About

The Shlafer Program for Research on Criminal Justice & Health is an interdisciplinary team that conducts research to inform policies and practices that promote the health and wellbeing of children and families affected by incarceration. In collaboration with state agency and community partners we:

• Use data and a public health lens to identify and document the barriers to impacted children’s healthy youth development.
• Pilot projects that test promising interventions and that help build a case for systems change. 
• Create community-engaged models – with multiple points of entry for impacted individuals – that affirmatively change harmful systems.
   

Dr. Rebecca Shlafer, PhD, MPH, is an Associate Professor in the Department of Pediatrics (Division of General Pediatrics and Adolescent Health) at the University of Minnesota. A developmental child psychologist with further training in maternal and child health, she is an expert in applying interventions that support the health of young people and their families in the context of the criminal legal system. She is a member of the American Psychological Association and Academic Consortium on Criminal Justice Health. She has been the Research Director for the MN Prison Doula Project since 2010. Shlafer served for ten years as a guardian ad litem in the 4th judicial district, and is an appointee to the Governor’s Children’s Cabinet Advisory Council. 

Shlafer strives to give away the science, staying in continuous dialogue with incarcerated parents, teachers, social workers, service providers, lawyers, corrections professionals, county commissioners, and legislators. Her practice of engaging impacted communities at every stage powers the growing national impact of the work. In 2019, along with colleagues in the School of Public Health, Shlafer convened researchers from five Centers of Excellence in Maternal and Child Health to surface national priorities for research, training, and advocacy related to justice-involved women and girls. She has twice (2014 & 2020)  been recognized by the Department of Pediatrics for her Excellence in Child Health Advocacy.