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Kathleen Kemp

Associate Professor of Psychiatry and Human Behaviors, Brown University
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About Kathleen

Dr. Kemp's program of research focuses on system-involved youth including in the juvenile legal and child welfare systems. Her research expertise is on suicide prevention and substance use interventions as well as the dissemination and implementation of evidence-based treatment. She has been PI or Co-I on more than 10 federally-funded research grants. Dr. Kemp also serves to support systems by collaborating to conduct system-level mappings to identify current processes, opportunities, and gaps to improve the flow of people and information with the goal to ultimately improve access to care.

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Contributions

Evaluating Social Determinants of Health in Forensic Mental Health Settings Can Help Inform Recommendations for Youth

    Julie Cristello ,
  • Elizabeth J. Van Alstine
  • Miguel Nuñez
  • Lindsey Nichols
  • Kaitlin Sheerin
  • Crosby Modrowski
  • Kathleen Kemp
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Publications

"Youth with Behavioral Health Symptoms in the Juvenile Legal System: From Assessment of Needs to Interventions to Scalability" Annual Review of Clinical Psychology 21 (2025): 327-352.

Provides an overview of the current state of assessment and clinical intervention approaches for youth with juvenile legal system involvement.

"National Institutes of Health Funding 1990−2019: Research on Youth in the Juvenile Legal System" (with Kathleen Kemp, Suh Jung Park, Jenna Schopen, and Caroline Corvin). Evidence-Based Practice in Child and Adolescent Mental Health (2025): 1-15.

Analyzes 30 years of NIH-funded research on youth involved in the juvenile legal system (JLS) to identify trends in funding and study characteristics. Findings suggest growing interest in JLS-related research but highlight the need for broader funding and research focus beyond substance use and delinquency.

"Using Implementation Outcomes to Inform Implementation of Suicide Risk Screening with Juvenile Legal-Involved Youth: Considerations for Task-Shifting Suicide Screening to Juvenile Legal Staff" (with Casey A. Pederson, Margaret Webb, Alyssa Vieira, and Anthony Spirito). Evidence-Based Practice in Child and Adolescent Mental Health 10, no. 4 (2025): 711-725 .

Explores whether suicide screening and intervention could be effectively integrated into the juvenile legal system (JLS) and assesses the acceptability, feasibility, and appropriateness of having juvenile probation officers conduct these screenings and interventions.

"Does Participation in a Court-Based Trauma-Focused Evaluation Program Influence Permanency Outcomes for Children Involved in the Child Welfare System?" (with Kathleen Kemp, Crosby Modrowski, Kaitlin Sheerin, and Charlene Collibee). Child Protection and Practice 3 (2024).

Examines whether a trauma-focused evaluation program for children in the child welfare system leads to better court and permanency outcomes compared to usual care. Findings suggest that initiatives aimed at identifying mental health concerns and linking children placed in out-of-home to relevant mental health services care can have a significant and positive impact on permanency outcomes.

"Intervention for Marijuana Using, Court-Involved Non-Incarcerated Youth" (with Lauren Micalizzi, Sara J. Becker, Aya Cheaito, Nazaret C. Suazo, Kara Fox, Lynn Hernandez, and Anthony Spirito). Journal of Substance Use and Addiction Treatment (2023).

Tests the feasibility and effectiveness of a combined electronic parenting program and motivational enhancement therapy (MET)-based electronic intervention to reduce marijuana use among justice-involved youth (JIY).

"The Intersection of Adverse Childhood Experiences and Mental Health Concerns for Youth Involved in the Child Welfare System" (with Kaitlin Sheerin, Kathleen Kemp, and Alyssa Vieira). Journal of Community Psychology 51, no. 5 (2023): 2229-2245.

Examines whether child welfare-involved youth show different mental health symptoms based on the types of adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) they have faced. Findings highlight the need for targeted screening and treatment referrals in the child welfare system based on youths’ specific ACE profiles.

"From Court to the Community: Improving Access to Evidence-Based Treatment for Underserved Youth Involved in the Juvenile Legal System At-Risk for Suicide" (with Kaitlin Sheerin, Kathleen Kemp, Jennifer Wolff, Tim Janssen, Hannah E. Frank, Sydney Velotta, Sara Becker, Lauren M. Weinstock, and Anthony Spirito). BMC Psychiatry 23, no. 320 (2023).

Aims to reduce suicidal and self-injurious behaviors among juvenile legal-involved youth by training community mental health providers in an adapted COping, Problem Solving, Enhancing life, Safety, and Parenting (COPES+) intervention.

"Suicide Screening among Youth at First Court Contact" (with Ali M Yurasek, Brittney Poindexter, Margaret Webb, and Marina Tolou-Shams). Archives of Suicide Research 26, no. 2 (2022): 748-760.

Examines suicide risk and mental health needs among court-involved, non-incarcerated youth by implementing a mental health screening at the first court contact. Findings suggest that screening for suicide during initial court intake is a feasible and effective early intervention point for identifying at-risk youth.

"Do Suicidal Thoughts and Behavior Persist Following Juvenile Justice Involvement?" (with Margaret Webb, Alyssa Vieira, Casey Anne Pederson, and Anthony Spirito). Suicide and Life-Threatening Behavior 51, no. 6 (2021): 1148-1158.

Examines suicidal ideation and behavior of youth in the 3 months following their initial diversion appointment in the juvenile justice system. Finds that over half of justice-involved youth continued to experience suicidal ideation three months after their initial diversion appointment, though overall severity decreased significantly from baseline.