The Russell Sage Foundation, in collaboration with the criminal justice program at Arnold Ventures, is pleased to announce six awards made in its new Causal Research in Criminal Justice grants initiative. The goal of this initiative is to cultivate a pipeline of researchers conducting causal research on the criminal justice system. Criminal justice policies and practices include the work of police, courts, jails, prisons, probation and parole, and immigration detention. Applicants can request up to $100,000 in funding. Following is the list of grant recipients.

Brielle Bryan (Rice University) will examine how expanded Medicaid access impacts the financial wellbeing of formerly incarcerated individuals and their families.

Kayla Freemon (DePaul University) will examine how the use of strength-based assessment tools impacts relationships between officers and individuals on probation and well as recidivism and wellbeing.

Jo King (Boston University) and Luis A. Rodriguez (New York University) will estimate the impact of warn and release practices in schools on student behavior, including attendance, test scores, and suspensions.

Arvind Krishnamurthy (Ohio State University) will test whether assigned counsel—local private attorneys who work full time in the charging jurisdiction—provide lower-quality representation for indigent clients than public defenders

David Mitre Becerril (University of Connecticut) and Aleksei Knorre (University of South Florida) will measure the effect of a city-wide LED streetlight retrofitting intervention in New Orleans on public safety.

Andrew Sullivan (University of Central Florida) and Stephanie Casey Pierce (University of Tennessee) will examine how increased shelter availability impacts quality of life arrests for people experiencing homelessness.