An expert on criminal justice policy and a veteran social work practitioner have joined the faculty of the Wayne State School of Social Work.

Erin Comartin (pictured left), who earned her M.S.W. and Ph.D. in social work at Wayne State, joined the faculty as assistant professor after leaving a four-year faculty position at Oakland University. Her research, which focuses on social welfare policies and interventions for vulnerable populations in the criminal justice system, focuses predominantly on individuals convicted of sex crime perpetration and the laws that manage their re-entry into the community. She has also evaluated interventions designed to divert individuals with severe mental illness from the criminal justice system. Her work has been published in Deviant Behavior, Psychiatric Services, The Journal of Policy Practice, and The Journal of Social Work Values and Ethics.

Norma Schropshire (pictured right), an award-winning adjunct faculty who has taught WOW! online and classroom-based graduate and undergraduate courses since 2012, has joined the faculty as a full-time lecturer. During her early career, she worked as a case manager with homeless and abused teen mothers at the Children's Aid Society. Schropshire conducted forensic assessments with adjudicated youth for Assured Family Services and served as a special education school social worker with Lincoln Park, Van Buren, Inkster, and Detroit Public Schools. She has also worked as a medical social worker with older adults, contributing to quality assurance compliance review, supervision and training of staff and student interns at an accredited home health care agency.

Prior to her research career, Comartin worked in residential facilities for runaway and homeless youth and survivors of domestic violence and sexual assault. She has worked as a crisis-line worker, an intervention specialist, a case manager, and a director within these programs. She has conducted program evaluations for various social interventions, mostly related to afterschool and early childhood education programs, as well as in substance abuse and mental health.

"It is an honor to return as a faculty member to the School of Social Work," said Comartin, who will teach courses on advanced systems theories and practice and social policy and social action. "It is an exciting time to return to the university and the City of Detroit. I look forward to engaging in collaborative research with our partners in the community."

Schropshire, who earned an M.S.W. and a Certificate in Addiction Studies from University of Michigan, will teach courses on diversity, macro theory and practice, and family systems.

"I am very excited about collaborating on research for a new article in my interest area and most excited about continuing to build relationships with the community, faculty, students and alumni of the School of Social Work," Schropshire said.