Sheryl Kubiak
Biographic Data
| ID | 4159396 |
|---|---|
| NAME | Sheryl Kubiak |
| GIVEN NAMES | Sheryl |
| FAMILY NAME | Kubiak |
| SIGNATURE | KUBIAK S |
| AFFILIATIONS | Wayne State University |
| VERIFIED | No |
| TOTAL WORKS | 37 |
| TOTAL CITATIONS | 82 |
| AUTHOR COUNT | 37 |
| EDITOR COUNT | 0 |
| FIRST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2004 |
| LATEST PUBLICATION YEAR | 2026 |
| H-INDEX | 5 |
Validation of self‐harm prediction models among formerly incarcerated individuals using health data
BACKGROUND: Individuals released from jail die by self‐harm at nearly nine times the rate of the general U.S. POPULATION: Most jails rely on traditional screening methods, such as brief self-report questionnaires, which are often inconsistently administered and have limited sensitivity and predictive accuracy. This highlights the urgent need for alternative self-harm risk identification methods during and after incarceration. OBJECTIVE: To evalua…
Assessing Rural-Urban Differences in Screening for Mental Health Needs Among Individuals in County Jails
Rural jails are increasingly contributing to the overall jail population and little is known about how they differ from non-rural jails. This study compares demographic, behavioral health and criminal/legal histories of 3,797 individuals who booked into three rural jails and seven non-rural jails. In addition, the study assessed how jails identify mental illness, which was compared to an objective screening instrument (Kessler-6). Individuals in …
Deflecting people experiencing a mental health crisis from the criminal-legal system at dispatch
INTRODUCTION: People with mental health needs are overrepresented in the criminal-legal system in the United States. While mental health deflection and diversion from the criminal-legal system exists, limited investigations have focused on what happens to support these efforts at emergency communication centers. METHODS: In order to understand the possibilities for deflection at emergency communication centers, this exploratory study examined the…
A Comparison of Behavioral Health Crisis Response Models in Meeting Behavioral Health Goals and Improving Criminal Legal Diversion
Virtual Reality Job Interview Training for Adults Receiving Prison-Based Employment Services
Returning citizens struggle to obtain employment after release from prison and navigating job interviews is a critical barrier they encounter. Implementing evidence-based interview training is a major gap in prison-based vocational services. We conducted a randomized controlled trial (RCT) to evaluate the feasibility and initial effectiveness of Virtual Reality Job Interview Training (VR-JIT) within two prisons. Forty-four male returning citizens…
Time to Move Beyond the ASWB Licensing Exams
Social work scholars have long questioned the validity and utility of the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) licensing exams. Data released in 2022 revealed severe disparities in pass rates based on race, age, and language, exacerbating these concerns. In this paper, we explore the potential of generative artificial intelligence (AI) such as ChatGPT to address core problems of the ASWB exams, including the use of a multiple-choice format th…
Factors of Recidivism among Individuals with Co-occurring Conditions in Rural Mental Health Jail Interventions
Estimates indicate that nearly half of rural jail detainees meet the criteria for co-occurring disorders (COD). It is critical to examine factors of recidivism among detainees with COD in rural communities. This exploratory study aimed to examine factors of recidivism among adults in rural jails. Administrative data sources were utilized to assess postyear recidivism among 191 individuals with COD who participated in a jail-based intervention. Re…
Assessing County-Level Behavioral Health and Justice Systems with the Sequential Intercept Model Practices, Leadership, and Expertise Scorecard
The Criminal/Legal Experiences of Individuals with Mental Illness along the Sequential Intercept Model
Studies suggest that up to 44% of individuals in the criminal/legal system have a severe mental illness (SMI), and although diversion programs have been established, a significant portion still end up incarcerated. The Sequential Intercept Model is a framework designed to reduce the overrepresentation of individuals with SMI in the criminal/legal system by identifying points of interception to prevent individuals from entering or moving further i…
Gender, Geography, and Justice
This multi-jail study examines the behavioral health needs and service use in a sample of 3,787 individuals in jail, to compare women in rural jails to their gender and geography counterparts (that is rural men, urban women, and urban men). Compared to urban women (17.9%, n = 677), rural men (18.2%, n = 690), and urban men (56.1%; n = 2,132), rural women (7.6%, n = 288) had significantly higher odds of serious mental illness and co-occurring ment…
Law Enforcement and Suicide Calls for Service
Suicide incidents that rise to the level of crisis requiring a LE response is understudied in both the suicide and LE literature. Increasing the sophistication of call report documentation procedures would allow for communities to deepen their understanding of how suicide manifests and could create pathways to non-institutionalized care
Terrified of a System I Didn’t Understand”
Incarcerated women experience staff-perpetrated sexual victimization at high rates, yet limited research exists regarding women’s experiences of this victimization while on probation and parole, particularly regarding their formal reporting decisions. This qualitative study explored the formal reporting decisions for 10 women who experienced staff-perpetrated sexual victimization while on parole. Women who formally reported their victimization ex…
He Acted as If He Owned Me”
While the Prison Rape Elimination Act focuses on sexual victimization in correctional settings, staff-perpetrated sexual misconduct against women under community-based correctional supervision has received little attention. This study explored women's experiences of sexual victimization by correctional staff while on parole and used a case study approach to examine sexual victimization incidents experienced by ten women. Women described how staff…
A statewide evaluation of jail-based mental health interventions
Mental Health Identification Practices of Jails
The overrepresentation of individuals with mental illness in the criminal/legal system is well documented. While professional associations urge diversion towards treatment, little is known about the practices these institutions use to identify this population. One understudied space in the criminal/legal continuum is jails. This exploratory study compares two types of mental health identification at jail booking to assess jail‐ and community‐base…
Racial Disparities in Access to and Utilization of Jail- and Community-Based Mental Health Treatment in 8 US Midwestern Jails in 2017
Objectives. To examine the dual disproportionality that individuals with serious mental illness and people of color (PoC) occupy in the criminal–legal system. Methods. This study follows a cohort of 623 individuals who screened positive for mental health issues at booking in 8 Midwestern jails in 2017. We followed individuals through the jails’ practices of jail-based mental health treatment, and we used Medicaid billing data to assess community-…
Transition Planning from Jail; Treatment Engagement, Continuity of Care, and Rearrest
Reporting Sexual Victimization During Incarceration
The U.S. Department of Justice estimates that between 149,200 and 209,400 incidents of sexual victimization occur annually in prisons and jails. However, very few individuals experiencing sexual victimization during incarceration report these incidents to correctional authorities. Federal-level policy recommendations derived from the Prison Rape Elimination Act suggest mechanisms for improving reporting as well as standards for the prevention, in…
Testing a New Intervention With Incarcerated Women Serving Life Sentences
Purpose: Incarcerated women serving life sentences are a growing subpopulation with multiple mental health needs. However, no existing interventions have been designed for or tested with this population. Method: This study tested a gender-responsive, trauma-informed intervention ( Beyond Violence) and examined changes in incarcerated women’s mental health and anger expression. Pre-, post-, and follow-up surveys were administered to two treatment …
Long-Term Outcomes of a RCT Intervention Study for Women with Violent Crimes
Objective: There is scant research on interventions to address the often coexisting factors of trauma-related anger, violent behaviors, and substance misuse among criminal-justice-involved women. Through a multiphase study that included a randomized control trial (RCT), Beyond Violence—a 20-session curriculum-based intervention for women—has shown efficacy in terms of feasibility and short-term outcomes (i.e., mental health and anger symptoms). T…
Do sexually victimized female prisoners perceive justice in litigation process and outcomes
Prison Rape Reform
Role of Gender, Substance Use, and Serious Mental Illness in Anticipated Postjail Homelessness
Incarcerated individuals, particularly women, experience high rates of mental health and substance use disorders, potentially placing them at an increased risk for homelessness. This study examined factors associated with anticipated postjail homelessness among men and women (N = 725) incarcerated in an urban county jail. Participants were categorized into three groups on the basis of scores of screening measures for substance misuse and mental i…
Testing a Violence-Prevention Intervention for Incarcerated Women Using a Randomized Control Trial
Objective: Beyond Violence (BV), a new prevention program for women with assaultive offenses, demonstrated feasibility in previous studies. This study’s purpose is to assess the efficacy of BV using a randomized control trial. Method: Eligible women were randomly assigned to treatment as usual (TAU) and the experimental condition (BV). Measures of mental health and anger were administered to women at pre- and postintervention. Results: Outcomes r…
Everything You Always Wanted to Know About Women and Addiction
Post-Separation Abuse of Women and their Children
The Effects of PTSD on Treatment Adherence, Drug Relapse, and Criminal Recidivism in a Sample of Incarcerated Men and Women
Objective/Method: Given the relationship between post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance use disorders (SUD), and the prevalence of SUD among offenders, the inattention to trauma before, during, and after incarceration is troubling. This exploratory study compared those with and without co-occurring PTSD among men (n = 139) and women (n = 60) involved in prison-based substance abuse treatment. Results: More than one half the sample me…
A Model of Sexually and Physically Victimized Women's Process of Attaining Effective Formal Help over Time
As empirical evidence has demonstrated the pervasiveness of sexual assault and intimate partner violence in the lives of women, and the links to poor mental health outcomes, attention has turned to examining how women seek and access formal help. We present a conceptual model that addresses prior limitations and makes three key contributions: It foregrounds the influence of social location and multiple contextual factors; emphasizes the importanc…
Empowerment and public policy
The ability of individuals to gain mastery over their environment is considered empowerment. However, empowerment often is assessed without attention to the historical, social, or political context the individual is embedded within. This context often is contingent upon social policies that enhance or limit the choices an individual has to behave in ways constructed as efficacious. One example of such a policy is Section 115 of the Personal Respo…
Testing a Violence-Prevention Intervention for Incarcerated Women Using a Randomized Control Trial
Objective: Beyond Violence (BV), a new prevention program for women with assaultive offenses, demonstrated feasibility in previous studies. This study’s purpose is to assess the efficacy of BV using a randomized control trial. Method: Eligible women were randomly assigned to treatment as usual (TAU) and the experimental condition (BV). Measures of mental health and anger were administered to women at pre- and postintervention. Results: Outcomes r…
Time to Move Beyond the ASWB Licensing Exams
Social work scholars have long questioned the validity and utility of the Association of Social Work Boards (ASWB) licensing exams. Data released in 2022 revealed severe disparities in pass rates based on race, age, and language, exacerbating these concerns. In this paper, we explore the potential of generative artificial intelligence (AI) such as ChatGPT to address core problems of the ASWB exams, including the use of a multiple-choice format th…
Prison Rape Reform
Role of Gender, Substance Use, and Serious Mental Illness in Anticipated Postjail Homelessness
Incarcerated individuals, particularly women, experience high rates of mental health and substance use disorders, potentially placing them at an increased risk for homelessness. This study examined factors associated with anticipated postjail homelessness among men and women (N = 725) incarcerated in an urban county jail. Participants were categorized into three groups on the basis of scores of screening measures for substance misuse and mental i…
Mental Health Identification Practices of Jails
The overrepresentation of individuals with mental illness in the criminal/legal system is well documented. While professional associations urge diversion towards treatment, little is known about the practices these institutions use to identify this population. One understudied space in the criminal/legal continuum is jails. This exploratory study compares two types of mental health identification at jail booking to assess jail‐ and community‐base…
Racial Disparities in Access to and Utilization of Jail- and Community-Based Mental Health Treatment in 8 US Midwestern Jails in 2017
Objectives. To examine the dual disproportionality that individuals with serious mental illness and people of color (PoC) occupy in the criminal–legal system. Methods. This study follows a cohort of 623 individuals who screened positive for mental health issues at booking in 8 Midwestern jails in 2017. We followed individuals through the jails’ practices of jail-based mental health treatment, and we used Medicaid billing data to assess community-…
Assessing Short-Term Outcomes of an Intervention for Women Convicted of Violent Crimes
Women convicted of violent offenses represent a small but important subpopulation of women involved in the criminal justice system. Correctional administrators working with these women often rely on treatment and rehabilitation programs developed for violent male offenders. Although women’s trajectories into violent behavior—as well as their trajectory out—differ from their male counterparts, the field is marked by the absence of interventions de…
A Comparison of Behavioral Health Crisis Response Models in Meeting Behavioral Health Goals and Improving Criminal Legal Diversion
Terrified of a System I Didn’t Understand”
Incarcerated women experience staff-perpetrated sexual victimization at high rates, yet limited research exists regarding women’s experiences of this victimization while on probation and parole, particularly regarding their formal reporting decisions. This qualitative study explored the formal reporting decisions for 10 women who experienced staff-perpetrated sexual victimization while on parole. Women who formally reported their victimization ex…
Assessing Long-Term Outcomes of an Intervention Designed for Pregnant Incarcerated Women
Objectives: Approximately 25% of women are pregnant or postpartum when they enter prison. This study assesses a system-level intervention that prevented the separation of mothers and infants at birth, allowing them to reside together in an alternative community setting. Method: Longitudinal analysis of several state-level administrative databases compares the intervention (n = 48) group to the ‘‘treatment as usual’’ group (n = 36), over a 10-year…
Balancing Gender Equity for Women Prisoners
It isn't the demands for sex for me anymore. After twenty years in prison, it's about losing the last thing I have, my private body self. It's the male guards watching my naked body, openly, and as I get older the comments change to making fun of it, mocking me, my aging woman. It's the commonness of them calling us hos and bitches. It's being yelled at for needing more toilet paper, for asking for an extra sanitary napkin. -G.W., witness, Everso…
The Effects of PTSD on Treatment Adherence, Drug Relapse, and Criminal Recidivism in a Sample of Incarcerated Men and Women
Objective/Method: Given the relationship between post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD) and substance use disorders (SUD), and the prevalence of SUD among offenders, the inattention to trauma before, during, and after incarceration is troubling. This exploratory study compared those with and without co-occurring PTSD among men (n = 139) and women (n = 60) involved in prison-based substance abuse treatment. Results: More than one half the sample me…
Empowerment and public policy
The ability of individuals to gain mastery over their environment is considered empowerment. However, empowerment often is assessed without attention to the historical, social, or political context the individual is embedded within. This context often is contingent upon social policies that enhance or limit the choices an individual has to behave in ways constructed as efficacious. One example of such a policy is Section 115 of the Personal Respo…
Balancing Gender Equity for Women Prisoners
It isn't the demands for sex for me anymore. After twenty years in prison, it's about losing the last thing I have, my private body self. It's the male guards watching my naked body, openly, and as I get older the comments change to making fun of it, mocking me, my aging woman. It's the commonness of them calling us hos and bitches. It's being yelled at for needing more toilet paper, for asking for an extra sanitary napkin. -G.W., witness, Everso…
Trauma and Cumulative Adversity in Women of a Disadvantaged Social Location
This study expands conceptual and empirical perspectives on stress exposure by evaluating cumulative exposure in 79 drug-convicted women. Logistic regression determined that (a) posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD) increased 40% with each trauma and (b) adding chronic stressors increased the predictability of PTSD. This study supports cumulative adversity models and the importance of social location
Beyond Gender Responsivity
As the debate regarding gender responsive strategies continues, there is little attention to differences that exist within gender. Attention to within gender differences is of particular importance in community contexts where many women involved in the criminal justice (CJ) system are located and receiving treatment with non-CJ involved women. Using a national data set we found 43.6% of the CJ women had 4 or more areas of need compared with 16.5%…
Depression in African American and White Women Convicted of a Felony Drug Offense
Most women in the criminal justice system are drug-involved, and although African American women are disproportionately arrested, prosecuted, and convicted for drug-related offenses, little is known about their mental health. Depression is of particular concern, as it is highly comorbid with substance abuse and strongly associated with stressful life events, including discrimination. We studied factors associated with depression in 78 community-d…
Acculturation and Polysubstance Abuse in Arab-American Treatment Clients
Acculturation to U.S. culture by Latinos and Asian Americans has been associated with increased prevalence of substance abuse. However, little is known about the association between acculturation and substance use among Arab Americans, or more specifically, among Arab-American treatment clients. In 156 Arab-American male treatment clients, we found that higher levels of U.S. acculturation were positively associated with increased prevalence of po…
Assessing Long-Term Outcomes of an Intervention Designed for Pregnant Incarcerated Women
Objectives: Approximately 25% of women are pregnant or postpartum when they enter prison. This study assesses a system-level intervention that prevented the separation of mothers and infants at birth, allowing them to reside together in an alternative community setting. Method: Longitudinal analysis of several state-level administrative databases compares the intervention (n = 48) group to the ‘‘treatment as usual’’ group (n = 36), over a 10-year…
Assessing Short-Term Outcomes of an Intervention for Women Convicted of Violent Crimes
Women convicted of violent offenses represent a small but important subpopulation of women involved in the criminal justice system. Correctional administrators working with these women often rely on treatment and rehabilitation programs developed for violent male offenders. Although women’s trajectories into violent behavior—as well as their trajectory out—differ from their male counterparts, the field is marked by the absence of interventions de…
A Model of Sexually and Physically Victimized Women's Process of Attaining Effective Formal Help over Time
As empirical evidence has demonstrated the pervasiveness of sexual assault and intimate partner violence in the lives of women, and the links to poor mental health outcomes, attention has turned to examining how women seek and access formal help. We present a conceptual model that addresses prior limitations and makes three key contributions: It foregrounds the influence of social location and multiple contextual factors; emphasizes the importanc…
Post-Separation Abuse of Women and their Children
Role of Gender, Substance Use, and Serious Mental Illness in Anticipated Postjail Homelessness
Incarcerated individuals, particularly women, experience high rates of mental health and substance use disorders, potentially placing them at an increased risk for homelessness. This study examined factors associated with anticipated postjail homelessness among men and women (N = 725) incarcerated in an urban county jail. Participants were categorized into three groups on the basis of scores of screening measures for substance misuse and mental i…
Testing a Violence-Prevention Intervention for Incarcerated Women Using a Randomized Control Trial
Objective: Beyond Violence (BV), a new prevention program for women with assaultive offenses, demonstrated feasibility in previous studies. This study’s purpose is to assess the efficacy of BV using a randomized control trial. Method: Eligible women were randomly assigned to treatment as usual (TAU) and the experimental condition (BV). Measures of mental health and anger were administered to women at pre- and postintervention. Results: Outcomes r…
Patterns of Women's Aggression Against Partners and Others
Research on women's aggression typically focuses on relational aggression. However, the study of violence must include multiple forms of violence such as aggression against partners and non‐partner others, while also considering victimization experiences by partners and non‐partners. The focus of this study is the multiple experiences of violence (perpetration and victimization) of women who are incarcerated. Incarcerated women are likely to expe…
Long-Term Outcomes of a RCT Intervention Study for Women with Violent Crimes
Objective: There is scant research on interventions to address the often coexisting factors of trauma-related anger, violent behaviors, and substance misuse among criminal-justice-involved women. Through a multiphase study that included a randomized control trial (RCT), Beyond Violence—a 20-session curriculum-based intervention for women—has shown efficacy in terms of feasibility and short-term outcomes (i.e., mental health and anger symptoms). T…
Do sexually victimized female prisoners perceive justice in litigation process and outcomes
Prison Rape Reform
Testing a New Intervention With Incarcerated Women Serving Life Sentences
Purpose: Incarcerated women serving life sentences are a growing subpopulation with multiple mental health needs. However, no existing interventions have been designed for or tested with this population. Method: This study tested a gender-responsive, trauma-informed intervention ( Beyond Violence) and examined changes in incarcerated women’s mental health and anger expression. Pre-, post-, and follow-up surveys were administered to two treatment …
Reporting Sexual Victimization During Incarceration
The U.S. Department of Justice estimates that between 149,200 and 209,400 incidents of sexual victimization occur annually in prisons and jails. However, very few individuals experiencing sexual victimization during incarceration report these incidents to correctional authorities. Federal-level policy recommendations derived from the Prison Rape Elimination Act suggest mechanisms for improving reporting as well as standards for the prevention, in…
The Criminal/Legal Experiences of Individuals with Mental Illness along the Sequential Intercept Model
Studies suggest that up to 44% of individuals in the criminal/legal system have a severe mental illness (SMI), and although diversion programs have been established, a significant portion still end up incarcerated. The Sequential Intercept Model is a framework designed to reduce the overrepresentation of individuals with SMI in the criminal/legal system by identifying points of interception to prevent individuals from entering or moving further i…
Gender, Geography, and Justice
This multi-jail study examines the behavioral health needs and service use in a sample of 3,787 individuals in jail, to compare women in rural jails to their gender and geography counterparts (that is rural men, urban women, and urban men). Compared to urban women (17.9%, n = 677), rural men (18.2%, n = 690), and urban men (56.1%; n = 2,132), rural women (7.6%, n = 288) had significantly higher odds of serious mental illness and co-occurring ment…
Law Enforcement and Suicide Calls for Service
Suicide incidents that rise to the level of crisis requiring a LE response is understudied in both the suicide and LE literature. Increasing the sophistication of call report documentation procedures would allow for communities to deepen their understanding of how suicide manifests and could create pathways to non-institutionalized care
Terrified of a System I Didn’t Understand”
Incarcerated women experience staff-perpetrated sexual victimization at high rates, yet limited research exists regarding women’s experiences of this victimization while on probation and parole, particularly regarding their formal reporting decisions. This qualitative study explored the formal reporting decisions for 10 women who experienced staff-perpetrated sexual victimization while on parole. Women who formally reported their victimization ex…
He Acted as If He Owned Me”
While the Prison Rape Elimination Act focuses on sexual victimization in correctional settings, staff-perpetrated sexual misconduct against women under community-based correctional supervision has received little attention. This study explored women's experiences of sexual victimization by correctional staff while on parole and used a case study approach to examine sexual victimization incidents experienced by ten women. Women described how staff…
A statewide evaluation of jail-based mental health interventions
Psychology (31 works) · Medicine (26 works) · Psychiatry (23 works) · Criminology (18 works) · Mental health (18 works) · Criminal Justice and Corrections Analysis (16 works) · Political science (13 works) · Child Abuse and Trauma (12 works) · Clinical Psychology (11 works) · Poison control (11 works)