Jennifer Bronson, Ph.D.

Dr. Jennifer Bronson is a medical sociologist with 16 years of experience conducting complex quantitative, qualitative, and evaluation studies designed to improve the health and safety  of individuals and communities. She focuses on criminal justice and behavioral health research. Her research findings have provided support for correctional and community-based health programming and policy change. Her research also helps reimagine law enforcement and behavioral health crisis responses. Bronson has worked closely with the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA); the  Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA), the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), and Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP); and various state government agencies and community groups. She helps them develop, manage, and implement tailored surveys, research studies, and program evaluations.

In her current role, Bronson serves as Site Liaison for the BJS National Corrections Reporting Program, where she is responsible for 12 states. She is also a task lead on the BJS Statistical Support Program, which includes research to develop a dashboard and conduct feasibility studies on national data collections. She is active in cross-group business development, which will produce innovative studies that advance health and social equity.

Bronson has over 50 publications, which include widely cited BJS statistical reports; journal articles, chapters, and a book editorship on violence in the U.S.; and publications on African American history.

Prior to Abt, Bronson was the Senior Director for Consulting and Research at the National Association of State Mental Health Program Directors Research Institute (NRI). She led the criminal justice portfolio and directed    a systematic review on evidence-based programs for justice-involved persons with behavioral health needs; evaluations of the Certified Community Behavioral Health Clinic (CCBHC) model and crisis response; and mixed methods research on justice-involved persons with dementia. Bronson was also a statistician at BJS, where she authored 14 products and worked closely with OJJDP on youth violence and justice topics. Additionally, she has worked in research and evaluation at Howard University, Amnesty International, and Virginia government.

Expertise

• Survey development and design
• Program evaluation
• Criminal justice research
• Qualitative research
• Behavioral health

Key Projects

• National Corrections Reporting Program (BJS)
• Statistical Support Program (BJS) feasibility studies

Publications

• Bronson, J. (2021). Social Justice and Institutional Racism. Pp. 99-108. In Degutis, L and H Spivak (Eds.). Gun Violence Prevention: A Public Health Approach. Washington DC: American Public Health Association.
• Maruschak LM, Bronson J, and Alper M.  (2021). Indicators of Mental Health Problems Reported by Prisoners: Survey of Prison Inmates, 2016. Bureau of Justice Statistics.
• Saadatmand, F., Bronson, J., Dearfield, C., Russ, E., and Harrison, R. (2021). Effects of Different Types of Childhood Victimization on Health Outcomes: A Study of African American Young Adults in Washington, DC. Journal of Health Care for the Poor and Underserved, 32(4).
• Bronson, J. and Reviere, R. (2016). Violence as a Leading Cause of Pregnancy-Associated Deaths in Virginia: Homicides, Suicides, and Accidental Overdoses. Violence Against Women,1-18. DOI: 10.1177/1077801216663658.
• Bronson, J. and Nuriddin, T. (2014). I Don’t Believe in Doctors Much: The Social Control of Health Care, Mistrust, and Folk Remedies in the African American Slave Narrative. The Journal of Alternative Perspectives in the Social Sciences, 5(4): 706-732.