Erin B. Comartin

Comartin joined the WSU School of Social Work faculty in 2016, after leaving a four-year faculty position at Oakland University in Rochester, MI. She received her Ph.D. and M.S.W degrees from Wayne State University. Her research focuses on social welfare policies and interventions for vulnerable populations in the criminal justice system. Her work predominantly focuses on individuals convicted of sex crime perpetration, and the laws that manage their re-entry into the community. Additionally, she has also evaluated interventions designed to divert individuals with severe mental illness from the criminal justice system. Her work has been published in Deviant Behavior, Psychiatric Services, The Journal of Policy Practice, and The Journal of Social Work Values and Ethics.

Prior to her research career, Comartin worked in residential facilities for runaway and homeless youth and survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. She has worked as a crisis-line worker, an intervention specialist, a case manager, and a director within these programs. She has conducted program evaluations for various social interventions, mostly related to afterschool and early childhood education programs, as well as in substance abuse and mental health.