Funded through a grant from the University of Minnesota's Grand Challenges Initiative awarded in 2017, the Mass Probation and Health Project sought to understand the intersection between the community corrections and health systems in Hennepin County, MN. As part of this broader collaborative interdisciplinary project, my research team interviewed 166 adults on probation in 2019 to better understand the backgrounds and experiences of people under probation. The interview guide combined structured survey questions with open-ended responses that ask about participants lives--including health and healthcare access, experiences with supervision, family relationships, employment, and housing. In June 2021, we released a project report outlining our findings and made a series of policy recommendations.

You can now read our academic papers from the project:

Phelps, Michelle S. and Eric Seligman. 2024. “Probation and the Shadow Carceral State: Legal Envisioning from Minnesota.” Theoretical Criminology 28(4): 476-494. (First Published Online July 26, 2024).

Phelps, Michelle S., Ingie Osman, Chris E. Robertson, and Rebecca Shlafer. 2022. “Beyond ‘Pains’ and ‘Gains’: Untangling the Health Consequences of Probation.” Health & Justice 10, Article number 29. 

Piehowski, Victoria and Michelle S. Phelps. 2023. “Strong-arm Sobriety: Addressing Precarity through Probation.” Law & Social Inquiry 48(2): 489-516. 

Shlafer, Rebecca J., Michelle S. Phelps,  J’Mag Karbeah, and Alyssa Scott. 2023. “Parents on Probation: Custody, Co-residence, and Care of Minor Children During Community Supervision.” Journal of Offender Rehabilitation 62(7): 391-410.