07/28/2025 03:44:24 PMHannah Van Sickle

Addressing the unique developmental needs of youth in the justice system has long been a passion for Kimberly Larson, JD, PhD. Since earning her second doctoral degree, she has been using her background—as a psychologist and an attorney—to move beyond data collection and influence policy. It’s a logical extension of what she and Tracy L. Fass, JD, PhD have spent the past four years teaching dissertation students in the Juvenile Justice Research and Policy Lab. “It’s a really effective model to help students learn about the practical day-to-day aspects of conducting research, collecting data, and analyzing statistics,” says Larson who actively practices what she preaches. Ten years ago, having earned a reputation for helping states write appropriate ‘juvenile competence to stand trial’ (JCST) legislation, Larson was tapped by California’s Los Angeles County to conduct a study examining a juvenile competence remediation service she created with her Co-PI, Rebecca Nathanson from UNLV. The pair integrated teaching methods utilized in the special education literature to attempt to help youth found incompetent to stand trial learn the information they needed to know in order to return to court. Later this month, after more than eight years of on-the-ground research, Larson will be in attendance at the launch of a Juvenile Competence to Stand Trial Hub Court in Los Angeles—tangible evidence of her ongoing commitment to research and youth advocacy.

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