Degrees/Schools

PhD, Justice, Law, and Society, American University

MCJ, New Mexico State University

BA, Psychology and English, Ohio University

Areas of Interest

Corrections, Intersection of Behavioral Health and Criminal Justice, Program Evaluation, Survey Research

Email: harrispm@nmsu.edu

Biography

Paige Harrison has worked in the areas of Corrections, Survey Methodology, Statistics, and Program Evaluation for over 20 years. Her career began at the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics reporting on national prisoner statistics and implementing the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003, which requires national and facility-level estimates of sexual victimization within prisons, jails, and juvenile facilities across the U.S.  

She then moved to the Pacific Northwest to work on program evaluation with NPC Research. Program evaluations included various DWI Courts and Drug Courts, the National Institute of Justice’s Second Chance Adult Reentry Courts and the Sargent Shriver Civil Counsel Project to provide representation for individuals facing eviction in California.  She was the Director of Research and Data Analytics for the Washington State Department of Corrections in the wake of a software-coding error that released up to 3,200 prisoners early. Her work there included streamlining data production and reports, establishing a review process for external research projects, and working with the Washington State for Public Policy to assess the impact of the Washington’s first risk and needs tool intended to reduce recidivism through tailored programming and reentry supports.

Paige now works as a Senior Research Associate with the Washington Department of Social and Health Services to implement and evaluate programs stipulated under the A.B. by and through Trueblood et al. V Washington State DSHS, a federal lawsuit to provide more timely competency evaluation services for those in jail who may not be capable of assisting in their own defense. The objective of this work is to divert individuals with mental health conditions away from the prison path to one of treatment.  DSHS work also includes ongoing monitoring of state hospital forensic and civil commitment populations to inform legislative policies.