Senior Research Scientist
Ph.D., Experimental Psychology
Texas Christian University
Email: j.becan@tcu.edu
Jenny Becan, Ph.D. is an implementation scientist within the field of health services research. As a graduate faculty member at TCU since 2010, she has
served as Principal Investigator on multiple NIDA-funded research projects investigating substance use treatment intervention development and effectiveness, the role that contextual factors and implementation strategies play in improving access to treatment services, and criminal legal-community behavioral health agency partnerships.
Notably, Dr. Becan serves as PI on the Building Resilient Initiatives for Deflection through Greater Engagement (BRIDGE) Project, which is a five-year study, as part of the NIDA Justice Community Overdose Innovation Network (JCOIN) 2.0. The BRIDGE project supports law enforcement and community behavioral health providers in promoting Deflection as an approach to help individuals with substance use problems receive treatment and avoid arrest. Additionally, Dr. Becan served as PI on the NIDA-funded Mapping Approaches to Prepare for Implementation Transfer (MAP-IT) project to test agency-driven preparation strategies for implementing evidence-based practices; and the Substance Use and Health Risk Intervention (SUHRI) project to test a technology-based motivational enhancement intervention that promotes healthy behavioral choices involving substance use and sexual activity among justice-involved youth.
Dr. Becan has served as Co-I on NIDA-funded studies on maximizing criminal legal-community based organization collaboratives to promote substance use treatment access among adolescents on probation (JJ-TRIALS) and among adults released from prison and placed on parole (JCOIN 1.0); as well as testing implementation strategies, such as peer navigation and mobile health units (ACTION) and peer navigation with patient choice (STOP HIV), to promote access to community-based HIV and OUD prevention and treatment services for justice-involved individuals.
Dr. Becan serves as a grant reviewer for both NIH and SAMHSA, is a recipient of the NIH Training Institute Award for Dissemination and Implementation Research on Health (TI-DIRH), and serves on the Addiction Health Services Research (AHSR) conference planning committee.
Selected Advisory and Service Activities
Journal Reviewer: Addictions; Implementation Science; Evaluation and Program Planning; Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment; Psychological Services; Criminal Justice and Behavior; Journal of Behavioral Health Services and Research
Grants Application Reviewer: National Institutes of Health; National Institute on Drug Abuse; Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration
Conference Planning Committee: Addiction Health Services Research (AHSR)
Selected Publications
Jones, S. D., Bartkowski, J. P., Belenko, S., Becan, J. E., Taxman, F. S., Wasserman, G. A., Aarons, G. A., McReynolds, L. S., Dolbear, C., Xu, X. (2025). Site engagement in implementation research: Introducing SEAMLIS as a conceptual and measurement framework. Health & Justice, 13, Article 44. https://doi.org/10.1186/s40352-025-00349-1.
Sease, T., Lehman, W., Pankow, J., Castillo, R., Becan, J., Charlier, J., Knight, K. (in press). Strategies for Improving Police Response Models involving Opioid Overdoses and Overdose Deaths. Journal of Multidisciplinary Studies in Human Rights and Science.
Sease, A.W., Carey, P., Becan, J.E., Wood, C., Knight, K. (in press). Achieving Policy Changes to Improve Access to Community Services: Best Practices for Researchers Engaging with Criminal Justice Partners. Journal of Correctional Health Care.
Sease, T., Castillo, R., Olson, D., Becan, J., Carabell, P., Malecka, M., Knight, K. (in press). Is Criminal History Associated with Substance Use and Substance Use Treatment Need Among People in Prison? Criminal Justice Review.
Molfenter, T., Ducharme, L., Stein, L., Belenko, S., Mitchell, S. G., Watson, D. P., Aalsma, M. C., Friedmann, P. D., Becan, J. E., Garner, B. R., Vechinski, J., Bouris, A., Claypool, E., & Elkington, K. (2024). A conceptual framework for assessing implementation strategy integrity. Implementation research and practice, 5, 26334895241297278. https://doi.org/10.1177/26334895241297278
Fallin-Bennett, A., Tillson, M., Webster, J. M., Oser, C. B., Becan, J. E., Knight, K., Byard, J., & Staton, M. (2024). Scales for participant Alliance with Recovery Coach (SPARC): initial development and pilot test. Addiction research & theory, 32(1), 20–26. https://doi.org/10.1080/16066359.2023.2182881
Joseph, E., Becan, J., Sease, T. B., Gainey, A., Preston, B., Knight, K., & Knight, D. (2023). Perceived barriers to treatment initiation amongst justice-involved youth and their caregivers. Journal of Crime and Criminal Behavior.
Knight, D.K., Belenko, S., Dennis, M.L., Wasserman, G.A., Joe, G.W., Aarons, G.A., Bartkowski, J.P., Becan, J.E., Elkington, K.S., Hogue, A., McReynolds, L.S., Robertson, A.A., Yang, Y., & Wiley, T.R.A (2022). The comparative effectiveness of Core versus Core+Enhanced implementation strategies in a randomized controlled trial to improve substance use treatment receipt among justice-involved youth. BMC Health Services Research. 22(1):1535. doi: 10.1186/s12913-022-08902-6. PMID: 36527067; PMCID: PMC9758864.
Knight, D., Becan, J., Olson, D., Davis, N. P., Jones, J., Wiese, A., Carey, P., Howell, D., & Knight, K. (2021). Justice community opioid Innovation network (JCOIN): The TCU research hub. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 1-5. doi: 10.1016/j.jsat.2021.108290
Knight, D.K., Belenko, S., Dennis, M.L., Wasserman, G. A., Joe, G. W., Aarons, G. A., Bartkowski, J. P., Becan, J. E., Elkington, K. S., Hogue, A., McReynolds, L. S., Robertson, A. A., Yang, Y., & Wiley, T. R. A. (2022). The comparative effectiveness of Core versus Core+Enhanced implementation strategies in a randomized controlled trial to improve substance use treatment receipt among justice-involved youth. BMC Health Services Research, 22(1), 1-16. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-022-08902-6
Knight, D. K., Becan, J. E., Olson, D., Davis, N. P., Jones, J., Wiese, A., Carey, P., Howell, D., & Knight, K. (2021). Justice Community Opioid Innovation Network (JCOIN): The TCU research hub. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment. 1
(5). https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0740547221000167
Adams, Z. W., Taylor, B. G., Flanagan, E., Kwon, E., Johnson-Kwochka, A. V., Elkington, K. S., Becan, J. E., & Aalsma, M. C. (2021). Opioid Use Disorder Stigma, Discrimination, and Policy Attitudes in a National Sample of U.S. Young Adults. Journal of Adolescent Health. 69 (2), 321- 328. doi: 10.1016/j.jadohealth.2020.12.142
Becan, J. E., Fisher, J. H., Johnson, I. D., Bartkowski, J. P., Seaver, R., Gardner, S. K., Aarons G. A., Renfro, T. L., Muiruri, R., Blackwell, L., Piper, K. N., Wiley, T. A., & Knight, D. K. (2020). Improving substance use services for juvenile justice-involved youth: Complexity of process improvement plans in a large-scale multi-site study. Administration and Policy in Mental Health, 47(4), 501-514. doi: 10.1007/s10488-019-01007-z
Elkington, K. S., Spaulding, A., Gardner, S., Knight, D., Belenko, S., Becan, J. E., Robertson, A. A., Oser, C., & DiClemente, R. (2020). A system-level intervention to encourage collaboration between juvenile justice and public health agencies to promote HIV/STI testing. AIDS Education Prevention, 32(4), 337-355. doi: 10.1521/aeap.2020.32.4.337
Huang, S., Gardner, S., Piper, K. N., Coleman, A. S., Becan, J. E., Robertson, A. A., & Elkington, K. S. (2020). Bridging Systems to Implement HIV/STI Programming Within the Juvenile Justice System: Strengths and Challenges of a Local Change Team Approach. AIDS Education and Prevention, 32(5), 432-453
Moullin, J. C., Dickson, K. S., Stadnick, N. A., Becan, J. E., Wiley, T., Phillips, J., Hatch, M., & Aarons, G. A. (2020). Exploration, Preparation, Implementation, Sustainment (EPIS) framework. In Handbook on Implementation Science. Edward Elgar Publishing.
Becan, J. E., Crawley, R. D., Knight, D. K. (2019). Using a Train-the-Trainer Model to Promote Practice Change among Agencies Serving Justice Involved Youth. Federal Probation Journal.
Knight, D. K., Joe, G. W., Becan, J. E., Crawley, R. D., Theisen, S. E., & Flynn, P. M. (2019). Effectiveness of an intervention for improving intrinsic motivation among adolescent males in a secure substance use treatment setting. Criminal Justice and Behavior, 46(1), 101-114. doi.org/10.1177/0093854818804857
Becan, J.E., Crawley, R.D., & Knight, D.K. (2019). Using a Train-the-Trainer Model to promote practice change among agencies serving justice-involved youth. Federal Probation, 83(3), 47-53.
Knight, D. K., Joe, G. W., Morse, D. T., Smith, C., Knudsen, H., Johnson, I. Wasserman, G., Arrigona, N., McReynolds, L., Becan, J. E., Leukefeld., C., & Wiley, T. (2019). Organizational context and individual adaptability in promoting perceived importance and use of best practices for substance use. Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research. DOI: 10.1007/s11414-018-9618-7.
Becan, J.E., Fisher, J.H., Johnson, I.D. et al. (2020). Improving substance use services for juvenile justice-involved youth: Complexity of process improvement plans in a large scale multi-site study. Adm Policy Mental Health. doi:10.1007/s10488-019-01007-z
Becan, J.E., Bartkowski, J., Knight, D.K., Wiley, T., DiClemente, R., Ducharme, L., Welsh, W., Bowser, D., McCollister, K., Hiller, M., Spaulding, A. C., Flynn, P. M., Swartzendruber, A., Dickson, M., Fisher, J. H., & Aarons, G. A. (2018). A Model for Rigorously Applying the Exploration, Preparation, Implementation, and Sustainment (EPIS) Framework in the Design and Measurement of a Large Scale Collaborative Multi-site Study. Health and Justice, 6:9. DOI: 10.1186/s40352-018-0068-3.
Joe, G. W., Becan, J. E., Knight, D. K., & Flynn, P. M. (2017). A structural model of treatment program and individual counselor leadership in innovation transfer. BMC Health Services Research, 17:230. DOI: 10.1186/s12913-017-2170.[abstract]
Knight, D. K., Belenko, S., Wiley, T., Robertson, A. A., Arrigona, N., Dennis, M., Bartkowski, J. P., McReynolds, L. S., Becan, J. E., Knudsen, H. K., Wasserman, G. A., Rose, E., DiClemente, R., Leukefeld, C., & the JJ-TRIALS Cooperative. (2016). Juvenile Justice—Translational Research on Interventions for Adolescents in the Legal System (JJ-TRIALS): A cluster randomized trial targeting system-wide improvement in substance use services. Implementation Science, 11(1), 57. DOI: 10.1186/s13012-016-0423-5 [abstract]
Knight, D. K., Joe, G. W., Crawley, R. D., Becan, J. E., Dansereau, D. F., & Flynn, P. M. (2016). The effectiveness of the Treatment Readiness and Induction Program (TRIP) for improving during-treatment outcomes. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 62, 20-27. PMCID: PMC4304896 [abstract]
Becan, J. E., Knight, D. K., Crawley, R. D., Joe, G. W., & Flynn, P. M. (2015). Effectiveness of the Treatment Readiness and Induction Program for increasing adolescent motivation for change. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 50, 38-49. PMCID: PMC4304896 [abstract]
Crawley, R. D., Becan, J. E., Knight, D. K., Joe, G. W., & Flynn, P. M. (2015). Predictors of physical altercation among adolescents in residential substance abuse treatment. Deviant Behavior, 36(12), 996-1018. PMCID: PMC4662565 [Available on 2016-10-29] [abstract]
Knight, D. K., Dansereau, D. F., Becan, J. E., Rowan, G. A., & Flynn, P. M. (2015). Effectiveness of a theoretically-based judgment and decision making intervention for adolescents. Journal of Youth and Adolescence, 44, 1024-1038. PMCID: PMC4208977 [abstract]
Landrum, B., Knight, D. K., Becan, J. E., & Flynn, P. M. (2015). To stay or not to stay: Adolescent client, parent, and counselor perspectives on leaving substance abuse treatment early. Journal of Child and Adolescent Substance Abuse, 24, 344-354.
Joe, G. W., Knight, D. K., Becan, J. E., & Flynn, P. M. (2014). Recovery among adolescents: Models for post-treatment gains in drug abuse treatments. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 46, 362-373. PMCID: PMC3947115 [abstract]
Knight, D. K., Becan, J. E., Landrum, B., Joe, G. W., & Flynn, P. M. (2014). Screening and assessment tools for measuring adolescent client needs and functioning in substance abuse treatment. Substance Use & Misuse, 49(7), 902-918. PMCID: PMC3998717 [abstract]
Knight, D. K., Becan, J. E., & Flynn, P. M. (2013, June). The impact of staff turnover on workplace demands and coworker relationships. Counselor: A Magazine for Addiction Professionals, 14(3), 20-23.
Becan, J. E., Knight, D. K., & Flynn, P. M. (2012). Innovation adoption as facilitated by a change-oriented workplace. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 42(2), 179-190. PMCID: PMC3268854 [abstract]
Knight, D. K., Becan, J. E., & Flynn, P. M. (2012). Organizational consequences of staff turnover in outpatient substance abuse treatment programs. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 42(2), 143-150. [abstract]
Knight, D. K., Landrum, B., Becan, J. E., & Flynn, P. M. (2012). Program needs and change orientation: Implications for counselor turnover. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 42(2), 159-168. PMCID: PMC3268900 [abstract]
Lehman, W. E. K., Becan, J. E., Joe, G. W., Knight, D. K., & Flynn, P. M. (2012). Resources and training in outpatient substance abuse treatment facilities. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 42(2), 169-178. PMCID: PMC3268892 [abstract]
Edwards, J. R., Knight, D. K., Flynn, P. M. (2011). Organizational correlates of service availability in outpatient substance abuse treatment programs. Journal of Behavioral Health Services & Research, 38, 432-443. [abstract]
Knight, D. K., Broome, K. M., Edwards, J. R., & Flynn, P. M. (2011). Supervisory turnover in outpatient substance abuse treatment. Journal of Behavioral Health Services and Research, 38, 80-90. PMCID: PMC2888979 [abstract]
Edwards, J. R., Knight, D. K., Broome, K. M., & Flynn, P. M. (2010). The development and validation of a transformational leadership survey for substance use treatment programs. Substance Use & Misuse, 45(9), 1279-1302. [abstract]
Knight, D. K., Edwards, J. R., & Flynn, P. M. (2010). Predictors of change in the provision of services within outpatient substance abuse treatment programs. Journal of Public Health Management and Practice, 16, 553-563. PMCID: PMC2978524 [abstract]
Broome, K. M., Knight, D. K., Edwards, J. R., & Flynn, P. M. (2009). Leadership, burnout, and job satisfaction in outpatient drug-free treatment programs. Journal of Substance Abuse Treatment, 37(2), 160-170. PMCID: PMC2752305 [abstract]