Full-Text Search
Susan A McCarter
Research: Forensic Social Work with Adolescents – Specifically Race/Ethnicity and Human Services Involvement: Juvenile Justice, Child Welfare, Education, and Health
Teaching: Research Methods, Forensic Social Work, Capstone/Thesis, Diversity and Social Justice
Practice: Forensic Social Work with Adolescents and Incarcerated Clients; DMC Policy Analysis and Advocacy; Institutional Organizing
Education:
Ph.D., Virginia Commonwealth University; MSW, Virginia Commonwealth University; MS (Sociology), Virginia Commonwealth University; BA, English, Clemson University
Susan McCarter is an Associate Professor in the School of Social Work, College of Health and Human Services at UNC Charlotte. Dr. McCarter’s career began as a juvenile probation officer, inner-city mental health counselor, and policy analyst and advocate in Virginia where she earned her MSW (Clinical Practice) and her PhD (Social Policy). For over 20 years she has served as a Disproportionate Minority Contact (DMC) Scholar (now Racial and Ethnic Disparities (RED)) and a forensic practitioner. Nationally, Dr. McCarter serves as a juvenile justice forensic expert, on the board of the National Organization of Forensic Social Work, and chairs the Society of Social Work and Research’s Criminal and Juvenile Justice Interest Group. Regionally, she co-chairs the NC RED Subcommittee and the Charlotte Racial Justice Consortium (a collaboration of UNC Charlotte, Johnson C. Smith, Queens University, Johnson and Wales University of Charlotte, and Central Piedmont Community College) dedicated to truth, racial healing and transformation, and serves on the leadership team for Race Matters for Juvenile Justice as well as their Government Alliance on Race and Equity (GARE) Team. Dr. McCarter currently facilitates the UNC Charlotte Racial Equity Skill Building Caucus, leads multiple funded research studies examining the School-to-Prison Pipeline (STPP), Juvenile Justice, and Racial Equity, and speaks and trains nationally on these topics.
Honors, Awards, and Fellowships:
Society for Social Work and Research – Fellow – 2019
Race Matters for Juvenile Justice – Outstanding Leader Award – December 2018
UNC Charlotte College of Health and Human Services – 2018 Excellence in Community Engagement Award
UNC Charlotte College of Health and Human Services Diversity Fellow 2015-2017 (CHHS DAI Principles Statement)
UNC Charlotte College of Health and Human Services – 2015 Excellence in Promoting Diversity Award
Appointed to the North Carolina Disproportionate Minority Contact State Subcommittee by Chair, Police Chief Rodney Monroe
Institute for Social Capital – Faculty Research Scholar 2009/10
Appointed to the Mecklenburg County Juvenile Crime Prevention Council by the Board of County Commissioners
Appointed to the Supreme Court of Virginia’s Race-Neutral Sentencing Committee
Top Ten Dissertations in Social Work Tenth National Symposium on Doctoral Research in Social Work, sponsored by the College of Social Work, Ohio State University
VCU School of Social Work Leadership and Service Award & Academic Fellowship
Selected Peer-Reviewed Publications:
McCarter, S. A. (2009). Legal and extralegal factors affecting minority overrepresentation in Virginia’s juvenile justice system: A mixed method study. Child and Adolescent Social Work Journal, 26(6), 533-544. DOI: 10.1007/s10560-009-0185-x.
McCarter, S. A., Haber, M. G., & Kazemi, D. (2010). Models to guide system reform for at-risk youth. Child and Youth Care Forum, 39(6), 465-479. DOI: 10.1007/s10566-010-9113-7
McCarter, S. A. (2011). Disproportionate minority contact in the American juvenile justice system: Where are we after 20 years, a philosophy shift, and three amendments? Journal of Forensic Social Work, 1(1), 96-107. https://doi.org/10.1080/1936928X.2011.541217
McCarter, S. A., & Bridges, J. B. (2011). Determining the age of jurisdiction for adolescents: The policy debate. Journal of Policy Practice, 10(3), 168-184. DOI: 10. 1080/155887/42.2011.582805
McCarter, S. A., Jones, K., & Rager, K. M. (2011). Characteristics of youth in the U.S. receiving services from a Patient-Centered Medical Home (PCMH). Social Work in Health Care, 50(8), 595-605. https://doi.org/10.1080/00981389.2011.588122
Long, D. D., McCarter, S. A., Thomas, M. L., & Boyd, A. S. (2012). An exploratory examination of a grant making project in social work education. Journal of Teaching in Social Work, 32(1), 108-120. https://doi.org/10.1080/08841233.2012.639275
Scheyett, A., Pettus-Davis, C., McCarter, S., & Brigham, R. (2012). Social work and criminal justice: Are we meeting in the field? Journal of Teaching in Social Work, 32(4), 438-450. https://doi.org/10.1080/08841233.2012.705241
Gandy, M. E., McCarter, S. A., & Portwood, S. (2013). Service providers’ attitudes toward LGBTQ youth. Residential Treatment for Children & Youth, 30, 168-186. https://doi.org/10.1080/0886571X.2013.813344
McCarter, S. A., Maschi, T., & Morgen, K. (2014). Inter-professional collaboration: Perceptions and practices with youth with complex problems. Journal of Forensic Social Work, 4(1), 63-77. https://doi.org/10.1080/1936928X.2013.859027
McCarter, S. A. (2016). Holistic representation: Providing wraparound services for first-time juvenile offenders to improve functioning, decrease motions for review, and lower recidivism. Family Court Review, 54(2), 250-260. https://doi.org/10.1111/fcre.12216
McCarter, S. A. (2017). The School-to-Prison Pipeline: A primer for social workers. Social Work, 62(1), 53-61. DOI: 10.1093/sw/sww078
McCarter, S. A., Chinn-Gary, E., Trosch, L. A., Jr., Toure, A., Alsaeedi, A., & Harrington, J., (2017). Bringing racial justice to the courtroom and community: Race Matters for Juvenile Justice and the Charlotte Model. Washington and Lee Law Review, 73(2), 641-686. https://scholarlycommons.law.wlu.edu/wlulr-online/vol73/iss2/6/
Tripodi, S. J., Mennicke, A. M., McCarter, S. A., & Ropes, K. (2017). Evaluating Seeking Safety for women in prison: A randomized controlled trial. Research on Social Work Practice, 1-10. https://doi.org/10.1177/1049731517706550
McCarter, S. A., Venkitasubramanian, K., & Bradshaw, K. S. (2019). Addressing the school-to-prison pipeline: Examining micro- and macro-level variables that affect school disengagement and subsequent felonies. Journal of Social Service Research, 45(3), 1-15. https://doi.org/10.1080/01488376.2019.1575323
McCarter, S. A., Neal, M., Foster, V., & Evans-Patterson, C. L. (2019). Forging law enforcement/school system partnerships: Using youth diversion programs to address the School-to-Prison Pipeline. Journal of the North Carolina Justice Academy, 1(1), 1-31.
McCarter, S. A. (2019). Intersection of mental health, education, and juvenile justice: The role of mental health providers in reducing the school-to-prison pipeline. Ethical Human Psychology and Psychiatry, 21(1), 7-18. DOI: 10.1891/1559-4343.21.1.7 https://connect.springerpub.com/content/sgrehpp/21/1/7
Kim, B. E, McCarter, S., & Logan-Greene, P. (2020). Achieving equal opportunity and justice in juvenile justice (Grand Challenges for Social Work Initiative Working Paper No. 25). Baltimore, MD: Grand Challenges for Social Work. https://grandchallengesforsocialwork.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/06/Achieving-Equal-Opportunity-and-Justice-in-Juvenile-Justice-3.pdf
Selected Book Chapters:
McCarter, S. A. (2011). Adolescence. In E. D. Hutchison (Ed.), Dimensions of Human Behavior: The changing life course (4th ed.) (pp. 220-268). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
McCarter, S. (2013). Adolescence. In E. Hutchison (Ed.), Essentials of human behavior: Integrating person, environment, and the life course (pp. 545-589). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
McCarter, S. A. (2014). Disproportionate Minority Contact. In A. R. Roberts, W. T. Church, II, & Springer, D. W. (Eds.), Juvenile Justice Sourcebook: Past, Present, and Future. Oxford, United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.
Boyd, A. S. & McCarter, S. A. (2014). Role of Health Disparities. In L. H. Cousins (Ed.), Encyclopedia of Human Services and Diversity. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
McCarter, S. A. (2015). Adolescence. In E. D. Hutchison (Ed.), Dimensions of Human Behavior: The changing life course (5th ed.). pp. 221-268. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
McCarter, S. A. (2017). Disproportionality, Disparity, and Discrimination: Race and Ethnicity in the Juvenile and Criminal Justice Systems. In D. W. Springer and A. R. Roberts, (Eds.), Social Work in Juvenile and Criminal Justice Systems (4th ed.). pp. 314-323. Springfield, IL: Charles C. Thomas Publishers.
McCarter, S. A. (2018). The Role of Race/Ethnicity in Criminal and Juvenile Justice. In W. T. Church, II and D. W. Springer, (Eds.), Serving the Stigmatized: Working within the Incarcerated Environment. pp. 258-286. New York, NY: Oxford University Press.
McCarter, S. A. (2018). Adolescence. In E. D. Hutchison (Ed.), Dimensions of Human Behavior: The changing life course (6th ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
McCarter, S. A. (2018). Racial Disparities in the Criminal Justice System. Encyclopedia of Social Work. New York, NY: National Association of Social Workers Press and Oxford University Press. doi: 10.1093/acrefore/9780199975839.013.1289
McCarter, S., McLeod, D. A., Drew-Branch, V., & Granberry, J. (2020). Girls in Juvenile Justice. In R. Geffner, V. Vieth, V. Vaughan-Eden, A. Rosenbaum, L. K. Hamberger, & J. White (Eds.), Handbook of Interpersonal Violence Across the Lifespan, Springer, New York, NY. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-62122-7_283-1. ISBN 978-3-319-90000-1. https://www.springer.com/gp/book/9783319899985
McCarter, S. A. (in press). School-to-Prison Pipeline. Social Work Desk Reference, 4th ed., Oxford University Press, Oxford.
Practice and Trial Briefs, Monographs, and Technical Reports:
McCarter, S. A. (2012). Disproportionate Minority Contact in the American Juvenile Justice System: Implications for Older Adults in Prisons. In Maschi, T., Morrissey, M. B., Immarigeon, R., & Sutfin, S. Aging Prisoners: A Crisis in Need of Intervention. New York, Fordham University Be the Evidence Project. Available: https://sites.google.com/site/betheevidenceproject/white-paper-aging-prisoner-forum
McCarter, S. A. & Barnett, J. (2013, June). “School-to-Prison” Pipeline – A Primer. Prepared for the North Carolina Advocates for Justice & the North Carolina Commission Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Criminal Justice System
McCarter, S. A. & Barnett, J. (2013, June). The School-to-Prison Pipeline: Implications for North Carolina Schools and Students. Prepared for the North Carolina Advocates for Justice & the North Carolina Commission Racial and Ethnic Disparities in the Criminal Justice System
McCarter, S. A. (Summer 2015). What social workers should know about the School-to-Prison Pipeline: A True Story. In CAYA (Children, Adolescents, and Young Adults) Specialty Practice Section – Washington, DC: NASW Press.
McCarter, S. A. (Fall/Winter 2015). What social workers should know about the School-to-Prison Pipeline: A True Story. In SSW (School Social Work) Specialty Practice Section – Washington, DC: NASW Press.
McCarter, S. A. (January 2016). Old News: Minority Overrepresentation in North Carolina’s Juvenile Justice System – Any New News or Good News? Trial Briefs: In Defense of Juvenile Justice. North Carolina Advocates for Justice.
McCarter, S., Sekle, S., Daroowalla, P., Tamilin, E., & Behrendt-Mihalski, J. (October 2019). Race Matters for Juvenile Justice (RMJJ): National Juvenile Justice Awareness Month. Juvenile Justice in Mecklenburg County. Race Matters for Juvenile Justice and the Council for Children’s Rights. https://rmjj.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/2019-Juvenile-Justice-Awareness-Month_RMJJ-1.pdf
McCarter, S., Daroowalla, P., Tamilin, E., & Behrendt-Mihalski, J. (October 2019). Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Juvenile Justice (formerly DMC): National Juvenile Justice Awareness Month. Juvenile Justice in Mecklenburg County. Race Matters for Juvenile Justice and the Council for Children’s Rights. https://rmjj.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/2019-Juvenile-Justice-Awareness-Month-RED.pdf
McCarter, S., Sekle, S., Daroowalla, P., Tamilin, E., & Behrendt-Mihalski, J. (October 2019). The School-to-Prison Pipeline: National Juvenile Justice Awareness Month. Juvenile Justice in Mecklenburg County. Race Matters for Juvenile Justice and the Council for Children’s Rights. https://rmjj.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/2019-Juvenile-Justice-Awareness-Month-STPP.pdf
Tamilin, E., Behrendt-Mihalski, J., McCarter, S., Daroowalla, P. & Sekle, S. (October 2019). Raise the Age: National Juvenile Justice Awareness Month. Juvenile Justice in Mecklenburg County. Race Matters for Juvenile Justice and the Council for Children’s Rights. https://rmjj.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/Juvenile-Justice-Awareness-Month-2019-RTA.pdf
Tamilin, E., Behrendt-Mihalski, J., McCarter, S., Daroowalla, P., Sekle, S., & Cumby, H. (October 2019). Juvenile Justice in Mecklenburg County: National Juvenile Justice Awareness Month. Race Matters for Juvenile Justice and the Council for Children’s Rights. https://rmjj.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/2019JuvenileJusticeAwarenessMonth-FINALREPORT.pdf
Selected Peer-Reviewed Presentations (last 2 years):
Tatum, A., Bradshaw, K., & McCarter, S. (2018, June 20). Incarcerated Young Adults Study: Examining the School-to-Prison Pipeline. Poster presented at the 35th Annual Conference of the National Organization of Forensic Social Work, New Orleans, LA.
McCarter, S. (2018, June 21). Using a Racial Equity Impact Analysis to Examine the Changing Face of Forensic Social Work. Paper presented at the 35th Annual Conference of the National Organization of Forensic Social Work, New Orleans, LA.
McCarter, S. A. (2019, January 18). Using a Racial Equity Impact Analysis to Reduce Disproportionality. Paper presented at the 23rd Annual Conference of the Society for Social Work and Research, San Francisco, CA.
McCarter, S. A. (2019, January 20). Using Individual Level and School-Level Data to Examine School Disengagement and Subsequent Felonies Poster presented at the 23rd Annual Conference of the Society for Social Work and Research, San Francisco, CA.
McCarter, S. & Granberry, J. (2019, March 25). CYA or Making a Difference? Assessing Unconscious Bias and Diversity Trainings. Poster presented at The North Carolina Diversity and Inclusion Partners Conference. Charlotte, NC.
McCarter, S. (2019, June 12). The School-to-Prison Pipeline: Examining Individual and School-Level Variables. Paper presented at the 36th Annual Conference of the National Organization of Forensic Social Work, Las Vegas, NV.
Granberry, J. & McCarter, S. (2019, June 12). DMC, the STPP, and the Reauthorization of the JJDPA: Implications for Forensic Social Work. Poster presented at the 36th Annual Conference of the National Organization of Forensic Social Work, Las Vegas, NV.
McLeod, D. A. & McCarter, S. (2019, June 12). Girls in Juvenile Justice. Paper presented at the 36th Annual Conference of the National Organization of Forensic Social Work, Las Vegas, NV.
Menon, S., McCarter, S., & Robbins, S. P. (2019, October 26). Looking Forward: It’s Time to Fight for a National Age of Majority. Poster presented at the 65th Annual Program Meeting of the Council on Social Work Education, Denver, CO.
McCarter, S. A. & Granberry, J. (2020, January 16). Using Diversity Trainings to Reduce Racial Inequity: Are they Effective or Just a CYA Technique? Poster presented at the 24th Annual Conference of the Society for Social Work and Research, Washington, DC
Kennedy, S., Lewis, C., McCarter, S., Pettus-Davis, C., & Wilson, M. (2020, January 19). Rapidly Disseminating Research Findings to Non-Academic Audiences: Bringing Social Work Scholarship into the Streets. Workshop presented at the 24th Annual Conference of the Society for Social Work and Research, Washington, DC
Selected Invited Presentations, Lectures, and Keynote Addresses (last 2 years):
McCarter, S. (2018, June 19). (In) Justice in the Juvenile and Adult Justice Systems: Forensic Social Work Certificate Program 35th Annual Conference of the National Organization of Forensic Social Work. New Orleans, LA.
Chinn-Gary, E., McCarter, S., & Reid, R. (2018, July 19). Defining Race and Measuring its Impact. 2018 Race Matters for Juvenile Justice Community Presentation Series. Christ Episcopal Church. Charlotte, NC.
Johnson, D., Little, C. R., McCarter, S., & Trosch, L. (2018, September 20). Implicit Bias II. 2018 Race Matters for Juvenile Justice Community Presentation Series. Johnson C. Smith University. Charlotte, NC.
McCarter, S., Stewart, K., & Turner, K. (2018, September 25). Race, Ethnicity, Identity, Implicit Bias, and Data. UNC Charlotte Research and Economic Development Staff Retreat. Harvey B. Gantt Center for African-American Arts + Culture, Charlotte, NC.
McCarter, S., Little, C. R., & Ratliff, C., (2018, November 15). The School-to-Prison Pipeline. 2018 Race Matters for Juvenile Justice Community Presentation Series. McClintock Middle School. Charlotte, NC.
Anderson, D. & McCarter, S. (2018, December 11). Implicit Bias. Communities in Schools of Charlotte-Mecklenburg. Charlotte, NC.
McCarter, S. & Granberry, J. (2019, January 15). Measuring the Effects of Race. The Community School of Davidson. Davidson, NC.
Anderson, D. & McCarter, S. (2019, January 28). Implicit Bias. 26th Judicial District – Trial Court Administrator’s Office. Charlotte, NC.
McCarter, S. & Granberry, J. (2019, January 31). What’s Bias? Warning: Explicit and Implicit Contents! The Community School of Davidson. Davidson, NC.
Little, C. R. & McCarter, S. (2019, February 8). Implicit Bias. 26th Judicial District – Trial Court Administrator’s Office. Charlotte, NC.
DeVaul, M., McCarter, S., McCray, M., Simmons, B., & Thomas, D. (2019, February 22). Raise the Age: A Call to Action for Communities and Courts. Justice Initiatives – NC Justice Summit. Charlotte, NC.
Jones, T. (author) & McCarter, S. (moderator). (2019, April 10). An Interview with Tayari Jones: Author of An American Marriage. 2019 TIAA Lecture Series. The University of North Carolina Charlotte.
McCarter, S., Little, C. R., & Cureton, D., (2019, April 17). Implicit Bias. Bar Leadership Institute: The Mecklenburg County Bar Association. Charlotte, NC.
McCarter, S., (2019, April 18). What’s Bias? Beta Alpha Psi – The International Honor Organization for Financial Information Students and Professionals – Eta Alpha Chapter; Day of Diversity, Keynote Speaker. Charlotte, NC.
McCarter, S. (2019, June 11). (In) Justice in the Juvenile Justice System: Forensic Social Work Certificate Program 36th Annual Conference of the National Organization of Forensic Social Work. Las Vegas, NV.
McCarter, S. & Wynn-Lewis, C. (2019, October 2). Keynote Address – DMC Becomes RED: An Overview of Racial and Ethnic Disparities in NC’s Juvenile Justice System. North Carolina Juvenile Services Association – Fall Conference. Carolina Beach, NC.
McCarter, S. & Wynn-Lewis, C. (2020, March 4). Keynote Address – Racial and Ethnic Disparities in NC’s Juvenile Justice System. North Carolina Juvenile Services Association – Spring Conference. Carolina Beach, NC.
Chinn-Gary, E., McCarter, S., & Reid, R. (2020, March 5). Implicit Bias II. 2019/20 Race Matters for Juvenile Justice Community Presentation Series. The Belmont Center. Charlotte, NC.
Best, K., Boyce, J., Chinn-Gary, E., Cureton, D., Frady, D., Lloyd, C., McCarter, S., Thomas, D. & Trosch, E. (2020, March 5). COVID-19 Racial Equity Rapid Response: Racially Equitable Decision-Making in Times of Crisis. 2019/20 Race Matters for Juvenile Justice Community Presentation Series. Charlotte, NC.
McCarter, S. (2020, June 16). (In) Justice in the Juvenile Justice System: Forensic Social Work Certificate Program National Organization of Forensic Social Work.
Anderson, D., Boyce, J., Chinn-Gary, E., McCarter, S., & Trosch, Jr., L. (2020, June 18). Race Matters for Juvenile Justice. The Black Pearls Society “Beyond this Moment” Series.
Chinn-Gary, E., Kinard, J., McCarter, S., Thomas, D. & Williams, D. (2020, July 23). Race Matters for Juvenile Justice Town Hall: A Multisystemic Approach to Antiracism Organizing. 2019/20 Race Matters for Juvenile Justice Community Presentation Series. Charlotte, NC.
Selected Media Stories/Appearances/Podcasts
UNC Charlotte (2016, June 30). Professor Susan McCarter Leads Charge on Racial Justice Reform. https://socialwork.uncc.edu/news/2016-06-30/professor-susan-mccarter-leads-charge-racial-justice-reform
UNC Charlotte Magazine (Summer 2016). Story by Melba Newsome. ‘Dismantling Racism’: Social work professor’s research shows implicit bias by institutions. http://publicrelations.uncc.edu/sites/publicrelations.uncc.edu/files/media/magazine-files/unc-charlotte-magazine-q2-2016.pdf
WFAE. Charlotte Talks on NPR. (2016, June 28). Race and Juvenile Justice in Charlotte. http://wfae.org/post/race-and-juvenile-justice-charlotte
UNC Charlotte Urban Institute – Commentary. (2016, August 3). Good cop or bad cop? #BlackLivesMatter or #AllLivesMatter?
https://ui.uncc.edu/story/racial-disparities-juvenile-justice-black-lives-matter
WBUR. NPR’s Here & Now. (2016, September 23). Long Before Protests, Racial Inequality Simmered in Charlotte.
http://www.wbur.org/hereandnow/2016/09/23/charlotte-inequality-protests
WFAE. Charlotte Talks – Two-Hour Community Forum. (2016, October 4). Building Trust: Where does Charlotte go from Here?
http://wfae.org/post/building-trust-where-does-charlotte-go-here
Multiple Media Outlets – Charlotte Racial Justice Consortium – Truth, Racial Healing, and Transformation (2020, February).
https://www.wbtv.com/2020/02/05/jcsu-uncc-queens-university-team-up-tackle-racial-healing/
Helping Hands Podcast – Season 2, Episode 10: Race Matters for Juvenile Justice with Judge Donald Cureton and Dr. Susan McCarter