (with Christopher Wildeman and Kristin Turney, 2016)
• “Mental Health among Jail and Prison Inmates.” American Journal of Men’s Health 11(4):900-909. (with Christopher Wildeman and Kristin Turney, 2016)
• “What Percentage of Americans Have Ever Had a Family Member Incarcerated? Evidence from the Family History of Incarceration Survey (FamHIS).” Working Paper (with Peter K. Enns, Megan Comfort, Alyssa Goldman, Hedwig Lee, Christopher Muller, Sara Wakefield, Emily A. Wang, and Christopher Wildeman)
• “Racial Inequality in Institutional Contact: Implications for Home-Leaving in the Transition to Adulthood” Working Paper

Immigration and Social Stratification

Another research area examines the role of immigrant status and generation as a dimension of social stratification and inequality in the social lives and economic wellbeing of people in the U.S., particularly among those who are Latinx or of Hispanic ethnicity. My work in this area includes:

• “Job Mobility among Unauthorized Immigrant Workers.” Social Forces soy086. (with Matthew Hall and Emily Greenman)

• “Living Arrangements and Household Complexity among Undocumented Latino Immigrants.” Forthcoming, Population and Development Review (with Matthew Hall and Kelly Musick)

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. My work in this area includes:

• “Leaving the Financial Nest: Connecting Young Adults’ Financial Independence to Financial Security.” Forthcoming, Journal of Marriage and Family (with Megan Doherty Bea)
• “Living Arrangements and Household Complexity among Undocumented Latino Immigrants.” Forthcoming, Population and Development Review (with Matthew Hall and Kelly Musick)
• “Racial and Ethnic Differences in First Home-Leaving in the Transition to Adulthood” Working Paper