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Healthcare Approaches to Justice Collaborative

Welcome to the Healthcare Approaches to Justice Collaborative at Montclair State University. At the intersection of healthcare and justice, the Collaborative’s mission is to assist programs, conduct research and advance policies to improve communities.

The U.S. remains a “leader” in mass incarceration—over 1.8 million people were in a correctional facility in 2020 (Hang-Brown et al., 2021). Recent estimates suggest an additional five million are under community supervision (Bureau of Justice Statistics [BJS], 2020). Criminal justice interventions remain a big budget item across the US yet, research shows that crime rates and recidivism remain high. Eighty-three percent of those who go to prison will eventually be rearrested or return to prison within a nine-year follow-up period (BJS, 2018). Extralegal outcomes appear to suffer as well, for example, 27 percent of those who are previously incarcerated are unemployed (about five times that of the general U.S. unemployment rate, Couloute & Kopf, 2018), and rates of chronic health conditions like diabetes, hypertension, arthritis, and asthma are also significantly higher among returning citizens (Acker et al., 2019). Health-centered approaches to violence and criminal justice issues appear promising for mental and physical health, employment, housing, interpersonal relationships, incarceration, and revictimization outcomes (Affinati et al., 2016; Julliard et al., 2016; Monopoli et al., 2018). As a result more attention and resources are being dedicated to such alternatives. The White House, for example, continues to call for innovative and community-based approaches to crime and violence—including those outside the purview of criminal justice.

At the intersection of healthcare and justice, we:

  1. Provide services to lead coordinated community response (CCR) efforts for new and existing programs.
  2. Provide services for evidence-based strategic guidance for new and existing programs to achieve their goals and attain sustainability/institutionalization.
  3. Provide services for formative, process, and outcome evaluations for new and existing programs.
  4. Provide services to integrate community-based participatory approaches for new and existing programs.
  5. Provide services to conduct community needs assessment
  6. Collect and integrate healthcare, justice, and other data from primary1 and secondary sources2.
  7. Collaborate with research scientists, healthcare, and other professionals from multiple disciplines at MSU & outside.
  8. Support doctoral, masters and undergraduate students, from multiple disciplines3 to develop as professionals and scholars at the intersection of healthcare and justice by facilitating research and internship opportunities.
  9. Use contemporary quantitative and qualitative analytical methods, latest technologies in natural language processing, data mining, machine learning and geographic information systems4 to support programs, policy and research.
  10. Present and publish the collaborative’s work in partnership with stakeholders.
  11. Garner funding for research, programs, and policies.

 

Mission, Vision, Goals

Misson
At the intersection of healthcare and justice, we will assist programs, conduct research and advance policies to improve communities.

Vision
Equitable, just and healthy communities.

Guiding Principles

Social Determinants of Health: Addressing the five domains of the social determinants of health (SDH) including economic stability, neighborhood and built environment, social and community context, access to quality education and quality healthcare.

Coordinated Community Response: Creating a coordinated community response (CCR) using established models and frameworks of community engagement including the social ecological framework; community-based participatory research (CBPR); and translational research.

Trauma-Informed Approach: Understanding the physical, social, and emotional impact of trauma on the individual, as well as on the professionals who help them.

Equity: Pursuing a comprehensive approach to advance equity for all, including people of color and others who have been historically underserved, marginalized, and adversely affected by persistent poverty and inequality.

Short-term Goals

  1. Provide services to support organizations, communities, and all levels of government to launch programs and policies.
  2. Provide strategic solutions to organizations, communities, and all levels of government to improve programs and achieve sustainability.
  3. Conduct research to evaluate program processes, program quality and measure outcomes.
  4. Generate interest in and support for healthcare approaches to justice with multiple stakeholders.
  5. Garner recognition as a national leader for clinical and translational research that assists programs, advances policies, and improves communities.

LONG-TERM GOALS

  1. United Nations, Sustainable Development Goal# 3 Good Health & Well Being
  2. United Nations, Sustainable Development Goal# 10 Reduced Inequalities
  3. United Nations, Sustainable Development Goal# 16 Peace, Justice, & Strong Institutions
Team Members

Founders

Dr. Sheetal Ranjan, PhD (Founding Justice Research Scientist)
Director, Center for Healthcare Approaches to Justice
Professor, Justice Studies & Sociology, Montclair State University
Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Health, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine
Montclair, New Jersey, USA
Violence prevention and intervention, CCR, strategic planning, identifying and seeking funding opportunities to develop programs, evaluation research, institutionalization of programs Bio

Dr. Aakash Shah, MD, MBA, MSc (Founding Healthcare Collaborator)
Medical Director, Project HEAL – A Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Program
Assistant Professor, Psychiatry and Behavioral Health & Department of Emergency Medicine, Hackensack Meridian School of Medicine
Neptune, New Jersey, USA

Current Staff

Mr. Robert Green, MA
Doctoral Fellow (Justice Research)
PhD student in Criminal Justice at Rutgers University – Newark
Teaching Assistant, Rutgers University – Newark
Montclair, New Jersey, USA
Qualitative research, life course criminology, scholarly literature review

Mr. Paradorn Wongchanpai, MA
Doctoral Fellow (GIS)
PhD candidate in Earth and Environmental Sciences (EES), Geography and Geographic Information Sciences (GISci) concentration at CUNY Graduate Center
Montclair, New Jersey, USA
Geographical Information systems (GIS), Demography, R, Stata

Ms. Sumita Das, MA
Doctoral Fellow (Justice Research)
PhD candidate in Criminal Justice at CUNY Graduate Center
Montclair, New Jersey, USA
Reentry, Corrections, Addiction

Katheryne Pugliese, MA
Doctoral Fellow (Justice Research)
PhD candidate in Criminal Justice at CUNY Graduate Center
Montclair, New Jersey, USA
Data Analysis, Justice Research, Qualitative and Quantitative Methods

Ms. Jiayin Luo, BS
Community Partnership Coordinator
BS in Biology and Psychology Villanova University
Montclair, New Jersey, USA
Coordinated Community Response, Grant Management

Ms. Debra Wilson-Brown, MA
Center Coordinator
Adjunct Professor, English, William Paterson University
Montclair, New Jersey, USA
Coordinating projects, proofing manuscripts

Gesselle Hernandez
Research Assistant – Summer 2023
BA Sociology junior and Psychology minor at Montclair State University
Montclair, New Jersey, USA
Data Organization, Scholarly Literature Review, Policy Review

Sarah Chandler
Research Assistant – Summer 2023
BA Sociology senior at Montclair State University
Montclair, New Jersey, USA
Data Collection, Scholarly Literature Review, Policy Review

Current Research Scientists and Collaborators

Dr. C. Clare Strange, MSW, PhD (Justice Research Scientist)
Assistant Research Professor, Department of Criminology & Justice Studies, Drexel University
Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA
Expertise – Courts, corrections, treatment/rehabilitation, program/policy implementation and evaluation

Dr. Ramon Solhkhah, MD, M.B.A., FHELA, DFAACAP, DFAPA (Healthcare Collaborator)
Board of Directors Endowed Chair
Chair, Department of Psychiatry & Behavioral Sciences
NorthShore University Health System

Ms. Lisa McDermott, LCSW, LCADC (Social Work & Programming Collaborator)
Clinical Program Manager, Project HEAL – A Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Program
Neptune, New Jersey, USA

Dr. Cyril S. Ku, PhD (Research Scientist)
Professor, Computer Science, William Paterson University
Wayne, New Jersey, USA
Expertise – Data Science, Natural Language Processing, Data/Text Mining, and Machine Learning

Dr. Morgan Peltier, PhD (Research Scientist)
Professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Health at Hackensack Meridian Health School of Medicine
Neptune, New Jersey, USA
Expertise – Biostatistics and Epidemiology

Dr. Stacy Doumas, MD, MBA (Healthcare Collaborator)
Chief, Division of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry,
Residency Program Director & Vice Chair of Education & Research,
Department of Psychiatry, Jersey Shore University Medical Center
Neptune, NJ, USA

Mr. Jordan Intrator (Healthcare Collaborator)
Medical Student at Hackensack Meridian Health School of Medicine
Neptune, New Jersey, USA

Dr. Nicholas Flugrad MD (Healthcare Collaborator)
Research Analyst at Department of Psychiatry at Hackensack Meridian Health
Neptune, New Jersey, USA

Dr. MaryAnne Marshall MD (Healthcare Collaborator)
Research Analyst at Department of Psychiatry at Hackensack Meridian Health
Neptune, New Jersey, USA

Dr. Amrita Solanky MD (Healthcare Collaborator)
Resident at Hackensack Meridian health
Neptune, New Jersey, USA

Dr. Eric Alcera, MD (Healthcare Collaborator)
Vice Chair of Operations, Department of Psychiatry,
Jersey Shore University Medical Center
Neptune, NJ, USA

Angelica Patel, BS
Research Assistant
Medical student at Lake Erie College of Osteopathic Medicine, Florida
Asbury Park, NJ
Data Collection, Scholarly Literature Review, Policy Review

Ongoing Projects
  • Project HEAL – Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Program
    Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Hackensack Meridian Health
    Activities: Coordinated Community Response and Data Evaluation to support the program.
  • Elevate – Community-based Violence Intervention Program
    Jersey Shore University Medical Center, Hackensack Meridian Health
    Activities: Coordinated Community Response and Data Evaluation to support the program.
  • Medicaid Reimbursement for Hospital-based Violence Intervention Services: A State-level Implementation Case Study
    Activities: Research Approved by Montclair State University IRB-FY22-23-2789
  • Program and service needs of clients who experience violent victimization
    Activities: Research Approved by Montclair State University IRB-FY22-23-2913
  • Healthcare Informatics – A Knowledge Discovery Approach.
    Activities: Big data analytics approach using artificial intelligence technologies that automate the knowledge discovery process (neural networks and deep learning) for a systematic review of hospital-based violence intervention programs.
  • Project HEAL – Project HEAL (Help, Empower, and Lead) Retrospective Chart Review for New Jersey Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Programs.
    Activities: Research approved by Hackensack Meridian Health IRB Pro2021-1132.
  • Designing Medical School Curricula for Community Violence and Intimate Partner Violence
    Activities: Review of existing medical school curricula in progress.
Publications and Conference Presentations

Peer Reviewed Journal Publications

  • Ranjan, S., Strange, C.C., Wojcik, M.L.T., Shah, A., & Solhkhah, R. (2023). Setting Up Violence Intervention Specialists for Success: Bridging the Gap Between Concept and Practice in Hospital-based Violence Intervention Programs. The American Journal of Surgery. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.amjsurg.2023.02.023
  • Barberet, R., Ranjan, S., & Beichner-Thomas, D. (2023). Feminist approaches to justice: contributions to CSW66. Editors’ introduction. International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice, 1-8. https://doi.org/10.1080/01924036.2023.2168284
  • Ranjan, S., Neudecker, C. H., Strange, C. C., Wojcik, M. L., Shah, A., & Solhkhah, R. (2023). Hospital-based violence intervention programs (HVIPs): making a case for qualitative evaluation designs. Crime & Delinquency, 69(3), 487-509. https://doi.org/10.1177/00111287221110446
  • Ranjan, S., & Dmello, J. R. (2022). Proposing a unified framework for coordinated community response. Violence against women, 28(8), 1873-1889. https://doi.org/10.1177/10778012221086009
  • Beichner, D., Barberet, R., & Ranjan, S. (2022). Prioritizing the Elimination of Violence Against Women Worldwide: Lessons From the 65th Session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women. Guest Editors’ Introduction. Violence Against Women, 28(8), 1728-1735. https://doi.org/10.1177/10778012221086000
  • Ranjan, S., Shah, A.K., Strange, C.C. and Stillman, K. (2021). Hospital-based violence intervention: strategies for cultivating internal support, community partnerships, and strengthening practitioner engagement. Journal of Aggression, Conflict and Peace Research, online first. https://doi.org/10.1108/JACPR-03-2021-0590
  • Burgess-Proctor, A., & Ranjan, S. (2021). Bridging Divides to Advance Justice: A “Call to Conscience” for Criminology. Journal of Contemporary Criminal Justice, 37 (2), 152–165. https://doi.org/10.1177/10439862211002310
  • Dmello, J. R., & Ranjan, S. (2020). Lock unlock: the impact of COVID-19 on health security in Pakistani and Indian prisons. Victims & Offenders, 15(7-8), 970-987. https://doi.org/10.1080/15564886.2020.1822973

Conference Presentations

  • Ranjan, S., Intrator, J., Shah, A. & Neudecker, C. (2023). Hospital-based Violence Intervention Programs: A Meta-synthesis of the Qualitative Evidence and Agenda for Future Research. Presentation at the annual meeting of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, Baltimore, MD.
  • Ranjan, S., Ku, C. S. & Green, R. (2023). Healthcare Informatics – A Knowledge Discovery Approach. Presentation at the annual meeting of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, Baltimore, MD.
  • Strange, C., Ranjan, S., Shah, A. & Solhkhah, R. (2023). A Case Study of Medicaid Reimbursement Policies for Hospital-Based Violence Intervention. Presentation at the annual meeting of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, Baltimore, MD.
  • Flugrad, N. A., Marshall, M., Paradorn, W., Green, R., Peltier, M., Ranjan, S. (2023). Domestic Violence in New Jersey: Does Neighborhood Context Matter? Presentation at the annual meeting of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences, Baltimore, MD.
  • Ranjan, S., & Solhkhah, R. (2022). The Role of Health Networks in Addressing Violent Injury Prevention. Presentation at WHO’s 14th World Conference on Injury Prevention & Safety Promotion, Adelaide, Australia.
  • Ranjan, S., Shah, A., McDermott, L., & Solhkhah, R. (2022). The Social Determinants of Health Framework for Community Violence Intervention: A Tool to Advocate for Equitable Organizational Policies in Healthcare Settings. Policy Panel Presentation at the annual meeting of the American Society of Criminology, Atlanta, GA.
  • Ranjan, S., Strange, C., Wojcik, M.L.T., Shah, A., & Solhkhah, R. (2022). Setting Up Violence Intervention Specialists for Success: Bridging the Gap Between Concept and Practice. Presentation at the National Center for Victims of Crime National Training Institute, St. Louis, MO.
  • Ranjan, S. (2021). Thematic Panel: Hospital-Based Violence Intervention Programs: Policy, Practice and Research (Sponsored by the Division of Victimology). Organizer and Chair of Policy Panel at the annual meeting of the American Society of Criminology, Chicago, IL.
  • Wojcik, M. L. T., Neudecker, C., Strange, C., Stillman, K., Ranjan, S., Shah, A. (2021). Findings from a Qualitative Meta-Analysis of Hospital-based Violence Intervention Programs (HVIPs) Research. Presentation at the annual meeting of the American Society of Criminology, Atlanta, GA.
  • Ranjan, S., Shah, A., Neudecker, C., Strange, C., Wojcik, M. L. T. (2021). Hospital-based Violence Intervention: Strategies for Cultivating Community Partnerships and Strengthening Practitioner Engagement. Presentation at the annual meeting of the American Society of Criminology, Atlanta, GA.
  • Neudecker, C., Ranjan, S., Shah, A., C., Strange, C., Wojcik, M. L. T. (2021). Trends in Violent Victimization Rates: The Impact of Violence across New Jersey. Presentation at the annual meeting of the American Society of Criminology, Atlanta, GA.
  • Ranjan, S., Wojcik, M.L.T., McDermott, L., Shah, A., & Solhkhah, R. (2021). Engaging Hospital Leadership, Community Partners, and Practitioners During HVIP Planning and Implementation. Presentation at the National Center for Victims of Crime National Training Institute, Atlanta, GA.
  • Ranjan, S., Wojcik, M.L.T., Shah, A., & Solhkhah, R. (2021). Law Enforcement Officers’ Perception of Barriers to HVIP Enrollment and Successful Treatment: Preliminary Results from Project HEAL-JSUMC. Presentation at the Health Alliance for Violence (HAVI) Virtual Conference.
Footnotes

[1] eg. clients, community stakeholders, organizational staff etc.

[2] eg. existing datasets from organizations, media publications, national surveys, decennial census etc.

[3] Justice Studies, Sociology, Social Work, Psychology, Public Health, Counseling, Family Science and Human Development, Earth & Environmental Studies, Nursing, Educational Foundations, College of the Arts, Feliciano School of Business etc.

[4] eg. geographic information systems (GIS), natural language processing (NLP), data mining, machine learning etc.