Victor “Vic” St. John joined Child Trends in 2019 as a research scientist in the Youth Development Program area, with a primary focus on the well-being of individuals impacted by the juvenile and criminal justice systems. At Child Trends, he holds multiple roles: Principal Investigator for an impact and implementation evaluation of the PREPARE reentry program in New York, Deputy Director for the U.S. Department of Education National Technical Assistance Center for the Education of Neglected or Delinquent Children and Youth, and Co-Principal Investigator for research on Credible Messengers and youth mentoring programs for justice-involved youth. Additionally, he serves as an Assistant Professor within The Ohio State University’s John Glenn College of Public Affairs.

Victor’s research approach is informed by his extensive professional experience in criminology and criminal justice, which began in 2010. Notably, he previously served as the Director of Research and Analysis for NYC’s Board of Correction, leading mixed-method research projects that directly influenced practices and policies related to restrictive housing units, conditions of confinement for youth, and the prevention of victimization within NYC jails. Prior to that, Victor supervised juvenile facilities in collaboration with NYC’s Close to Home Initiative, facilitated cognitive-based interventions with incarcerated youth under the first social impact bond in the U.S., and evaluated and provided technical support for various government and NGO initiatives, such as NYC’s Mayoral Action Plan for Neighborhood Safety, during his time at the John Jay Research and Evaluation Center.

His research interests encompass racial and social inequities, criminal justice, public policy and administration, health, education, and space and place. Victor possesses advanced technical skills, including proficiency in Structured Query Language, Statistical Package for the Social Sciences, Excel, and STATA for data analysis, as well as expertise in using psychometric properties to design surveys and interview guides. His research findings have been published in peer-reviewed journals such as Policing and Society, Journal of Crime and Justice, Journal of Correctional Health Care, Journal of Criminal Justice, Critical Criminology, The Prison Journal, Race and Justice, and Race and Social Problems, among other respected outlets.