The B.R.A.V.E. Unit: Incarcerated Young Fathers in Massachusetts Prisons

ICPA2023 Presentation by Natasha Frost and Rhiana Kohl (ICPA2023-PID173)

Authors

Natasha Frost

Professor, Northeastern University

Natasha A. Frost (she/her) is professor in the School of Criminology and Criminal Justice, Associate Dean of Research in the College of Social Sciences and Humanities, and Co-Director of the Center on Crime, Race, and Justice at Northeastern University in Boston, Massachusetts. Her research focuses on the causes, consequences, and impacts of mass incarceration on individuals, families and communities. Much of her recent work has focused on the impacts of conditions of confinement on those who live and work in prisons. Professor Frost is currently evaluating a young father’s unit in Massachusetts focused on family engagement and working with colleagues at four other universities on a seven state study on the sources and consequences of prison violence. Frost has also been awarded National Institute of Justice funding for a series of research projects related to officer health and wellbeing, with a specific focus on psychological distress and suicide among correction officers. Her most recent project, a longitudinal study of the careers of correction officers, seeks to distinguish the short- and long-term impacts of chronic operational and organizational stressors from impacts associated with exposures to violence and suicide. Frost was recently elected Vice President of the American Society of Criminology. Frost holds a Ph.D. in criminal justice from the City University of New York and an undergraduate degree in psychology from Northeastern University.

Rhiana Kohl

Professor, Massachusetts Department of Correction

Rhiana Kohl, Ph.D. is the Executive Director of the Office of Strategic Planning and Research at the MADOC, where she oversees all research, evaluations, performance measures, grant management, and strategic planning. With a PhD in clinical psychology, Dr. Kohl brings both clinical expertise and extensive research experience to the project. She has been conducting research in the Massachusetts’ criminal justice system for over 20 years, collaborating on projects with partners from multiple research organizations and universities. Throughout her years overseeing research in state government, she has been dedicated to improving the quality and value of research in prisons with a focus on conveying findings to practitioners and policy makers.

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