Luke Muentner

Luke Muentner is a Justice Researcher in RTI’s Corrections and Reentry Research Program. His research interests span correctional programming, reentry supports, and intervention development and testing, with specialized expertise in parental incarceration and child and family well-being. He is trained in both quantitative and qualitative research methods and has extensive experience conducting corrections and reentry-related program design, implementation, and evaluation studies. Dr. Muentner’s multi-method research aims to provide data-driven evidence that informs program development and policy reform in order to facilitate racial, economic, and health equity for individuals and families impacted by the criminal legal system. Dr. Muentner has a strong publication record in peer-reviewed journals and has disseminated his work to practitioner, policy, and general audiences through presentations, research briefs, and media interviews. He is co-author of the book When Are You Coming Home? How Young Children Cope When Parents Go to Jail, which was published by Rutgers University Press.

Before joining RTI, Dr. Muentner completed a postdoctoral research fellowship in the Department of Pediatrics at the University of Minnesota’s medical school after receiving his PhD and MSW from the University of Wisconsin–Madison, with a specialization in social policy and criminal legal research.