Criminal Justice Translation and Clinical Science Network

An ethically sound and culturally tailored research agenda is critical to advancing public health efforts among populations involved in the criminal legal system and communities that are disproportionately burdened by health disparities as related to mass incarceration (i.e., racial, sexual and gender minority populations, low socioeconomic and rural populations and populations with behavioral health needs). 

This project leverages an existing clinical and translational research infrastructure to facilitate the development of this network through the clinical and translational science awards (CTSAs) at three institutions:

• University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences Translational Research Institute
• Frontiers: University of Kansas Clinical and Translational Science Institute
• University of Kentucky Center for Clinical and Translational Science

The goals of CJTRACS are to:

• establish a multidisciplinary network across CTSA institutions;
• develop an ethically sound and culturally tailored research agenda that addresses the health and social drivers of criminal-legal system involvement and health inequities among individuals involved in the criminal-legal system and
• develop new and support established scientists in the development and implementation of research on the health of criminal legal system-involved individuals across CTSA institutions through facilitation of multidisciplinary research collaborations.

This project was funded by a CTSA Inter‐Institutional Pilot Project Award to Nick Zaller at University of Arkansas Medical Sciences