Who We Are

Ryan Spohn

Project Evaluator

Assistant Research Professor
Center on Children, Families and the Law
University of Nebraska-Lincoln

BS, Kansas State University 1996
MS, Texas A&M University 1998
Ph.D, University of Iowa 2003

Ryan Spohn is the Project Evaluator for the Midwest Child Welfare Implementation Center and is a Research Assistant Professor with the University of Nebraska's Center on Children, Families and the Law. His primary areas of training are in the fields of sociology, criminology, and quantitative research methods.

As an assistant professor of sociology at Kansas State University, Ryan taught graduate seminars in Criminological Theory, Methods of Social Research, the Sociology of Law and Punishment, and the Sociology of Social Control. Ryan's undergraduate courses included Criminology and the Sociology of the Criminal Justice System.

Ryan's research agenda has focused on the areas of juvenile delinquency, crime, families, child maltreatment, and processes of the criminal justice system, with forays into political sociology. A primary area of interest is the way in which social environments influence the relationship between family functioning and negative outcomes such as juvenile delinquency and other problem behaviors. In the summer of 2006, Ryan attended the Summer Research Institute of the National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect at Cornell University, receiving training in management and analysis of the National Survey on Child and Adolescent Well-Being (NSCAW). Ryan was also a participant in the Developing Scholar Program at Kansas State University, which focuses on engaging underrepresented populations in scholarly activities with faculty members in order improve students' retention and guides them towards studies in graduate and professional schools. In 2005, his research project won the Provost James R. Coffman Award of Excellence for Best Project, 1st Year Scholar with student Brandon Rice.

Ryan's work at the MCWIC includes all aspects of program evaluation. These activities include process and outcome evaluation of each of the state and tribal implementation projects. Another aspect of the assessment process is evaluating the degree to which MCWIC's processes and activities are consistent with relevant principles of the Systems of Care approach and the state-level Child and Family Services Review. He is also involved in cross-site evaluations involving each of the five Child Welfare Implementation Centers established by cooperative agreement with the Children's Bureau in October 2008.

Areas of Interest

• Program Evaluation
• Quantitative Research Methods
• Crime and Juvenile Delinquency
• Child Maltreatment
• Sociology of Law
• Political Sociology

Publications

Zavala, Egbert and Ryan E. Spohn. 2010. "Emotional Abuse and Controlling Behaviors in Heterosexual Relationships: The Role of Employment and Alcohol Use for Women and Their Partners." Sociological Spectrum 30:526-549.

Griffiths, Elizabeth, Robert D. Baller, Ryan E. Spohn, and Rosemary Gartner. 2008. "Is There Such a Thing as Defended Community Homicide? The Necessity of Methods of Triangulation." Victims and Offenders 3:228-244.

Kurtz, Don, Travis Linnemann, and Ryan E. Spohn. 2008. "Investigating Racial Disparity at the Detention Decision: The Role of Informal Control and Respectability." Southwest Journal of Criminal Justice 5:140-157.

Fitzgerald, Scott F. and Ryan E. Spohn. 2005. "Pulpits and Platforms: The Role of the Church in Determining Protest among Black Americans." Social Forces 84:1015-1048.

Spohn, Ryan E. 2000. "Gender Differences in the Effects of Child Maltreatment on Criminal Activity over the Life Course." Pp. 207-231 in Families, Crime and Criminal Justice, Vol. 2, edited by G. L. Fox and M. L. Benson. New York: Elsevier Science.

Spohn, Ryan E. and Howard B. Kaplan. 2000. "Adolescent Substance Use and Adult Health Status: A Critical Analysis of a Problematic Relationship." Pp. 45-65 in Advances in Medical Sociology, Vol.7, edited by J. A. Levy, D. Stephens and D. McBride. Stamford, CT: JAI Press.

Professional Activities & Community Service

• Participant in the Summer Research Institute, National Data Archive on Child Abuse and Neglect, Cornell University, May 31-June 4, 2006
• Faculty mentor for Developing Scholars Program, Kansas State University 2004-2006
• Member of the American Sociological Association (Section on Crime, Law, and Deviance), 1996 to Present
• Member of the American Society of Criminology, 1998 to Present
• Member of the Midwest Sociological Society, 2003 to Present
• Nominations and Elections Committee, Midwest Sociological Society (2007-2010)
• Program Committee for annual conference, American Society of Criminology (2007-2008)