Karina Polanco is a Research Fellow working on an the evaluation of IDHS youth employment programs. received a B.A. in Psychology and a B.S. in Criminal Justice from Florida International University, in her home city of Miami, Florida. She recently received her M.S. in Criminal Justice from the University of Cincinnati. Her primary research interests are institutional correctional environments, particularly examining reentry programming, human rights violations, and the mental health outcomes of staff and the incarcerated. Her research also investigates crime victim outcomes, and public perception as it relates to police interrogations and extraordinary crimes. Prior to joining ICJIA, Karina worked with correctional facilities in Florida to evaluate violence reduction initiatives, and also worked with University of Cincinnati Corrections Institute to evaluate criminal-justice practitioners’ application of evidence-based interventions for persons under supervision.