“As social workers, we must advocate for ethical and supportive social policies for persons with criminal legal involvement. My research focuses on the intersection of the criminal legal system and mental health as part of an overall mission to reduce mass incarceration and improve well-being.”
Education
- PhD, Social Welfare, University of California, Los Angeles (2023)
- MSW, Social Work, Brigham Young University (2018)
- BSW, Social Work, Brigham Young University - Idaho (2016)
Professional/Research Interests
Criminal legal system; mental illness and recovery; community supervision; juvenile justice; desistance from crime (the process of criminality declining over one’s lifetime)
Biography
Through his research, D. Michael Applegarth, PhD, aims to increase our understanding of how mental illness (MI) and criminal legal involvement are connected for both juveniles and adults. His research aims to increase knowledge and inform policy on strategies to prevent criminal legal involvement through early intervention and prevention programs, provide treatment for those incarcerated and increase the effectiveness of reentry services. Additionally, Applegarth seeks to highlight the dignity and worth of the numerous groups impacted by the criminal legal system (CLS), promote health and well-being, and build a society that seeks to prevent and repair harm rather than seeking retribution and public safety through coercion and control.
Applegarth focuses on three interrelated research areas: the connection between having an MI and engagement with the CLS; finding supports that increase well-being; and identifying community strategies that can help to divert persons from or reduce contact with the CLS.
His dissertation focused on better understanding the connection between MI and recidivism for individuals on parole. Other research streams have examined how mental health and the juvenile justice system intersect around issues of family reintegration and the health needs of emerging adults; reentry concerns of individuals with serious MI; and forensic social work education.
Applegarth serves as a co-lead for the Grand Challenge to Promote Smart Decarceration and previously held research fellowships with the National Institute of Justice and Rand Corp.