Expertise

Violence, Corrections, Substance Abuse Treatment, Organizational Change, Implementation Science

Biography

My research interests include violence, corrections, substance abuse treatment, and organizational change in both adult and juvenile settings. I am author of Counties in Court: Jail Overcrowding and Court-Ordered Reform (Temple University Press, 1995), Criminal Justice Policy and Planning, with Philip Harris (Elsevier, 2013, 4th Ed.), and Criminal Violence: Patterns, Causes and Prevention, co-authored with Marc Riedel (Oxford, 2015, 4th Ed.). I am currently Co-PI on JJ-TRIALS (Juvenile Justice – Translational Research on Interventions for Adolescents in the Legal System), a national multi-site study (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2013-2017) to investigate and improve implementation of evidence practices for drug-involved youth in the juvenile system. I was Co-Investigator on CJ-DATS2 (Criminal Justice Drug Abuse Treatment Systems), a national, collaborative research project (National Institute on Drug Abuse, 2009-14). Key research questions addressed organizational and systems issues related to implementation of effective drug treatment and other services in adult criminal justice settings. I was Lead Researcher for our research center on two of three multisite protocols: Medication Assisted Treatment Implementation in Community Correctional Environments (MATICCE), and the Organizational Process improvement intervention (OPII). I’ve been PI on several other large, multi-site research projects conducted as part of a long term research partnership with the PA Dept. of Corrections which began in 1998 and continues to the present.

Funded projects include: “A Multi-Site Evaluation of Prison-Based Drug Treatment: A Research Partnership Between the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections and Temple University” (Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency; 2005-08); “Evaluation of Drug Treatment Programs at the State Correctional Institution (SCI) at Chester: A Partnership Between the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections, Gaudenzia, Inc., and Temple University” (National Institute of Justice, 2002-06); “Evaluation of Prison based Drug Treatment in Pennsylvania: A Research Collaboration Between the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections and the Center for Public Policy at Temple University” (National Institute of Justice, 2000-02); and “Building An Effective Research Collaboration Between the Center for Public Policy at Temple University and the Pennsylvania Department of Corrections” (National Institute of Justice, 1998-2000). Other funded projects include “Building a Culture and Climate of Safety in Public Schools: School-Based Management and Violence Reduction in Philadelphia” (National Institute of Justice, (1993-95) and “Reducing Over-Representation of Minorities in the Juvenile Justice System” (Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency, 1994-96). Service to the community includes volunteer participation on the Philadelphia Mayor`s Reentry Task Force and the Philadelphia Children`s Round Table (chaired by the Philadelphia Family Court President). I also serve on the Editorial Advisory Board for the Prison Journal, the oldest, peer-reviewed journal publishing research on adult and juvenile confinement, treatment interventions, and alternative sanctions.

Curriculum Vitae

Selected Publications

• Prendergast, M., Welsh, W. N., Stein, L., et al. (Published online Aug. 24, 2016). Influence of organizational characteristics on success in implementing process improvement goals in correctional treatment settings. Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research. DOI: 10.1007/s11414-016-9531-x.
• Monico, L.B., Mitchell, S.G., Welsh, W.N., Link, N., Hamilton, L., Redden, S.M., Schwartz, R.P., & Friedmann, P.D. (2016). Developing effective interorganizational relationships between community corrections and community treatment providers. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 55(7): 484-501, DOI: 10.1080/10509674.2016.1218401
• Kelley, C.E. & Welsh, W.N. (2016). Examining climate across prison-based substance abuse treatment groups. Substance Use & Misuse. 51(7): 902-911. DOI: 10.3109/10826084.2016.1155621
• Welsh, W. N., Prendergast, M., Knight, K., et al. (2016). Correlates of interorganizational service coordination in community corrections. Criminal Justice and Behavior 43(4): 483-505. DOI: 10.1177/0093854815607306
• Welsh, W. N., Knudsen, H. K., Knight, K., et al.(2016). Effects of an organizational linkage intervention on inter-organizational service coordination between probation/parole agencies and community treatment providers. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research 43(1): 105-121. PubMed PMID: 25559124. DOI: 10.1007/s10488-014-0623-8.
• Welsh, W.N. et al. (2015). Effects of a strategy to improve offender assessment practices: Staff perceptions of implementation outcomes. Drug and Alcohol Dependence. DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.drugalcdep.2015.03.033
• Welsh, W.N. et al. (2015). Effects of an Organizational Linkage Intervention on Inter-Organizational Service Coordination Between Probation/Parole Agencies and Community Treatment Providers. Administration and Policy in Mental Health and Mental Health Services Research. DOI: 10.1007/s10488-014-0623-8.
• Welsh, W.N., & Harding, C. (2015). School effects on delinquent behavior. In: M. Krohn & J. Lane (Eds.), Handbook on Juvenile Delinquency and Juvenile Justice. John Wiley & Sons: Hoboken, NJ.
• Friedmann P.D., Wilson, D., Knudsen, H., Ducharme, L., Welsh, W., et al. (2015). Effect of an organizational linkage intervention on staff perceptions of medication-assisted treatment and referral intentions in community corrections. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 50, 50–58.
• Welsh, W.N., Zajac, G., & Bucklen, K. (2014). For whom does prison based drug treatment work? Results from a randomized experiment. Journal of Experimental Criminology 10(2):151-177. DOI 10.1007/s11292-013-9194-z.
• Houser, K. & Welsh, W. (2014). Examining the association between co-occurring disorders and seriousness of misconduct by female prison inmates. Criminal Justice and Behavior 41:650-666.
• Shafer, M.S., Prendergast, M., Melnick, G., Stein, L.A., Welsh, W.N. et al. (2014). A cluster randomized trial of an organizational process improvement intervention for improving the assessment and case planning of offenders: a Study Protocol. Health and Justice 2:1 (8 January 2014) DOI: 10.1186/2194-7899-2-1
• Friedmann, P.D., Ducharme, L.J., Welsh, W., et al. (2013). A cluster randomized trial of an organizational linkage intervention for offenders with substance use disorders: Study protocol. Health and Justice 1:6 (19 December 2013) DOI: 10.1186/2194-7899-1-6.
• Welsh, W.N. & Zajac, G. (2013). A Multi-Site Evaluation of Prison-Based Drug Treatment: Four-Year Follow-up Results. The Prison Journal 93(3): 251-271.
• Stahler, G. Mennis, J., Belenko, S., Welsh, W., Hiller, M., & Zajac. G. (2013). Predicting Recidivism for Released State Prison Offenders: Examining the Influence of Individual and Neighborhood Characteristics and Spatial Contagion on the Likelihood of Reincarceration. Criminal Justice and Behavior 40(6): 690-711.
• Freidmann, P., Hoskinson, R., Gordon, M., Schwartz, R., Kinlock, T., Knight, K., Flynn, P.M., Welsh, W.N., et al. (2012). Medication-assisted treatment in criminal justice settings affiliated with the Criminal Justice Drug Abuse Treatment Studies (CJ-DATS): Availability, barriers and intentions. Substance Abuse 33:9-18.
• Houser, K.A., Salvatore, C., & Welsh, W.N. (2012). Individual level predictors of community aftercare completion. The Prison Journal 92: 106-124.
• Welsh, W.N. (2010). Inmate responses to prison-based drug treatment: A repeated measures analysis. Drug and Alcohol Dependence 109:37-44.
• Welsh, W.N. (2010). Prison-based substance-abuse programs. In: Gideon, L. and Sung, H. (Eds.), Rethinking corrections: Rehabilitation, reintegration and reentry (pp. 157-192). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
• Welsh, W.N. and P.N. McGrain. (2008). Predictors of therapeutic engagement in prison-based drug treatment. Drug and Alcohol Dependence 96:271–280.
• Kelly, C.E. and Welsh, W.N. (2008). The Predictive Validity of the Level of Service Inventory-Revised for Drug-Involved Offenders. Criminal Justice and Behavior 35:819-831.
• Welsh, W.N. (2007). “A Multi-Site Evaluation of Prison-Based TC Drug Treatment.” Criminal Justice and Behavior 34:1481-1498.
• Welsh, W.N., P. McGrain, N. Salamatin, and G. Zajac. (2007). Effects of Prison Drug Treatment on Inmate Misconduct: A Repeated Measures Analysis. Criminal Justice and Behavior 34: 600-615.
• Welsh, W.N. (2006). The Need for a Comprehensive Approach to Program Planning, Development, and Evaluation. Criminology and Public Policy 5:603-614.

Courses Taught

• CJ 1001 Introduction to Criminal Justice (UG)
• CJ 2696 Planned Change in Criminal Justice (UG)
• CJ 3402 Environmental Criminology (UG)
• CJ 4402 Violence, Crime and Justice (UG)
• CJ 8205 Aggression and Violence (G)
• CJ 8302 Advanced Research Methods in Criminal Justice (G)
• CJ 8310 Special Topics Seminar: Crime and the Life Course (G)
• CJ 8225 Rehabilitation, Reentry, and Recidivism (G)
• CJ 8235 Criminal Justice Organizations: Structure, Process and Change (G)