Current happenings

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On May 3, 2024, I successfull defended my doctoral dissertation entitled, "Evaluating De-escalation Training at the National and Regional Levels: A Mixed-Methods Analysis of Use of Force." This grant-funded project serves as a program evaluation for the National De-escalation Training Center and additionally explores nuances in officer's perceptions of their ever-changing role in today's sociopolitical climate. 

In partnership with other doctoral students at my University, we conducted a study-body survey of post-COVID online learning experiences and how teachers can support various student needs by racial or ethnic background. 

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ssaho.2023.100598

So honored to be highlighted by my University's media team for the funding that will support my Dissertation efforts and work with the National De-escalation Training Center, funded by DOJ.

Check out the article here: https://www.newhaven.edu/news/blog/2023/samantha-tosto.php

ACJS 2023 in National Harbor, MD was an excellent opportunity to share my work with re-entry service providers and their experiences and satisfaction with addressing community-level needs of returned citizens. 

Paper entitled "Community-based nonprofits serving justice-involved clients: A mixed-methods analysis of employee job satisfaction and post-pandemic changes"

Check out a new publication, co-authored with Dr. Stephanie Bonnes, on the construction of victim legitimacy among military lawyers who work sexual assault cases. This qualitative piece uses interviews with these lawyers and observation of courts martial to inform our findings. https://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full/10.1177/0095327X221108526

Alongside fellow doctoral student, Paul Klee, and with the guidance of our mentor Dr. Danielle Cooper, I am presenting at the November 2021 annual meeting of the American Society of Criminology. Our paper "Diverting Youth During the First COVID-19 Surge: Work Experiences From Community-Based Service Providers" highlights our findings from interviews with front-end juvenile justice diversion service providers about how COVID-19 impacted their ability to serve at-risk youth.

Under the guidance of Dr. Sara Becker, our team explores how stigma towards individuals with a SUD is pervasive, even among community providers.

https://psycnet.apa.org/doi/10.1037/tps0000245

In this article, I review the available literature on social interaction training for law enforcement and where we go from here: 

https://www.ebpsociety.org/blog/education/460-law-enforcement-social-interaction-training-research

This article, out now in Implementation Science Communications, evaluates the implementation preferences of community-based opioid treatment providers for initiating contingency management as a supplement to medication-assisted treatment (MAT).

https://implementationsciencecomms.biomedcentral.com/articles/10.1186/s43058-021-0014