Meghan O'Neil
- Assistant Professor
- School of Criminal Justice
- PhD 2018, University at Albany, SUNY
- MA 2007, Columbia University
- BS 2006, Southern Connecticut State University
- 504 Baker Hall
- 655 Auditorium Rd.
- East Lansing, MI 48824
- oneilme5@msu.edu
Links
Biography
Dr. Meghan O'Neil is an Assistant Professor in the School of Criminal Justice at Michigan State University. Dr. O’Neil’s research interests include Criminal Justice Systems, Poverty & Monetary Sanctions, Racial Inequality, and Substance Use Disorders & Trauma.
Prior to joining the School of Criminal Justice, Dr. O’Neil was a Research Scholar at the Moritz College of Law Drug Enforcement and Policy Center at The Ohio State University, and a Research Investigator at the University of Michigan Institute of Social Research.
Dr. O’Neil is the first-generation in her family to attend college.
Current Research
Community Partnering for Evidence-Based Advances in Racial Equity and Justice
This is a collaborative field study that partners with local leaders from community-based organizations to discern the real-time impact of prosecutorial practice and policy changes at the county level. The research tests the paradigm that even well-intentioned policies could have adverse unintentional outcomes, such as, for instance, increases in violence suggested to have occurred following implementation of federal FOSTA-SESTA sex trafficking laws. The intent is to observe real-time impacts in the communities that most often experience policing, incarceration, and reentry throughout the county, from the perspective of those on the ground in that community.
Removing Barriers: Community Partnering for Innovative Solutions to the Opioid Crisis
In cooperation with several government agencies and courts, two addiction treatment centers, and a community-based behavioral health organization, this randomized controlled trial evaluates the utility of targeting no-cost online dispute resolution, e.g., warrant clearance, misdemeanor case processing, child support enforcement services, etc. to low-income participants receiving addiction treatment services. Data are linked to clinical treatment records, criminal justice records, unemployment insurance agency files, and mortality records for up to ten years.
The Innovative Tech Solutions Study
This research evaluates the propensity of improved technology to reduce technical violations for persons with problematic substance use who are under supervision (pre-trial release, probation, parole). Goals include reducing racial disparities in incarceration and improving access to treatment services to treat the underlying issue that causes interaction with the justice system, thereby reducing recidivism.
Areas of Expertise
- Criminal Justice Systems
- Poverty & Monetary Sanctions
- Racial Inequality
- Substance Use Disorders & Trauma