Broadly, my research agenda interrogates policymaking at the local level in U.S. cities, and the relationship between local, state, and federal governments in the provision of social policy benefits. Specifically, I focus on the intersection of criminal justice and social policy, two areas where the decentralization of implementation has complicated researchers’ ability to explore the impacts of each and both together on vulnerable and marginalized communities. My primary aims are to (1) understand the ways exclusion from or access to social policy benefits affects material outcomes (health, wealth, and social inclusion) for justice-involved populations, (2) explore whether and how social policy infrastructures can be mobilized to better facilitate community reintegration for people released from incarceration, and (3) to understand the ways the social construction of justice-involved people as a target population for policy has shifted over time, and how it may change in the future. I believe that an abolitionist framework offers a transformative lens through which to view public policy; by developing such a framework, my ultimate goal is to contribute to a body of work that not only critiques existing systems but also provides actionable pathways toward a more just society.
Cushing-Daniels, Michaela I., Brooke N. Shannon, and Daniel B. Jones. “Read Between the (District) Lines: Effects of Reform on Local Representation”. Conditionally accepted in Political Science Research and Methods.
Cushing-Daniels, Michaela I. "Decarceration and…? Local Policy Responses to State-Level Criminal Justice Reform." Urban Affairs Review.
Cushing-Daniels, Michaela I. "Go Big and Go Home? Social Policy as a Systemic Solution to Hyperincarceration." Working Paper.
Cushing-Daniels, Michaela I. "Beyond Recidivism: Examining the Impact of Social Policy Access on Justice-Involved Individuals' Health Outcomes." Working Paper.
Cushing-Daniels, Michaela I., Brooke N. Shannon, & Daniel B Jones. "Spatial Allocation of Government Investment: District-Based vs. At-Large Systems." Working Paper.
Cushing-Daniels, Michaela I. "Government Responsiveness to Social Movements: The Case of Police Budgets." Working Paper.
Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management
Presenting Author: Cushing-Daniels, Michaela I. "Beyond Recidivism: Examining the Impact of Social Policy Access on Justice-Involved Individuals' Health Outcomes."
2025 Southern Political Science Association Annual Meeting
Presenting Author: Cushing-Daniels, Michaela I. "Local Policy Responses to State-Level Criminal Justice Reform: The Case of Public Safety Realignment in California."
Panel Chair/Discussant: Marginalization and Participation (Political Participation and Civic Engagement)
2024 American Political Science Association Annual Meeting: Presenting Author
Cushing-Daniels, Michaela I., Brooke N. Shannon, & Daniel B Jones. "Spatial Allocation of Government Investment: District-Based vs. At-Large Systems."
2023 American Political Science Association Annual Meeting: Presenting Author (Virtual)
Cushing-Daniels, Michaela I., Brooke N. Shannon, & Daniel B. Jones. “Read between the (District) Lines: Effects of Reform on Local Representation"
2023 Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management Fall Research Conference: Presenting Author (In-Person)
Cushing-Daniels, Michaela I., "Social Movements as Drivers of Policy Change: The Case of City Police
Budgets"