His academic focus is on exploring the experiences of disenfranchised individuals across the life course. Historically he has done this by conducting research with individuals who are in the mental health and criminal justice systems - essentially investigating how the systems of benevolent social control (mental health) and coercive social control (criminal justice) shape and execute policies for offenders with mental illness. His academic endeavors have evolved to consider policies for other marginalized populations too (e.g. the homeless, veterans, families of incarceration and minority youth). His academic work appears in journals such as Justice Quarterly, Crime & Delinquency, Policing, and Criminal Justice & Behavior.