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July/August 2018 Update
The Justice & Prevention Research Center (JPRC) newsletter begins with our blog series, "From the JPRC Director's Desk." This article focuses on the role that high-profile tragedies have had on laws governing sex offenders in Massachusetts. We then highlight our upcoming event, focused on school safety, at the American Society of Criminology conference. We also highlight a new project in Pennsylvania dealing with substance abuse prevention and a new research position for which we are soliciting applications. We then summarize four new publications relevant to the needs of our subscribers, the current progress of the Nevada Governor's School Safety Task Force, and our planned presentations in the coming months. We conclude by introducing a new colleague in WestEd's Health & Justice Program.
FROM THE JPRC DIRECTOR'S DESK
How high-profile tragedies can impact policy: The case of Massachusetts sexually dangerous offender laws
 High-profile tragedies can have a powerful effect on subsequent policy and legislation. A good example is the case of sexually dangerous offender laws in Massachusetts. Prior to the 1940s, serious sex offenders were treated like other felony offenders, such as those committing robbery or homicide, receiving prison terms without regard to any special designation. In 1958, a pedophile molested and murdered two boys in Brockton. The case received tremendous media publicity and inspired new state legislation for handling sexual offenders, requiring persons committing a serious sexual offense to undergo special clinical diagnosis. If considered to be sexually dangerous, they would be sentenced indeterminately -- one day to life -- and confined at a new specialized facility for sex offender treatment, the Massachusetts Treatment Center (MTC). Any sex offender kept in the MTC would only be released when a special clinical review board considered the offender to no longer be dangerous.
Decades later, in the early 1990s, the MTC and its operations received more scrutiny and criticism after a rapist who had been in the MTC was released from custody, having been considered by the MTC clinicians to no longer be dangerous. After release, he raped and murdered two women. Following this case, the MTC remained open, but no new offenders were sent to the facility and only those sentenced under the 1958 law would remain there. Newly sentenced sex offenders would not be subject to the 1958 law but would automatically be sentenced just as other felony offenders.
In the late 1990s, a young boy in Cambridge was murdered by two pedophiles. In response to this crime and its publicity, the Massachusetts legislature passed a new law for handling sex offenders. Although sex offenders were going to be handled as regular felony offenders on the front end at sentencing, those committing certain sexual crimes would be evaluated before they could be released to ensure that they would not pose a danger to society upon release. Those found to be sexually dangerous would be confined indeterminately, after completing their criminal sentence, until a clinical board determined they were no longer dangerous.
The ways sexually dangerous offender laws have kept changing in Massachusetts highlight the powerful role that high-profile crimes and tragedies can play on subsequent legislation and policy. And such conditions can drown out the "voice" of research evidence. The only published study on the effectiveness of the MTC indicated that sexual offenders sent to the specialized facility had better post-release outcomes than sex offenders who were sent to the regular prison, and, given those recidivism outcomes, saved the state money. Yet, those findings were not able to overcome the strong opposition to the MTC when horrific crimes occurred. The JPRC is motivated to continue our research in this area and bring systematic inquiry to the study of high-profile tragedies and their role in the policy process.
SPECIAL EVENT
Special event at the November 2018 American Society of Criminology meeting
 Beginning with the November 2018 ASC meeting in Atlanta, the JPRC will organize and host a special event each year, including a guest speaker and subsequent reception.
For this year's meeting, we are delighted to announce that William Modzeleski (pictured), former Undersecretary of the U.S. Department of Education, and Director of its Safe and Drug Free Schools and Communities Office, will be presenting on school shootings and what research is needed from the criminological community to make a difference. Mr. Modzeleski is also an Adviser to the JPRC (see advisers here) and presented at the 2015 Congressional Briefing on School Safety and Violence Prevention.
The JPRC will host the event and reception on Thursday evening, November 15th, from 5:30-7:30 PM in room A602 in the Marriott Marquis Hotel in Atlanta.
Space is limited, so please RSVP to Anthony Petrosino at apetros@wested.org if you are attending this event.
NEW PROJECT
Montgomery County (PA) Drug and Alcohol Prevention Evaluation
 WestEd has been funded by the Office of Drug and Alcohol, Department of Health & Human Services, in Montgomery County (PA) to assist in evaluation planning, program evaluation implementation, and comprehensive reporting of alcohol and drug prevention programing in the county. Specifically, WestEd will be designing data collection procedures, training providers on data collection, and providing analysis and reporting for all evidence-based programs provided to schools as well as other prevention programing offered throughout the county. WestEd will also provide assistance with a countywide needs assessment process and future evaluation planning and recommendations throughout the three-year project.
NEW RESEARCH POSITION
 Come and join us at WestEd to help build important work that addresses the needs of children, adults, and communities. We have posted a new position for a research analyst (at the Research Associate level) within WestEd's Health & Justice Program. Specifically, we are looking for a person with Stata programming and statistical analysis skills. Learn more about the position and apply online.
NEW PUBLICATIONS
Five Misconceptions About School Shootings
 JPRC researchers Anthony Petrosino and Hannah Persson collaborated with one of the nation’s leading authorities on school shootings, Dr. Peter Langman, to produce this brief. The brief identifies five commonly held myths about school shootings and about the perpetrators. It also highlights one evidence-based strategy, threat assessment, that can be used by schools and law enforcement authorities to potentially thwart school safety threats.
This is the second brief on school safety issued by the JPRC. The first brief examined the research on the effects of school-based policing on school safety.
The Connected Youth Initiative: How Nebraska Is Working to Improve the Lives of Youth
 The JPRC has been funded by the Nebraska Children and Families Foundation since 2015 to conduct a formative and outcome evaluation of the Connected Youth Initiative (CYI). The CYI funds six community collaborations in rural Nebraska who in turn provide wraparound services to young people with experience in the foster care and juvenile justice systems, struggling with homelessness, or who are disconnected from a family structure. JPRC senior researcher Trevor Fronius authored a blog article that summarizes CYI and the evaluation project for the American Youth Policy Forum (AYPF) “Forum for Thought” section. An earlier article on CYI was published in WestEd’s R&D Alert.
Students Lead the Way: Creating a More Positive, Connected School Climate
 WestEd’s School Climate and Wellness Partnership (SCWP), led by its Health & Justice Program, provides tailored services to help schools and districts foster safe and supportive school environments. The SCWP team is currently collaborating with Jefferson Parish Public Schools (LA) to use student survey data to address issues such as connectedness and discipline. The collaboration has resulted in Jefferson Parish focusing on improving student engagement by utilizing such strategies as youth summits, “Climate Clubs,” and student-led implementation of restorative justice practices. You can read more about this effort and the services provided by WestEd’s SCWP team in an R&D Alert article. You can also view four webinars hosted by the SCWP as part of its "Moving the Needle on School Climate and Wellness Toward a Happier and Healthier School Community" series.
Healing Our Children: Insights on Trauma-informed Practices in Education
 A recent article in WestEd’s R&D Alert focuses on trauma-informed practices in education. This article interviews three WestEd experts to discuss the role of trauma in children’s lives and how it affects a child's behavior and ability to learn. The article also summarizes some of the trauma-informed practices that educators and others can implement.
EVENTS AND HAPPENINGS
Nevada Governor's school safety task force holds meetings, submits initial report
 As mentioned in prior issues, JPRC Director Anthony Petrosino is serving as a non-voting resource to the Nevada Governor's Task Force on School Safety, supported by the West Comprehensive Center. The formation of the Task Force as well as its materials and its May 3rd launch meeting were covered by the May/June JPRC newsletter.
The Task Force held two additional meetings on July 13 and August 27th. The Task Force fulfilled its mandate to present an initial report to the Governor by August 1st, with recommendations for strategies that can be implemented to improve school safety. The report, as well as all meeting agendas and materials, can be found at the Nevada Governor's School Safety Task Force website.
FORTHCOMING PRESENTATIONS
Presentation on Public Safety Canada project at the November 2018 American Evaluation Association annual meeting
 In 2016, the JPRC was awarded a contract from Public Safety Canada to conduct foundational research that would inform their efforts to create an evidence-based registry of crime-prevention studies in Canada. At the American Evaluation Association meeting in Cleveland, WestEd researchers will present results from each of the three major tasks funded by Public Safety Canada, including: reviewing crime-prevention evidence-based registries; systematically reviewing the available methods literature on how evaluations in crime prevention are assessed; and assessing a sample of Canada crime-prevention evaluations to determine the extent to which they address key validity considerations. The presentation will be held on Friday, November 2nd at 11:30.
Presentation on the Healthy U study at the November 2018 American Public Health Association meeting
 The JPRC is currently conducting a rigorous study of the impact of a teen pregnancy prevention program, Healthy U, on sexual health outcomes of juvenile offenders in Oregon. We will be presenting a paper on the Healthy U study at the November meeting of the American Public Health Association in San Diego (CA). The paper, entitled “Sexual health awareness among juvenile offenders in Oregon," will be part of a roundtable entitled How Might We Design and Test Innovative Interventions to Improve Adolescent Sexual and Reproductive Health? Part I. It will be held on November 13th from 10:30am-12:00pm.
Presentation on Atlanta Comprehensive School Safety Framework project at the October 2018 International Institute of Restorative Practices World Conference
 In 2016, WestEd's team in the Atlanta office were awarded a grant from the National Institute of Justice to develop and test a comprehensive framework for school safety in the Atlanta Public Schools (APS). At the International Institute of Restorative Practices World Conference in Detroit, WestEd researchers and their partners from the APS and Georgia State University will present a paper entitled "Social-emotional learning, positive behavioral intervention and supports, and restorative practices in Atlanta Public Schools."
Presentations on school safety and justice projects at the November 2018 American Society of Criminology
 The JPRC team and other WestEd staff will participate in several panels at the upcoming annual meeting of the American Society of Criminology (ASC) to be held in Atlanta in November 2018. ASC is a prestigious professional association devoted to crime and justice research.
Our team organized a panel, "School Safety Strategies: Findings from WestEd's Health and Justice Program," that will feature several studies funded under the Comprehensive School Safety Initiative of the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), including evaluations of the No Bully System in Oakland, Capturing Kids Hearts in South Carolina, and a study of school-based law enforcement, led by Texas State University.
In addition, WestEd will be participating in two panels organized by NIJ. The first, "School Resource Officers’ Training, Implementation and Influence on School Safety and Climate," will include a paper from the JPRC highlighting its work on the Texas State University project.
The second NIJ Panel, "Multi-Level and Multi-Component Approaches to Understanding and Intervening in School Safety and School Violence," will include a paper led by colleagues from WestEd's Atlanta office and will focus on their work in the Atlanta Public Schools.
The JPRC also organized a panel entitled "Addressing the Needs of Communities and Individuals," which will include presenting findings from projects funded by Robert Wood Johnson Foundation, the Annie E. Casey Foundation, and the aforementioned Healthy U study funded by the U.S. Department of Health & Human Services.
The JPRC is also presenting on a panel, "Evidence-based Crime Policy I," organized by the Campbell Collaboration’s Crime and Justice Coordinating Group. JPRC researchers will present a paper that summarizes a series of studies to assist Public Safety Canada in its consideration of an evidenced-based registry of crime prevention programs.
NEW HEALTH & JUSTICE PROGRAM TEAMMATE
It is our pleasure to introduce the newest member of our team: Breauna Spencer.
 Breauna Spencer has joined our Health & Justice Program via the American Evaluation Association (AEA) Graduate Evaluation Diversity Initiative (GEDI). The GEDI program places graduate students in an internship at an evaluation firm during the academic year to get hands-on training, supplemented by AEA’s professional development program. Breauna is currently enrolled at the University of California, Irvine, pursuing a doctoral degree in Sociology. Her research interests include examining the underrepresentation of women and minorities in engineering and computer science at both the undergraduate and graduate levels. You can learn more about Breauna here.
ABOUT US
WestEd Justice & Prevention Research Center (JPRC) is a WestEd initiative that collaborates with partners in funding, implementing, and evaluating programs that promote positive youth development, physical health and well-being, and prevention of risk behaviors, including violence. Keep current on the latest JPRC reports, research studies, projects, events, and news by subscribing to our monthly newsletter, visiting the JPRC website, or by emailing Anthony Petrosino, the director of JPRC, at apetros@wested.org.
WestEd is a nationally recognized nonprofit research, development, and service agency. The agency’s mission is to promote excellence, achieve equity, and improve social and learning outcomes for children, youth, and adults. WestEd has a long history of effective collaboration with local community, justice, and education agencies in implementing and evaluating successful programs that promote positive youth development, physical health and well-being, and prevention of risk behaviors, including violence.
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