Jill S. Levenson

Jill S. Levenson, Ph.D., LCSW, is a Professor of Social Work at Barry University in Miami, Florida, where she has been on the faculty since 2014, having previously taught at Lynn University from 2004 to 2014. She has been a practicing clinical social worker for over 30 years, working with survivors, offenders, and families impacted by sexual trauma. Levenson received her Ph.D. in social welfare from Florida International University in 2003, her MSW from the University of Maryland in 1987, and her BA in sociology from the University of Pittsburgh in 1985.

Levenson's polygraph-related research examined the use of polygraphy in the assessment and treatment of sexual perpetrators, with information that could be utilized by social workers involved in the treatment and case management of child sexual abuse cases. Her 2005 study with co-authors Kokish and Blasingame investigated client-reported perceptions of post-conviction sex offender polygraph examination (PCSOT), exploring both the utility and accuracy of polygraph testing from the offender's perspective. In 2009, she published "Sex Offender Polygraph Examination: An Evidence-Based Case Management Tool for Social Workers" in the Journal of Evidence Based Social Work, which reviewed the controversial literature regarding the validity and reliability of polygraph examination and discussed an emerging body of evidence supporting the utility of polygraph testing with sex offenders. Her work noted that because self-report among sexual abusers is unreliable, the use of polygraphy had become a helpful tool in the treatment and management of offenders.

In 2019, Levenson was named by the Journal of Social Service Research as one of the nation's top 100 social work scholars and received the Lifetime Achievement Award from the Association for the Treatment & Prevention of Sexual Abuse (ATSA). She was recognized as an ATSA Fellow in 2015 for significant contributions to the field of sexual abuse. She has published over 120 peer-reviewed articles and book chapters, with over 14,794 citations on Google Scholar. She has been a co-investigator or consultant on five grants funded by the U.S. Department of Justice. Her frequent collaborators include David Prescott, Gwenda Willis, and numerous colleagues in criminology and forensic psychology.

While known for her research into prevention of sexual violence, Levenson studies and treats both victimization and perpetration as well as policies related to management of people convicted of sexual crimes. Her broader research focuses on the relationship between adverse childhood experiences (ACEs) and adult psychosocial problems and criminality. She is a SAMHSA-certified internationally recognized expert in trauma-informed care, with a primary research focus on social policies and clinical interventions related to sexual abuse prevention. Her polygraph work from 2005-2009 represents an important but relatively brief phase of her extensive career examining evidence-based approaches to sex offender management and treatment.