Research Report – Behaviours and Beliefs Related to Cannabis before Legalization

Over the past few years, the government of Canada has been preparing to legalize, regulate and restrict access to non-medical cannabis. Understanding the changes in perceptions and behaviours of those who use cannabis before and after the change in regime is important, as it will help to develop public safety policy and program initiatives, including education and crime prevention activities.

Research Summary – Behaviours and Beliefs Related to Cannabis before Legalization

Over the past few years, the government of Canada has been preparing to legalize, regulate and restrict access to non-medical cannabis. Understanding the changes in perceptions and behaviours of those who use cannabis before and after the change in regime is important, as it will help to develop public safety policy and program initiatives, including education and crime prevention activities.

Research Summary – Measuring Public Attitudes towards the Police – Technical Report

Currently, there is no common approach across Canada to measure public attitudes towards the police. The objective of this study was to develop empirically-informed indicators that can be used by Canadian police services for this purpose. This report is part of a larger project led by Public Safety Canada and Halifax Regional Police, in consultation with the policing community, to establish evidence-based indicators as a common data standard.

On the 6th and 7th of June 2019, experts on technology in probation gathered in Vienna for the 3rd Expert Meeting. The meeting focused on national presentations, as well as the presentations of two invited speakers, professor Ioan Durnescu from Romania and Mr. Pedro Ferreira Marum from Belgium.

The meeting was opened by Mr. Imants Jurevičius, Latvia Vice President of CEP and Chair of the Expert Group on Technology. He gave a brief overview on the background of the group. He mentioned that the first meeting was held in Stockholm three years ago, the second one in Helsinki last year and this third meeting in Vienna, hosted by the Austrian Probation service Neustart. Imants stressed that even if the focus for the group is technology, it is very important to stay on the path of probation and that we can learn from each other instead of developing the same things parallel in different countries.

Presentation 

Pedro Ferreira Marum: “New technologies vs. probation mission’

‹ Previous Next ›

Presentations

The futures of probation. If technology is the answer, what is the question?

By Ioan Durnescu

The implementation of risk and resources oriented probation in the electronic documentation system

By  Miriam Zillner and Jürgen Kaiser, Austria

Developing a probation service application for mobile devices

By Severine Hausman, Baden-Württemberg, Germany

Prison and Probation Information System and staff education via video link

By Goran Brkic, Croatia

GPS monitoring as a condition for release on probation of gang members

By Sarah Eknudd, Denmark

Technology developments in the Probation App, Jersey Supervision Skills Checklist and in rehabilitative work of crime related gambling problems

By Pia Andersson, Finland

Technology to Support Engagement with Service Users and Assist Staff

By Gillian Montgomery, Northern Ireland

Daily News 02 / 07 / 2019

Brussels, 2 July 2019

Horizon 2020: Commission to invest €11 billion in new ways to address societal challenges and boost jobs and growth

Today the European Commission announced how it will spend the last and biggest annual share of €11 billion of the EU research and innovation funding programme Horizon 2020. In this final year the Commission will focus on fewer and crucial topics such as climate change, clean energy, plastics, cybersecurity and the digital economy, supporting further the Commission's political priorities. The budget plan will also be geared towards preparing the way for Horizon Europe, the next framework programme (2021-2027) for research and innovation that will feature an important novelty, the European Innovation Council. The latter is a one-stop-shop for innovation funding aimed to turn science into new business and accelerate the scale-up of companies. It is already running in its pilot phase and will benefit from a budget of €1.2 billion in 2020 (for more information see also this factsheet). Carlos Moedas, Commissioner for Research, Science and Innovation, said: "Horizon 2020 is generating new knowledge and technologies, and has a strong economic impact. For every 100 euro we invest through Horizon 2020, we expect to add 850 euro to our GDP by 2030, creating millions of jobs for Europeans. That is why we have proposed €100 billion for the next Horizon Europe programme, to boost the EU's competitiveness, innovation capacities and scientific excellence."Horizon 2020, the EU's €77 billion research and innovation funding programme for 2014-2020, supports scientific excellence in Europe and has contributed to high-profile scientific breakthroughs such as the discovery of exoplanets, first images of a black hole and development of advanced vaccines for diseases such as Ebola. For more information about this year's budget plan under Horizon 2020 see here. For key facts and figures on the €2.8 billion investment in 2020 for four focus areas see this factsheet. (For more information: Lucía Caudet - Tel.: +32 229 56182; Marietta Grammenou - Tel.: +32 229 83583)

UNHCR, the UN Refugee Agency, is today calling for US$210 million to assist and protect thousands of refugees and others travelling each year through North and Sub-Saharan Africa, many of whom fall prey to traffickers or smugglers and end up suffering appalling human rights abuses.

UNHCR’s appeal is for a comprehensive programme of support that prevents people from falling in to the hands of smugglers and traffickers in the first place, provides meaningful alternatives to dangerous journeys in first countries of asylum, and offers increased humanitarian assistance and support to survivors of human rights violations and abuses.  

At the same time, UNHCR is urging States to address a dangerous gap in sea rescue capacity on the Mediterranean, to do more to dismantle smuggling and trafficking networks, and to hold those responsible to account through all available legal mechanisms. Renewed efforts must be made to develop complementary pathways for refugees to find solutions, including through more effective access to family reunification reunion procedures.

“With more than 15 conflicts on the African continent, thousands of people will continue to move with often unrealistic and misinformed expectations,” said Vincent Cochetel, UNHCR Special Envoy for the Central Mediterranean. “They face grave danger, and even death, in the hands of smugglers and traffickers. We must do more to prevent the rising numbers who fall prey to those who seek to profit from vulnerability and despair.”

At least 507 people are estimated to have died or gone missing on the Central and Western Mediterranean Sea in 2019. The number of people who die on smuggling and trafficking routes before even reaching the sea is unknown, but is likely to be even higher.

Those who survive face widespread human rights abuses on their journey from Sub-Saharan African through North Africa, including torture, beatings, extortion, and being forced in to slavery. Women and girls in particular are at risk of rape and sexual assault. Some suffer at the hands of smugglers and traffickers for more than a year.

Despite the efforts of UNHCR and other humanitarian organisations, risks and abuses along the route continue to rise. Increasing numbers of people who have travelled the route are found to be suffering from extremely poor health and psychological trauma. As a result, many of the individuals who have travelled the route, who may otherwise not qualify for refugee status, may be in need of other forms of humanitarian protection.

View full document 

As part of the PRoTECT project, Efus and the city of Brasov (RO) are organising a seminar on “Identifying vulnerabilities and mitigating the risk of terrorist threats on public spaces: Cooperation between all stakeholders”, on 17 July in Brasov. A presentation will be made of the tool developed by the European Commission to evaluate the vulnerability of public spaces and its accompanying handbook. Paul van Soomerne is Keynote speaker.

The seminar will be an occasion to present the “Soft Target Site Assessment” and the accompanying manual for local authorities, as well as the results from five pilot assessments in the five partner cities. It will also be an opportunity to exchange on the need to strengthen cooperation among all stakeholders involved in order to respond to new threats against public spaces.

The European Crime Prevention Award (ECPA) and Best Practice Conference (BPC) will take place on 12 December 2019 in Helsinki, Finland. The theme is 'the reduction and prevention of drug-related crime and harm caused by drug abuse among young people'.

Entries for the ECPA should be submitted through the National Representative of each Member State to the EUCPN Secretariat, the deadline is 27th of September 2019

10/12/2018

Antisemitic hate speech, harassment and fear of being recognised as Jewish; these are some of the realities of being Jewish in the EU today. It appears to be getting worse, finds a major repeat survey of Jews from the EU Agency for Fundamental Rights, the largest ever of its kind worldwide.

“Decades after the Holocaust, shocking and mounting levels of antisemitism continue to plague the EU,” says FRA Director Michael O’Flaherty. “Member States must take note and step up their efforts to prevent and combat antisemitism. Jewish people have a right to live freely, without hate and without fear for their safety.”

FRA’s report ‘Experiences and perceptions of antisemitism - Second survey on discrimination and hate crime against Jews in the EU’ outlines the survey findings.

They point to rising levels of antisemitism. About 90% of respondents feel that antisemitism is growing in their country. Around 90% also feel it is particularly problematic online, while about 70% cite public spaces, the media and politics as common sources of antisemitism.

Almost 30% have been harassed, with those being visibly Jewish most affected.

Antisemitism appears to be so deep-rooted in society that regular harassment has become part of their normal everyday life. Almost 80% do not report serious incidents to the police or any other body. Often this is because they feel nothing will change.

Over a third avoid taking part in Jewish events or visiting Jewish sites because they fear for their safety and feel insecure. The same proportion have also even considered emigrating.

Such results underline the need for Member States to take urgent and immediate action. In doing so they need to work closely together with a broad range of stakeholders, particularly Jewish communities and civil society organisations, to roll out more effective measures to prevent and fight antisemitism.

This includes strengthening Holocaust education and awareness raising activities, keeping Jewish communities and sites safe, and regularly monitoring hate crime towards Jews. Regular victimisation surveys would help assess the effectiveness of laws and policies.

In addition, all Member States should fully and correctly transpose EU laws to protect victims and to counter racism into their national law. This would help ensure victims get the support they deserve and perpetrators are sentenced with effective, proportionate and dissuasive criminal penalties. This would, in turn, encourage victims and witnesses to speak out and report incidents.

The results cover 12 Member States where over 96% of the EU’s estimated Jewish population live. Over 16,000 Jews aged 16 or over took part in the online survey from May to June 2018. It builds on the first survey’s results and opinions published in 2013.

For more please consult the findings and methodology Q&As or contact: media@fra.europa.eu (link sends e-mail) / Tel.: +43 1 580 30 642

Note to editors: This report comes after CNN released its own poll (link is external) highlighting that “anti-Semitic stereotypes are alive and well in Europe, while the memory of the Holocaust is starting to fade”.

Downloads: 

FRA Press Release: Persistent antisemitism hangs over EU

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Experiences and perceptions of antisemitism: findings Q&A

[pdf]en (211.01 KB)

Experiences and perceptions of antisemitism: survey methodology Q&A

[pdf]en (181.59 KB)

EU: Daily News 04 / 07 / 2019

Today, the European Commission presents together with the Fundamental Rights Agency (FRA) a survey on the “Experiences and perceptions of antisemitism” of young Jewish Europeans in the EU. The report shows that four in five young Jewish Europeans have declared that antisemitism is a problem in their country, and believed it to have increased over the past five years. Moreover, 44% of young Jewish Europeans experienced antisemitic harassment. 80% of the young victims, however, have not reported harassment to the police, or to any other authority. European Commissioner for Justice, Consumers and Gender Equality, Věra Jourová said: “Young Jewish Europeans are very attached to their Jewish identity. I am saddened that they fear for their security in Europe, do not dare to wear a kippah and some even consider emigrating. We need to act fast to combat antisemitism in Europe and join our efforts to keep our youth safe. We want young Jewish citizens to grow up in Europe feeling they fully belong here. Antisemitism is a threat to our European values. This is why we made fighting it a priority and work closely with Member States to ensure they are fully part of our Union.” The Commission has undertaken many actions over the last years to fight antisemitism and launched the Working Group on antisemitism last week, following the unanimous adoption of the Council Declaration on fighting antisemitism. The full survey results, as well as a press release are available online. (For more information: Christian Wigand +32 2 229 62253; Melanie Voin +32 2 229 58659)

This webinar will provide an introduction to the kinds of questions qualitative evidence syntheses explore, and the iterative processes involved with formulating and refining them. These processes include problem framing, constructing preliminary frameworks or logic models, identifying potential lines of inquiry, scoping the evidence-base and employing appropriate question frameworks.

A practical toolbox for youth workers and recommendations for policymakers : results of the expert group set up under the European Union work plan for youth for 2016-2018

This practical guidance and toolbox are aimed at youth workers who deal with the integration process of young migrants. It provides tips, advice and guidance to youth workers and youth organisations, as extracted from best practice examples across Europe. Moreover, it advises how to draft a toolbox that aims to be practical within a specific geographical area (municipality, region, country) and with a specific dimension (according to the grid of this report).

The Sexual Violence Research Initiative and World Bank Group have launched a new call for proposals aimed at advancing research on violence against women in low- and middle-income countries.

Deadline for applications is 13th September 2019 at 11:59:59pm South African Standard Time (5:59:59pm EDT). Apply online here: https://proposalcentral.altum.com/

• Grant Guidelines English
• Grant Guidelines Spanish

In cooperation with the European Organisation for Correctional Services (EuroPris), Confederation of European Probation (CEP) organises a workshop with the focus on interagency cooperation between prisons, probation and municipalities when preparing offenders for their return to society. The Workshop will take place on the 12th and 13th of November in Barcelona at the Centre for Legal Studies. 

If you are interested in presenting during this workshop, a call for papers is open until the 31st of July. 

For more information about the workshop, please visit the CEP website

Around 87,000 women were killed around the world last year, some 50,000 - or 58 per cent - at the hands of intimate partners or family members. This amounts to some six women being killed every hour by people they know, according to new research published by the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) today.

The study, released for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, examines available homicide data to analyse the gender-related killing of women and girls, with a specific focus on intimate partner and family-related homicide and how this relates to the status and roles of women in society and the domestic sphere.

"While the vast majority of homicide victims are men, women continue to pay the highest price as a result of gender inequality, discrimination and negative stereotypes.  They are also the most likely to be killed by intimate partners and family," said UNODC Executive Director Yury Fedotov.

"Targeted criminal justice responses are needed to prevent and end gender-related killings. UNODC is releasing this research for the International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women 2018 to increase understanding and inform action."

Looking at the rate of female victims of homicide by intimate partners or family members, the study found that the global rate was around 1.3 victims per 100,000 female population.

In terms of geographical distribution, Africa and the Americas are the regions where women are most at risk of being killed by intimate partners or family members. In Africa, the rate was around 3.1 victims per 100,000 female population, while the rate in the Americas was 1.6 victims, in Oceania 1.3 and in Asia 0.9. The lowest rate was found in Europe, with 0.7 victims per 100,000 female population.

According to the study, tangible progress in protecting and saving the lives of female victims of intimate partner/family-related homicide has not been made in recent years, despite legislation and programmes developed to eradicate violence against women.

The conclusions highlight the need for effective crime prevention and criminal justice responses to violence against women that promote victim safety and empowerment while ensuring offender accountability. The study also calls for greater coordination between police and the justice system as well as health and social services and emphasizes the importance of involving men in the solution, including through early education.

***

The booklet on gender-related killing of women and girls is available here:  https://www.unodc.org/documents/data-and-analysis/GSH2018/GSH18_Gender-related_killing_of_women_and_girls.pdf and is the first part of the Global Study on Homicide which is due to be launched in early 2019.

Entorf, Horst & Lange, Martin, 2019.

IZA Discussion Papers 12229, Institute of Labor Economics (IZA).

• Abstract

  In this article, we examine anti-foreigner hate crime in the wake of the large influx of asylum seekers to Germany in 2014 and 2015. By exploiting the quasi-experimental assignment of asylum seekers to German regions, we estimate the causal effect of an unexpected and sudden change in the share of the foreign-born population on anti-foreigner hate crime. Our county-level analysis shows that not simply the size of regional asylum seeker inflows drives the increase in hate crime, but the rapid compositional change of the residential population: Areas with previously low shares of foreign-born inhabitants that face large-scale immigration of asylum seekers witness the strongest upsurge in hate crime. Economically deprived regions and regions with a legacy of anti-foreigner hate crimes are also found to be prone to hate crime against refugees. However, when we explicitly control for East-West German differences, the predominance of native-born residents at the local level stands out as the single most important factor explaining the sudden increase in hate crime.

   

A practical guide to service user involvement in community justice that can contribute to service innovation, and help recovery and support desistance from offending, has been produced by the University of Strathclyde and the Centre for Youth & Criminal Justice (CYCJ).

‘Inclusive Justice: Co-producing Change’ is the result of a two year action research project, commissioned by Community Justice Ayrshire and written by Dr Beth Weaver, Senior Lecturer in Social Work at the University of Strathclyde, Dr Claire Lightowler, Director of CYCJ and Kristina Moodie, CYCJ’s Research Associate.

The guide aims to support professionals and service users in working together to shape the design, development and delivery of criminal and community justice services.

It builds on learning from the process of establishing three Ayrshire based service user involvement groups, which involved people supported by services and those working in social enterprises, local authorities, third sector organisations and research, documenting the process of implementation from inception and distilling that learning into a practical ‘how to’ manual.

Dr Beth Weaver said:

“Service user involvement in the context of community justice has many benefits – not just for the individual but for services and society as a whole. It can support desistance and recovery, by altering the way people see themselves and their own potential, as well as how others see them and, by providing opportunities for those who have offended to shape change, it can enhance the effectiveness and credibility of services, and promote citizenship, social and community justice.

“People were telling us that one of the biggest barriers to pursuing service user development was that they just didn’t know where to start. It is after all a complex and ambiguous concept, involving many different approaches, methods and expectations, and there is a lack of robust research into the development and outcomes of projects. We hope that this practical guide will address this, by giving a useful and accessible background and providing both service users and professionals with the rights tools and confidence to take that first step and from there, to work collectively and collaboratively to co-produce change and work in the direction of a more inclusive approach to justice.”

While guides on how to go about enlisting and engaging service users are now relatively commonplace, there are few documents that can be drawn on to inform the development, implementation and maintenance of a coordinated strategy for service user involvement in criminal and community justice.

Research into organisations that have attempted to implement service user involvement, even to a small degree, is even more limited – especially in community justice where such practices remain comparatively scarce. The practice guide, informed by research, addresses this gap.

As well as providing a background to the theory, principles, methods and approaches, the guide features practical step by step guidance on supporting service user involvement. It also considers common concerns and challenges, both amongst service users and practitioners, and includes an appendix on evaluation.

If you would like to get in touch with any feedback or discuss in more detail, please email elizabeth.fawcett@strath.ac.uk.

Hosted by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Bureau of Justice Assistance and the Vera Institute of Justice

Date: Thursday, July 18
Time: 1–2:15 p.m. ET

Law enforcement officers frequently come in contact with people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (I/DD) but often do not receive specialized training on how to identify and interact with people with I/DD. The more knowledge officers have on this topic, the more successful they can be when identifying the disability and communicating with people with I/DD. This webinar provides 10 practical tips officers can use to effectively serve this population. Additionally, the webinar presenters will share information about how officers can seek further training through the “Pathways to Justice” law enforcement module.

During the webinar, participants will hear from the Serving Safely: The National Initiative to Enhance Policing for Persons with Mental Illnesses and Developmental Disabilities team–a collaborative effort between BJA, the Vera Institute of Justice, and partners in the fields of policing, mental illness, I/DD, crisis intervention, peer advocacy, emergency medicine, technology development, and prosecution.

Webinar presenters will include:

• Leigh Ann Davis, Director, The Arc’s National Center on Criminal Justice and Disability;
• Ben Melendrez, Detective of the Crisis Intervention Unit, Albuquerque, Arizona Police Department;
• Leah Pope, Program Director, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Program, Vera Institute of Justice;
• James Turner, Senior Police Officer and Crisis Intervention Training Officer, Austin, Texas Police Department.

Register for the webinar today. This webinar is open to all criminal justice professionals, so please feel free to share with your network.

July 5, 2019

Zeb Holmes

A new study into the Queensland lockout laws has found that they have offered virtually no benefit in reducing violence or curbing dangerous alcohol consumption.

Researchers from the University of Queensland, Griffith University and the Queensland University of Technology studied the effect of the laws from 2014 to 2017. This included looking at blood alcohol readings outside affected areas, interviewing bar patrons and collecting crime data.

Findings

The researchers found that after lockout laws were introduced, people were more likely to attend licensed establishments at later times, were consuming the same amount as before the laws whilst inside and were accordingly more intoxicated when they left.

The laws were found to have contributed to patrons drinking more alcohol at home before leaving for licensed premises, and that they generally left the establishments with blood alcohol concentrations that were higher than before the laws.

“Study results were consistent with our predictions that following the introduction of the legislation, patrons increased their alcohol preloading and entered NEDs (night-time entertainment districts) later,” Griffith University Associate Professor Grant Devilly stated.

“People were substantially more inebriated as they entered the NEDs after the legislative change.”

Significantly, the study found no reduction in overall violent assaults.

Queensland laws

Queensland lockout laws require licensed venues to call last drinks by 2am, or 3am for places designated as “party” or “Safe Night precincts”.

Venues are prohibited from selling high alcohol content and “rapid consumption” drinks such as shots after midnight.

“We need interventions to address the specific needs of the night-time economies in Queensland,” Dr Devilly remarked.

“Alcohol-related problems in the city’s entertainment districts need to both increase the community’s understanding of alcohol’s effects and take preloading into account.”

NSW laws

The New South Wales Liquor Amendment Act 2014 was introduced by the State Government in February 2014, in response to several reported incidents of alcohol-fuelled violence.

The legislation generally requires licensed venues in the Sydney CBD, Kings Cross, Darlinghurst, The Rocks and Haymarket to impose lockouts at 1.30am and last drinks at 3am.

In 2016, the laws were reviewed by former High Court Justice Ian Callinan, who made some recommendations for concessions.

Mr Callinan’s review looked into the effectiveness of the laws in reducing alcohol-fuelled violence in lockout areas but, significantly, did not consider the shift of violent crimes to other areas and into homes, nor the enormous impact of the laws on businesses and employment.

The review led to the extension of lockouts and last drinks by half an hour for many venues. Takeaway and home delivery alcohol sales were also extended from 10pm to 11pm across NSW.

Impact on violent crime

A report by the NSW Bureau of Crime Statistics and Research (BOCSAR), released in April 2015, showed a 26% reduction in assaults in the lockout areas, and a 32% reduction in assaults in Kings Cross.

This account, therefore, reported that assaults in lockout areas decreased significantly, but it made clear that “the extent to which this is due to a change in alcohol consumption or a change in the number of people visiting the Kings Cross and Sydney Entertainment Precincts remains unknown.”

A March 2017 report, however, revealed a 12% increase in assaults in areas adjacent to lockout precincts, and a 17% increase in “easy-to-reach” areas such as Ultimo, Surry Hills, Bondi Beach, Coogee and Newtown.

The report showed a 13% decline in the Sydney CBD and 49% in Kings Cross, but commentators note that this corresponded with falls in foot traffic of up to 80% at night.

BOCSAR believes the displacement of violence is “of concern”, suggesting the situation be monitored over a number of suburbs and not just lockout areas.

Invitation to Apply for Competitive Trainee Award

Rationale: Child abuse and neglect is a significant public health concern in the United States and around the

world. According to recent statistics, in fiscal year 2017, there were over three million referrals for some form of

child maltreatment and more than 1,700 deaths during the year attributable to child abuse and neglect. The

magnitude of the problem, the devastating short and long term consequences, and the importance of cooccurring

contextual factors make this a challenging area of research requiring research from multiple

disciplines. Despite the scope, size, and costs associated with child abuse and neglect, however, there is a

dearth of scholars trained to conduct research in child abuse and neglect. As noted in the Institute of

Medicine (2014) report by the Committee on Child Maltreatment Research, Policy, and Practice for the Next

Decade, “Existing research and service system infrastructures are not sufficient for responding to this public

health challenge”.

This annual summer training institute is designed to help assure a continued pipeline of researchers interested

in advancing science regarding abuse and neglect. This requires an innovative, multi-disciplinary approach

that can take into account the multi-determined nature of this public health problem and its multiple and

cascading outcomes. Competitively selected trainees will receive awards to attend a week long summer

institute. Training activities of the institute will begin prior to the summer and extend beyond the on-site weeklong

training to include individual follow-up mentoring provided by trainers matched to participants’ interests.

Institute presenters (trainers) represent diverse fields (e.g., anthropology, criminology, genetics, law,

medicine, psychology, public health, and social work), methodological expertise, and cultural backgrounds.

This project is funded by the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development (NICHD) and

administered through a collaboration of two senior scholars (Drs. Melissa Jonson-Reid from Washington

University and Cathy Spatz Widom from John Jay College of Criminal Justice at the City University of New

York).

This competitive award will fund 15 early career or transitioning scholars with backgrounds in a variety

disciplines, including criminology, economics, law, neuroscience, genetics, medicine, psychology, psychiatry,

public health, public policy, social work, or sociology. Applicants need not have expertise in child maltreatment

but must have some training related to children’s health and development prior to the summer institute. Costs

of materials, food, lodging, travel, and communication with mentors are provided as part of the award. The

2020 summer training institute will be held in New York City, New York.

Timeline:

• October 15, 2019 - January 10, 2020: Applications accepted

• January 10, 2020: Final due date for applications

• February 14, 2020: Awardees will be notified and pre-seminar readings will be distributed.

• June 1 – June 5, 2020: 4 1/2 day seminar to be held at John Jay College in New York City.

• Mid-June, 2020: Follow-up calls with mentors

• July 17, 2020: Submission of final draft of brief research proposal (6 pages)

• August 15, 2020: Trainees receive feedback and suggestions for funding

Participant Commitment:

Trainees must be able to attend the on-site training, complete the readings prior to the seminar, and adhere

to the timeline for research plans.

Eligibility:

Applicants must have completed their PhD or MD (or equivalent degree). Applicants must meet early

career scientist criteria [meaning that the scholars must not yet have been a PI on any grant beyond the R03

or R21 (developmental) levels] OR be established researchers who are interested in transitioning to research

on child maltreatment but lack methodological training in this area.

All participants will be required to have some training related to children’s health or development to serve as a

foundation for participation. However, prior training specific to child maltreatment is not needed. Participants

must demonstrate an interest in pursuing research relevant to epidemiology (causes and consequences),

prevention, or intervention in the area of child maltreatment. Participants must also indicate how this training

will advance them in their chosen careers.

For this institute, we will accept up to 15 participants with a minimum of at least four different specialties or

disciplines represented. Applicants from under-represented ethnic/racial groups, persons with disabilities, or

persons from disadvantaged backgrounds are especially encouraged to apply.