Professional Interests 

• Effects of criminal policies on children, families, and communities
• Program development and evaluation
• Diffusion of innovations

Current Research

• Analyses of data from the National Survey of Child and Adolescent Well-being, a longitudinal study of a representative sample of children who were subjects of reports of maltreatment. These analyses examine factors affecting the safety, permanency, and well-being of children whose parents are or have been incarcerated, on probation, or have received other criminal sanctions (e.g., fines).
• Analyses of data from the 1997 Survey of Inmates examining the hypothesis that children are not only affected by parental incarceration but also by the number of different members of their families who have been to prison.
• The unmet need for mental health services among children whose parents are court mandated to receive services from Treatment Alternatives for Safer Communities.

Teaching

• Community Health and Urban Development
• Social work with Communities and Organizations
• Social work in a Multicultural Society
• Program Evaluation
• Statistics

Practice Experience

• National Center for Child Traumatic Stress, Monitoring and Evaluation Coordinator
• Duke University Medical Center, Research Associate, Services Effectiveness Research Programs
• University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences, Research Associate, Center for Outcome Research and Evaluation
• Centers for Youth & Families, Little Rock, AR, Director of Parenting from Prison Programs and Family Matters
• Arkansas State Chairperson, Mothers in Prison-Children in Crises Campaign

Selected Recent Publications

Phillips, S. D. (forthcoming). Service planning and intervention development for children of incarcerated parents. In Y. R. Harris, J. A. Graham & C. Oliver, G. (Eds.), Children of Incarcerated Parents: Theoretical, Developmental and Clinical Implications New York: Springer.

Phillips, S.D., Venema, R., & Roque, L. (forthcoming). The unmet need for mental health services among probationers' children. Journal of Offender Rehabilitation.

Phillips, S.D., Dettlaff, A.J., & Baldwin, M.J. (Online First). An exploratory study of the range of implications of families' criminal justice system involvement in child welfare cases. Children and Youth Services Review, http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.childyouth.2009.11.008

Phillips, S. D. & Dettlaff, A. J. (2009). More than parents in prison: The broader overlap between the criminal justice and child welfare systems. Journal of Public Child Welfare, 3, 3-22. http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a909229624&db=all

Phillips, S. D., Leathers, S. J., & Erkanli, A. (2009). Children of probationers in the child welfare system. Journal of Child & Family Studies, 18, 183-191. http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a909229624&db=all

Phillips, S. D., Gleeson, J. P., & Waites-Garrett, M. (2009). Substance-abusing parents in the criminal justice system: Does substance abuse treatment improve their children's outcomes? Journal of Offender Rehabilitation, 48, 120-138. http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/content~content=a907644515~db=all~jumptype=rss.

Phillips, S. D. (2008) Making "The Bill of Rights for Children of Incarcerated Parents" a Reality: Evaluation Report. Chicago, IL: Jane Addams College of Social Work.

Phillips, S. D. "The Bill of Rights for Children of Incarcerated Parents" Technical Assistance Project: Contextual Factors. Chicago, IL: Jane Addams College of Social Work.

Phillips, S. D., & Erkanli, A. (2008). Differences in patterns of maternal arrest and the parent, family, and child problems encountered in working with families Children & Youth Services Review, 30, 157-172. http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/B6V98-4PN05FH-3/2/3e17d751fea56a84e8d74063aa183d62.

Dettlaff, A. J. & Phillips, S. D. (2007). Immigration Enforcement: Considerations for child welfare services. Chicago, IL: Jane Addams College of Social Work.

Susan D. Phillips, PhD, James P. Gleeson , PhD ( 2007). What we Know Now that we Didn't Know Then about the Criminal Justice System's Involvement in Families with whom Child Welfare Agencies have Contact. Findings from a Landmark National Study [Electronic Version] . Research Brief: Children, Families, and the Criminal Justice System. Center for Social Policy and Research, Jane Addams College of Social Work, University of Illinois at Chicago.

Phillips, S. D., Erkanli, A., Costello, E. J., & Angold, A. (2007). Differences among children whose mothers have a history of arrest. Women & Criminal Justice, 17(2/3), 45-63. http://www.gcyf.org/usr_doc/Phillips_child_subgroups.pdf

Phillips, S. D., Erkanli, A., Keeler, G., Costello, E. J., & Angold, A. (2006). Disentangling the risks: Parent criminal justice involvement and children's exposure to family risks. Criminology and Public Policy, 5(4), 677-702. http://devepi.duhs.duke.edu/library/pdf/20970.pdf

Phillips, S. D., Burns, B. J., Wagner, H. R., & Barth, R. P. (2004). Parental arrest and children in child welfare services agencies. American Journal of Orthopsychiatry, 2, 174-186. http://psycnet.apa.org/?fa=main.doiLanding&doi=10.1037/0002-9432.74.2.174

Phillips, S. D., Burns, B. J., Wagner, H. R., Kramer, T. L., & Robbins, J. R. (2002). Parental incarceration among youth receiving mental health services. Journal of Child and Family Studies, 11(4), 385-399. http://www.springerlink.com/content/j70773133670v411/

Harm, N. J., & Phillips, S. D. (1998). Helping children cope with the trauma of parental arrest. Interdisciplinary report on at-risk children and families, 1, 35-36.

Affiliations, Associations & Consultations 

American Society of Criminology