New research institute explores the intersection of social work and criminal justice at FSU

The Institute for Justice Research and Development (IJRD) was founded and is directed by Carrie Pettus-Davis, Associate Professor at FSU and CSD Faculty Director of the Smart Decarceration Initiative. Unique from traditional academic research centers, IJRD applies an innovative trans-sector approach, bringing together various disciplines to address complex criminal justice issues. “We partner with prosecutors, defense attorneys, judges, departments of correction, probation and parole officers, community service providers, formerly incarcerated individuals and scholars among disciplines from social work and law to public health and computer science,” Pettus-Davis notes. “Criminal justice reform is the civil rights issue of our time and finding solutions means we need to bring everyone to the table.”