Research Scientist/Research Scientist II, Juvenile Justice
Child Trends Youth Development team is seeking a Research Scientist who will be involved in planning and executing research, evaluation, and technical assistance projects primarily focused on juvenile justice system transformation, supporting youth within juvenile and adult detention and corrections facilities, community-centered approaches to preventing offending, dismantling the school-to-prison pipeline, and related youth and young adult well-being in collaboration with colleagues at Child Trends and other partner organizations.
This position will support our growing research portfolio that aims to make juvenile justice systems less harmful and more fair, equitable, and beneficial to youth, young adults, families, and communities. Work in this area place special emphasis on racial and ethnic equity, positive youth development, community engagement, and the translation of research to practice and policy. The Research Scientist will have opportunities to collaborate with colleagues across the organization, including Child Trends’ education, and child welfare program areas.
Locations: Flexible Remote Work; Child Trends’ offices are based in Bethesda, MD; Chapel Hill, NC; Minneapolis, MN. Many Child Trends staff work remotely, and while we are set up to hire remote staff in many states, we are not yet operating everywhere in the US and do not have any overseas operations. We are currently approved to hire full-time staff in Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, District of Columbia, Florida, Georgia, Illinois, Indiana, Kentucky, Maryland, Massachusetts, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New Hampshire, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, Tennessee, Texas, Vermont, Virginia, West Virginia, and Wisconsin. The organization will require time to assess additional set up requirements (e.g., employment and tax law) for locations outside of areas where we are currently approved to hire. Individuals who would like to work from areas outside of the currently approved states, if offered the position should indicate this preference as early as possible in the application process.
Potential Duties and Responsibilities:
Responsibilities of the Research Scientist include:
- Serving in a leadership role (e.g., task lead, principal investigator, or project director) for research, evaluation, or technical assistance projects related to juvenile justice system transformation, the provision of education within juvenile and adult detention and corrections facilities, and community-centered prevention and intervention.
- Collecting and analyzing quantitative and qualitative data.
- Oversee data collection and analysis by other staff members and performing various quality assurance activities.
- Supporting the development and management of partnerships with state or local juvenile justice systems, schools, education agencies, community partners, or other youth-serving organizations.
- Providing technical assistance and capacity building for youth-serving professionals, including state-level administrators of juvenile justice related programs.
- Supporting youth- or community-led research projects.
- Helping build a line of work within the organization, by leading/co-leading proposals.
- Contributing to the interpretation of findings from policy, program, and community perspectives.
- Communicating study results to various audiences (e.g., policymakers, researchers, practitioners, advocates, youth) in multiple formats (e.g., brief, webinar, fact sheet, journal article).
Qualifications:
- Deep familiarity of the juvenile legal system. Candidates without a demonstrated understanding of the juvenile justice system in the United States will not be considered. Experience with and/or understanding of education within juvenile justice facilities (including the Title I, Part D program of the Elementary and Secondary Education Act) highly desirable.
- Experience producing scholarship on juvenile justice system transformation and delinquency prevention that is directly relevant to Child Trends’ mission.
- Having an understanding of how historic and ongoing systemic inequality has led to disparities in the justice system and have a demonstrated commitment to integrating principles of diversity, equity, and inclusion into their research as well as their interactions with colleagues and other partners.
- Demonstrated experience working with juvenile justice systems, communities, organizations, agencies, or institutions in research, evaluation, or technical assistance activities.
- Expertise in designing evaluations and research studies, including potentially leading qualitative studies, randomized controlled trials, multivariate quantitative analyses, and/or mixed methods approaches.
- Experience accessing, transforming, and analyzing administrative data from juvenile justice systems strongly preferred.
- Must respect and embrace youth and community voice.
- Knowledge of and experience with participatory research and evaluation methods is not required but is preferred.
- Doctoral degree preferred. Applicants with master’s degrees or other relevant experience will be considered with additional experience expected.
- Proven skills at managing projects, complex timelines, partnerships, and budgets.
How to Apply:
Please follow the “apply” link to submit your application. When asked by the system to upload resume, please upload one document that includes your resume, cover letter, transcripts, a writing sample and contact information for three professional references. Materials must be combined into one document in order to be uploaded. If you have any difficulties with this process please email the requested materials to recruitment(at)childtrends.org and make sure to reference the position in the subject line. No phone calls please!
Child Trends is a nonprofit, nonpartisan research center headquartered in Bethesda, MD with more than 200 staff in over 28 states that provides valuable information and insights on the well-being of children, youth, and their families. For more than 40 years, policymakers, funders, educators and service providers in the U.S. have relied on our data and analyses to make better decisions and policies on programs serving children, families, and youth. www.childtrends.org
Child Trends is committed to hiring, retaining, and promoting staff who bring a rich diversity of experience to support our mission of improving the lives and prospects of children and youth, especially those made most vulnerable by the effects of historical and ongoing systemic discrimination. Together, we envision a world in which a child’s race, ethnicity, family income, gender, sexual orientation, disability status or any other social identity does not determine how that child will fare in life. Therefore, we approach every aspect of our work with these ideals in mind and encourage professionals who share in our commitment to apply.
Child Trends is an Equal Opportunity and Affirmative Action Employer. Protected veterans and individuals with disability encouraged to apply.