Competence to Stand Trial in the Context of Reducing Jail Detention

This meeting is open to all SJC sites and will feature national experts in the field of competence to stand trial. Presenters will discuss current research, policy change, and implementation guidance surrounding competence, particularly as a driver of jail incarceration and extended length of stay. We'll discuss the impact of competence issues across the Intercepts and include practical strategies for SJC sites to move forward.

Presenters:

• Dr. Sarah Desmarais, President, Policy Research Associates
  • Sarah L. Desmarais, Ph.D. has been the President at PRA since 2022. Before that, she served as the Senior Vice President from 2021 to 2021. She is responsible for the strategic priorities of PRA and oversight of PRA operations. Dr. Desmarais received PhD in Forensic Psychology and Law from Simon Fraser University in 2008, and then completed a postdoctoral research fellowship in the School of Population and Public Health at the University of British Columbia. Prior to joining PRA, Dr. Desmarais was a tenured Professor of Psychology and University Faculty Scholar at North Carolina State University. There she held leadership positions including serving as Director of the Center for Family and Community Engagement and Coordinator of the Applied Social and Community Psychology Graduate Program. She also was a member of the NC State University Research Leadership Academy and Academy of Outstanding Faculty Engaged in Extension. Before that, she was an Assistant Professor at the University of South Florida with joint appointments in the Department of Community and Family Health and the Department of Mental Health Law & Policy from 2010 to 2012. Dr. Desmarais works on issues at the intersection of public health, community safety, and social justice. Her current research is focused on evidence-based practices for reducing detention rates, especially among people with behavioral health needs. She provides technical assistance, evaluation services, and consultation to behavioral health, criminal justice, and intelligence agencies throughout the United States and abroad on problems and solutions for implementation, policy, and practice. Dr. Desmarais has authored more than 130 peer-reviewed publications in journals including the American Journal of Public Health, Criminal Justice and Behavior, and Law and Human Behavior. She has served as principal investigator and co-investigator on grants and contracts from foundations and government agencies including the National Institutes of Health, the National Institute of Justice, and the National Science Foundation. Her work has been featured in national media outlets such as the Washington Post and HBO's Last Week Tonight with John Oliver.

• Dr. Lisa Callahan, Senior Project Associate II, Policy Research Associates
  • Lisa Callahan, Ph.D., is involved in research, technical assistance, and training at PRA. She received her PhD from The Ohio State University in 1983 and completed an NIMH Post-Doctoral program at the University of Wisconsin-Madison's Medical School. Dr. Callahan works on many SAMHSA projects at the GAINS Center at PRA, leading numerous Communities of Practice on Medication-Assisted Treatment, competence to stand trial, and building a community crisis system. Dr. Callahan's expertise on treatment courts is often sought in presenting at many statewide and national conferences. In addition, she frequently speaks to justice professionals on the importance of becoming a trauma-informed justice system. Her current research interests include people with frequent jail contact, outcomes of specialty courts, the impact of Medicaid expansion on jail recidivism, competence to stand trial, school safety, and vicarious trauma. Dr. Callahan has conducted several studies in both the adult and juvenile justice systems, including funding from NIJ, NIMH, OJJDP, the Russell Sage Foundation, and the MacArthur Foundation. She is Professor Emerita from The Sage Colleges where for 18 years she taught courses in juvenile and criminal justice, mental health, and research methods and established the MS in Forensic Mental Health Program, one of the first in the country. She has numerous publications on topics central to her research and experience. Dr. Callahan is the 2021 co-recipient (with Dr. Debra Pinals) of the American Psychiatric Association's Guttmacher Award that recognizes an outstanding contribution to the literature of forensic psychiatry for their work on competence to stand trial. 

• Dr. Shannon Bader, Senior Project Associate, Policy Research Associates
  • Shannon Bader, Ph.D., ABPP, works on many SAMHSA projects at the GAINS Center at PRA and is involved in research, technical assistance, and training. Dr. Bader received her Ph.D. in clinical psychology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln and completed an internship and post-doctoral fellowship in forensic psychology at Patton State Hospital in California. Prior to joining PRA, Dr. Bader was the Chief of the New Hampshire Office of the Forensic Examiner and provided oversight over psychological evaluations ordered in criminal court. In this capacity, she earned the New Hampshire Psychological Association's 2019 Distinguished Contribution Award. Before coming to New Hampshire, she was a founding member of the Analytics and Research Team in the California Department of State Hospitals implementing state-wide research programs related to reducing inpatient violence. Dr. Bader has over ten peer-reviewed publications related to violence and risk assessment and has taught courses in forensic psychology at the undergraduate and graduate level. She is board certified in forensic psychology by the American Board of Forensic Psychology and has served on the American Academy of Forensic Psychology's board of directors.  

Please register here to be sent an email with a personal Zoom meeting link for July 26^th.