Alumna Leads Florida Department of Juvenile Justice Research and Data Integrity
Raised by parents who taught business and economics, Sherry Jackson had her sights set on a degree in business as she set out for college. But when she arrived at Florida State University as an undergraduate, she quickly realized her passion focused more on the social and behavioral sciences. With a degree in cultural anthropology under her belt, she decided to stay at Florida State because of how much she enjoyed her undergraduate experience and to pursue an MSW because of the national reputation of the FSU College of Social Work.
“I was drawn to social work because it brings together social and behavioral sciences in a way that no other field does. All social phenomenon is rooted in culture and policy as well as individual experiences,” Jackson explained. “I am aware of no other field that so effectively acknowledges the complex interaction of those micro, mezzo, and macro forces that shape human experience.”
After earning her MSW (1997), Jackson focused on the field of aging. After a year in the working world, she realized that her interests kept bringing her back to research. Throughout her academic career and social work experiences, she was always drawn most to the questions of “How” and “Why.” She joined Tallahassee Community College (TCC) faculty, adjunct teaching Sociology courses so that she could share this interest in the “How?” and “Why?” with students.
It was through her work at TCC that she learned of a grant-funded position working with the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ). The job focused on a significant qualitative research project focused on adolescent girls who were the most deeply entrenched in the juvenile justice system. Although she had no experience with this population, Jackson felt drawn to the position as a great way to gain entrance into the research world. Taking the plunge, she left a more secure position for a temporary one and has never looked back.
“In 1999, there was little awareness in the juvenile justice field about the critical role of trauma in the lives of youth in the juvenile justice system,” she explained. “The study concluded there was a direct connection between trauma and offending for a large portion of girls in the system.”
After two years with the study, Jackson was hired into a research analyst position and was encouraged to continue raising awareness about trauma within the agency. She also received the opportunity to pursue and administer a grant that would fund DJJ’s first trauma-informed care project. She was able to receive training working with large data sets, producing analyses with SPSS statistical software, and even writing code.
While Jackson’s calculated risk to start a career in research had resulted in an exciting and satisfying career, she wanted to continue her foray into the “How” and “Why” of social work research. With support from DJJ, she returned to the FSU College of Social Work (Ph.D., 2010) to study trauma and delinquency. Ultimately Jackson wrote her dissertation on the subject, entitled “Trauma Exposure and Subsequent Offending Among First-Time Juvenile Arrestees: An Exploratory Analysis by Sex, Race, and Hispanic Ethnicity.”
“I was very supported. Our classes were small, and to a large degree, I was treated as a colleague, at least a junior colleague,” Jackson remembers about her time in the social work doctoral program. “A doctoral program is one of the biggest commitments you will ever make, but the degree serves as evidence that as a person, you persevere and achieve a goal regardless of what you must go over, around, or through to get there.”
Jackson has continued her career with DJJ for more than two decades, and in 2019 served as their interim director of Research and Data Integrity, until she was selected as the new director of the office. As the director, she oversees several essential components for DJJ, including helping ensure accountability throughout the system, which she explains also means measuring service delivery and outcomes accurately and comprehensively. She strives for her department to collaborate and date-share with top-researchers nationwide while also producing high-quality research within their office.
“I am constantly amazed at the dedication and integrity of the people I work with at DJJ,” expressed Jackson. “Florida is looked to as a national leader in this field, both in terms of practice innovation and research. It is such a privilege to be a part of that.”
With the ever-changing nature of research in her field, Jackson noted how important it is for a researcher never to stop learning. She encourages anyone with interest in research to get past the intimidation of the new and the unknown to develop those skills that allow social work researchers to aid and inform social work practice and profession.