Ms. Bankins-Russell works on two research projects funded by the Administrative Office of the Courts in collaboration with Professor Llewellyn Cornelius (Project Leader).  The purpose of the first project is to design and implement an assessment process that will lead to the development of a Process and Outcome evaluation of the Truancy Reduction Pilot Program (TRPP) of the 1st Judicial Circuit that is being replicated in Harford and Prince Georges Counties.  The second project involves an assessment of the national state of Alternative Dispute Resolution activities (via the literature) as well as the current practices in the state of Maryland.

She brings to the RYC more than ten years of experience in using community-based participatory research principles to assist community groups in developing mechanisms for shared governance with academic researchers.  She has also developed several social marketing campaigns for youth groups as a means of assisting them in recruiting other youth into research projects.