Increasingly, research on legal system involvement has engaged in Community-Based Participatory Research (CBPR). Drawing on reflections from our CBPR project focused on reentry from prison, we address three key questions: (1) Who is the “community” in CBPR? (2) What are the challenges in maintaining partnerships? And (3) How does CBPR exist in the framework of a larger neoliberal context? We highlight tensions around lived experiences, capacity, time, ethics, and constraints from the university and parole. We demonstrate that while CBPR is good in theory, practical and ethical considerations related to power and privilege cannot go unchecked.
CharltonJ. I. (1998). Nothing about us without us: Disability oppression and empowerment. University of California Press.
2.
ChristopherS.WattsV.McCormickA. K. H. G.YoungS. (2008). Building and maintaining trust in a community-based participatory research partnership. American Journal of Public Health, 98(8), 1398–1406. https://doi.org/10.2105/ajph.2007.125757
3.
CollinsS. E.ClifasefiS. L.StantonJ.StraitsK. J.Gil-KashiwabaraE.Rodriguez EspinosaP.NicasioA. V.AndrasikM. P.HawesS. M.MillerK. A.NelsonL. A.OrfalyV. E.DuranB. M.WallersteinN. (2018). Community-based participatory research (CBPR): Towards equitable involvement of community in psychology research. American Psychologist, 73(7), 884–898. https://doi.org/10.1037/amp0000167
HergenratherK. C.GeisheckerS.McGuire-KuletzM.GitlinD. J.RhodesS. D. (2010). An introduction to community-based participatory research. Rehabilitation Research, Policy, and Education, 24(3/4), 225. https://doi.org/10.1891/08897011080502980
6.
IsraelB. A.SchulzA. J.ParkerE. A.BeckerA. B.AllenA. J.GuzmanJ. R.LichtensteinR. (2018). Critical issues in developing and following CBPR principles. Community-based participatory research for health: Advancing social and health equity, 3, 32–35.
7.
IvankovaN. V. (2017). Applying mixed methods in community-based participatory action research: A framework for engaging stakeholders with research as a means for promoting patient-centredness. Journal of Research in Nursing, 22(4), 282–294. https://doi.org/10.1177/1744987117699655
8.
LuceroJ. E.BoursawB.EderM.Greene-MotonE.WallersteinN.OetzelJ. G. (2020). Engage for equity: The role of trust and synergy in community-based participatory research. Health Education & Behavior, 47(3), 372–379. https://doi.org/10.1177/1090198120918838
9.
MackenzieJ.TanP. L.HovermanS.BaldwinC. (2012). The value and limitations of participatory action research methodology. Journal of Hydrology, 474, 11–21. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jhydrol.2012.09.008
10.
MuhammadM.WallersteinN.SussmanA. L.AvilaM.BeloneL.DuranB. (2015). Reflections on researcher identity and power: The impact of positionality on community based participatory research (CBPR) processes and outcomes. Critical Sociology, 41(7-8), 1045–1063. https://doi.org/10.1177/0896920513516025
11.
PayneY. A.BryantA. (2018). Street participatory action research in prison: A methodology to challenge privilege and power in correctional facilities. The Prison Journal, 98(4), 449–469. https://doi.org/10.1177/0032885518776378
12.
RoseC.DonnellyL.HowdleJ.LynesM.ArnettK.NettleM.BradleyE. (2025). How do participatory citizenship models inform co-production in health research? A systematic review.Health Expectations, 28(5). https://doi.org/10.1111/hex.70394
13.
StringerE. T. (2014). Action research (4th ed.). Sage.
14.
ThulienM.AndersonH.DouglasS.DykemanR.HorneA.HowardB.CharlesworthR.FastD. (2022). The generative potential of mess in community-based participatory research with young people who use (d) drugs in Vancouver. Harm Reduction Journal, 19(1), 30. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12954-022-00615-7
15.
TranT. P. T.CormierJ. C.HopwoodC. A.FosterJ.ScheibI.LiF.LynchN. A.AycockD. M.SpearsC. A.StauberC. E.Owen-SmithA. A.AriasJ. J.PechacekT. F.PopovaL. (2025). Building trust for community-engaged Research: Recommendations from a qualitative study. Journal of Participatory Research Methods, 6(2), 74–98. https://doi.org/10.35844/001c.131692
16.
VaughnL. M.JacquezF. (2020). Participatory research methods–choice points in the research process. Journal of Participatory Research Methods, 1(1). https://doi.org/10.35844/001c.13244
17.
WallersteinN.MuhammadM.Sanchez-YoungmanS.Rodriguez EspinosaP.AvilaM.BakerE. A.BeloneL.GolubM.LuceroJ.MahdiI.NoyesE.NguyenT.RoubideauxY.SigoR.DuranB. (2019). Power dynamics in community-based participatory research: A multiple–case study analysis of partnering contexts, histories, and practices. Health Education & Behavior, 46(1_suppl), 19S–32S. https://doi.org/10.1177/1090198119852998
18.
YounS. J.ValentineS. E.PatrickK. A.BaldwinM.Chablani-MedleyA.Aguilar SilvanMarquesY. L. (2019). Practical solutions for sustaining long-term academic-community partnerships. Psychotherapy, 56(1), 115–125. https://doi.org/10.1037/pst0000188
