Dr. Blumenstein awarded College of Health Women's Issues Mini-grant to study students' understanding of sexual misconduct

Dr. Lindsey Blumenstein, Justice faculty, was recently awarded a 2015 UAA College of Health Women's Issues Mini-grant. 

The title of her research project is "Sexual Victimization of Women on College Campuses: How Do UAA Students Define and Identify Sexual Misconduct?"

The main goal of this project is to empirically evaluate which types of sexual violence students at UAA define and do not define as sexual victimization. Using focus group discussions with students across the UAA campus, this project will examine how students’ definitions of victimization affect their decisions to identify and report sexual misconduct. Male and female students will be invited to participate in separate focus group discussions.

To start a dialog on how and why students define sexual misconduct, scenarios will be presented during the focus groups. Collectively, these focus group discussions will provide a comprehensive understanding of how sexual misconduct is understood by students across our campus.

Dr. Blumenstein's research areas include intimate partner violence, campus sexual assault, substance abuse, and criminological theory. 

Dr. Rivera awarded competitive grant from Alaska Dept. of Health and Social Services to evaluate Chronic Inebriate Anti-Recidivism Treatment Program - Permanent Supportive Housing Program

Dr. Marny Rivera, Justice faculty, was recently awarded a competitive research grant from the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services to evaluate Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) and Intensive Case Management (ICM) programs that are part of an anti-recidivism pilot project for the chronically homeless population in the Anchorage area, many of whom have co-occurring mental health and substance abuse disorders. The pilot project is unique in the provision of intensive community-based treatment services in addition to permanent and supportive housing.

Assertive Community Treatment (ACT) is a client-centered, recovery-oriented behavioral health service delivery model that has received substantial empirical support for reducing psychiatric hospitalizations, facilitating community living, and enhancing recovery for persons with serious mental illness.  ACT is designed specifically for persons who have the most severe and persistent mental illnesses, and who historically have not benefited from traditional outpatient programs.  ACT in Anchorage will prioritize treatment toward individuals with a history of chronic homelessness and interactions with the criminal justice system, and/or high use of psychiatric emergency services.

Intensive Case Management (ICM) is a service delivery model in which case managers, working in teams, provide intensive community-based treatment, coordinate with other service providers, and develop strong therapeutic relationships with individuals.  This approach helps individuals get access to needed treatment and supports necessary to achieve stability and an improved quality of life.  ICM in Anchorage will serve individuals who have been identified as top users of the Anchorage Safety Center (ASC) for public intoxication.

Both service models are based on stable housing as the platform for recovery using the Housing First approach, which minimizes barriers to housing entry by not excluding an individual from services or housing based on sobriety; this ensures that individuals who are in the most need of services are prioritized.

Using these two approaches, the goal is to see housing stability, decreased use of acute care settings, reduced interactions with the criminal justice system, and an improved quality of life for the individuals served through these programs.  

Dr. Rivera's evaluation will provide an important quantitative and qualitative assessment of how these evidence-based best practices - ACT and ICM - will work here in Alaska.

Dr. Payne and Dr. Aguiniga awarded College of Health interdisciplinary grant to study youth homelessness in Anchorage

Dr. Troy Payne, Justice faculty, and Dr. Donna Aguiniga, School of Social Work faculty, have been awarded one of two College of Health (COH) grants for interdisciplinary research. Their research is titled “Space, place, and home: Mapping the social environment of Anchorage homeless populations.” 

This is a pilot study to develop data collection and analysis methodology that includes place and geography in semi-structured interviews with homeless youth (18-24 years old) in Anchorage. This approach will also allow researchers to study where, when, and with whom various events and perceptions occur.The project is in partnership with Covenant House Alaska.

Drs. Payne and Aguiniga will be adapting methodology used by researchers at the University of Pennsylvania to study the routines of violence-involved youth. Dr. Payne saw Dr. Doug Wiebe of U Penn make a presentation on this methodology at the 2014 Environmental Criminology and Crime Analysis (ECCA) Symposium in Kerkrade, The Netherlands, and realized the possibility of utilizing this approach to study homeless youth in Anchorage.  

Two projects were selected by COH for funding. Both project teams will present their study design, implementation, and progress report at a COH-wide event in May 2015, complete their study by December 2015, and submit their study findings for publication and/or submit a proposal for external funding by May 2016.

Prof. Periman presents at CAFE faculty development appreciation award breakfast April 11

Standing l to r: Prof. Deb Periman and Prof. Brannon discuss the results of their course revisions.

 Prof. Deb Periman, J.D., Justice faculty, and justice library liaison Prof. Page Brannon presented at the Center for Academic Excellence (CAFE) 6th Annual Faculty Development Appreciation Award Breakfast on April 11. The event highlighted the many faculty development initiatives taking place in the UAA system.

Provost "Bear" Baker (at podium) welcomes the group.

One of these initiatives is the Embedding Information Literacy into the Curriculum Program, a partnership with CAFE and the UAA/APU Consortium Library.  Mini-grants were awarded to faculty to assist them in embedding information literacy into a course. 

Prof. Periman was awarded a mini-grant and collaborated with justice library liaison Prof. Page Brannon, on revisions to the course "Legal Ethics and the Role of the Legal Paraprofessional."  They spoke to the group about the results of these revisions. The revisions included an emphasis on library-related student research and focused on allowing students to learn, reinforce, and master information literacy skills relevant to the course level.

Prof. Knudsen and Prof. Kessler receive College of Health interdisciplinary education grant

Prof. Kristin Knudsen, J.D., Justice faculty and Prof. Bree Kessler, Department of Health Sciences, have been awarded a College of Health Interdisciplinary Education Grant.

Together they will be developing a half-day mock trial event related to a health care topic. The mock trial will take place in Fall 2014 and provide an interactive learning environment for the discussion of health and law.

Fall 2014 students in Prof. Knudsen's LEGL 385 Health Care Law and Prof. Kessler's HS 220 Core Concept in Health Sciences classes will participate in the mock trial as one of the lawyers, judges, or jurors in the case. They will be given relevant court case information and course materials to assist them in preparing.

Prof. Knudsen and Prof. Kessler note that the goal of this collaboration is to allow students to better understand each others' areas of study and to interact in a classroom prior to interacting in their real world field.  Students training in a science-based curriculum are accustomed to evidence-based protocols, while students in legal training are taught to navigate uncertainty and risk. 

AJSAC awarded grant for Alaska Sexual Assault & Domestic Violence Case Processing Project

Dr. Brad Myrstol, Justice Center faculty and Director of the Alaska Justice Statistical Analysis Center (AJSAC), received a research grant award in the amount of $79,000 from the U.S. Department of Justice, Bureau of Justice Statistics.

The grant funds will be used to support a new AJSAC research initiative called the Alaska Sexual Assault and Domestic Violence Case Processing Project, a collaborative project with the Alaska Department of Public Safety, the Alaska Department of Law, and the Alaska Department of Health and Social Services, Division of Juvenile Justice.

The primary objective of the project is to empirically document the criminal justice case processing and outcomes of sexual assault, sexual abuse of a minor, and domestic violence cases in the state of Alaska. In coming years, Dr. Myrstol intends to expand the project to include additional Alaska police agencies.

A portion of the grant award will also go toward the continued participation of the AJSAC in the nationwide Arrest-related Deaths (ARD) data collection project, which is a component of the larger Bureau of Justice Statistics Deaths in Custody Reporting Program (DCRP).

The AJSAC is housed at the UAA Justice Center. For more information about AJSAC research projects and publications, please visit the AJSAC website.

Drs. Payne and Chamard awarded grant re interlock ignition device research

Ignition interlock device.

Drs. Troy Payne and Sharon Chamard, Justice Center faculty, were awarded a Faculty Development Grant for research on implementation of ignition interlock devices (IID) in Alaska.  Alcohol ignition interlock devices require drivers to pass a breath alcohol test before starting their vehicle.

The study examines court data to determine the extent to which these devices are included in sentencing orders for those convicted of drunk driving in the state.  Payne and Chamard presented preliminary results of the research at the Annual Meeting of the Academy of Criminal Justice Sciences held in Dallas, Texas in March 2013.  

Kyle Mansfield, a senior in the Justice B.A. program, is a student assistant on the project.

Ignition interlock device mounted to underside
of car dashboard.

Drs. Rivera and Lepage to conduct survey of crime victims under U.S. Office for Victims of Crime grant

Dr. Marny Rivera and Dr. Cory Lepage, Justice faculty, will be research partners with the Alaska Victim Legal Assistance Network under a grant awarded by the U.S. Office for Victims of Crime (OVC). Dr. Rivera and Dr. Lepage will develop and conduct a survey of crime victims to determine the legal needs that have arisen in connection with their victimization.  The Alaska Victim Legal Assistance Network members will then provide assistance and services that are identified by the needs assessment.

The grant project is scheduled to begin November 1, 2012. Alaska Victim Legal Assistance Network partner agencies and key stakeholders include: Alaska Legal Services Corporation (ALSC), Alaska Immigration Justice Project (AIJP), Alaska Network on Domestic Violence & Sexual Assault (ANDVSA), UAA Justice Center, Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (CDVSA), Alaska Office of Victims' Rights (OVR), Alaska Native Justice Center (ANJC), Alaska Violent Crimes Compensation Board (VCCB), Alaska Department of Health and Social Services - Alaska Family Violence Prevention Project (AFVPP), Alaska Department of Law Consumer Protection Unit (DOL), and Municipality of Anchorage Prosecutors Office.

Justice Center awarded contract to design evaluation strategy for Fairbanks domestic violence probationer pilot project

Rabinowitz Courthouse, Fairbanks

The Justice Center has been awarded a contract by the Alaska Department of Corrections to design and implement an evaluation strategy for a new pilot program in Fairbanks. The pilot program is aimed at ensuring accountability of misdemeanor domestic violence offenders while they are on probation.

Called the Fairbanks PACE (Probationer Accountability with Certain Enforcement) Pilot Project, this program is modeled on the PACE program in Anchorage for probationers who have substance abuse issues. A key component of this program ensures that even minor violations are responded to quickly by the court.  

The preliminary phase of the evaluation will run through June 30, 2012 and includes monitoring data collection, implementing a victim survey, and formulating a long-range evaluation component. Dr. Cory R. Lepage, Justice faculty, is the principal investigator.

In his State of the Judiciary address to the Alaska Legislature in February of this year, Chief Justice Walter Carpeneti talked about the possible expansion of the PACE program based on the positive results seen in Anchorage with probationers remaining "compliant and on the road to recovery."

Justice Center awarded grant by Tundra Women's Coalition to evaluate teen violence prevention program

The Justice Center has been awarded a grant by the Tundra Women's Coalition to evaluate the Teens Acting Against Violence (TAAV) program.  TAAV is a violence prevention program conducted by the Tundra Women’s Coalition in Bethel, and  is committed to raising awareness about issues such as teen violence, sexual assault, abuse, and alcohol and drug abuse. Dr. André Rosay is the principal investigator for this project.

The program emphasizes leadership development, work experience, skill building, healthy activities, teen empowerment, cultural relevance, outdoor education, peer education, crisis and family work, and community awareness. The evaluation will include data about the program and staff, and a survey of past participants.

Justice Center awarded grant to continue work on Alaska Victimization Survey measuring violence against women

The Justice Center was awarded over $350,000 in grant funding by the Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (CDVSA) to continue work on the Alaska Victimization Survey (AVS).  The 2012 Alaska Victimization Survey will be conducted in the Bethel Census Area, the Wade Hampton Census Area, the Kodiak Island Borough, and the City and Borough of Sitka.  Dr. André Rosay is the principal investigator for the project.

A statewide intimate partner and sexual violence victimization survey was initially conducted in 2010. The results of the 2010 survey provide the first definitive measures of the incidence and prevalence of violence against women in Alaska. A regional survey was carried out in 2011 in the Bristol Bay region, City and Borough of Juneau, City of Fairbanks, Fairbanks North Star Borough, and the Municipality of Anchorage.  Results of the 2010 and 2011 surveys are available on the Justice Center website.

Dr. Rivera awarded contract to evaluate Oregon program for offenders with children

Dr. Marny Rivera, Justice faculty, has been awarded a contract by  Jackson County Community Justice in Oregon  to evaluate their Second Chance Family-Based Offender Program.  This program provides treatment and services to medium and high risk drug dependent offenders who are custodial parents of minor children in Jackson County.  In addition to treatment services, the grant covers costs for staff to help facilitate visits between parents and their children in a setting other than jail.  Dr. Rivera will examine the success of this program in meeting the needs of the offenders and their families, and reducing recidivism.

According to a Bureau of Justice Statistics report, in 2007, 53% of offenders incarcerated in the U.S. were parents with an estimated total number of 1.7 million children under the age of 18.  Drug and public-order offenders were more likely than violet offenders to have children. The Oregon project is part of the federal Second Chance Act which is designed to aid offenders with reentry into their communities by providing substance abuse treatment, employment assistance, and other services to reduce recidivism.

Alan McKelvie receives Bureau of Justice Statistics grant

Alan McKelvie, Director of the Alaska Justice Statistical Analysis Center (SAC), has received a grant from the Bureau of Justice Statistics for FY2011-2012 under the State Justice Statistics Program for Statistical Analysis Centers.  With this award, Mr. McKelvie will be upgrading and expanding the Justice Information Exchange Model that is located at the SAC.  Key improvements will include import/export capabilities, information exchange package documentation, and security settings. This library of standardized information exchange packages project was begun in FY2009-2010.

The standardized information exchange packages will include data such as incident reports, criminal intakes and dispositions, booking forms, criminal fingerprint cards, citation forms, and criminal complaints, and will be made available to criminal justice agencies statewide through the SAC website.

See additional information on the Justice Information Exchange Model and on the National Information Exchange Model (including information exchange package documentation (IEPDs). The Alaska Statistical Analysis Center is housed at the UAA Justice Center.

Dr. Rosay highlighted in UAA's Accolades magazine

Dr. André Rosay, Justice Center Director, is highlighted in the Spring/Summer 2011 issue of Accolades, a UAA publication for alumni and friends. He is noted as the recipient of a $517,000 grant from the Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault to conduct victimization surveys in Anchorage, Fairbanks, and rural Alaska. These surveys will be modeled on the 2010 Alaska Victimization Survey. Dr. Rosay is the principal investigator under this grant.

Dr. Rosay

He is also featured as one of UAA's staff and faculty who were honored with "Top Forty under 40" awards from the Alaska Journal of Commerce. Monica Kane, UAA Academic Affairs, and Robert Capuozzo, UAA College of Education were also recipients of this award which recognizes the state's top professionals under the age of 40 who have demonstrated professional excellence and a commitment to their community.

Dr. Chamard awarded Kids' Corps grant for Head Start community assessment

Dr. Sharon Chamard, Justice faculty, was recently awarded a grant by Kids' Corps, an Anchorage-based Head Start agency. Dr. Chamard will assist with a community assessment by collecting demographic data on Anchorage in general, and on children and families eligible for participation in Head Start.

A community assessment is conducted every three years and includes community demographics and descriptions of the clients directly served.

SAC Director McKelvie receives Bureau of Justice Statistics grant

Alan McKelvie, Director of the Alaska Justice Statistical Analysis Center (SAC), has received a grant from the Bureau of Justice Statistics for FY2010-2011 to expand on the work begun in FY 2009-2010 compiling a library of standardized information exchange packages.

The standardized information exchange packages will include data such as incident reports, criminal intakes and dispositions, booking forms, criminal fingerprint cards, citation forms, and criminal complaints, and will be made available to criminal justice agencies statewide through the SAC website.

This project is part of the U.S. Department of Justice National Information Exchange Model (NIEM). The Alaska Statistical Analysis Center is housed at the UAA Justice Center.

Justice Center receives funding awards

The Justice Center recently received three funding awards. Dr. Marny Rivera will be working on an evaluation of the program, Communities Mobilizing for Change on Alcohol. This grant is from the Volunteers of America for $120,000. Dr. Sharon Chamard has received two awards from the Matanuska-Susitna Borough, the first for $43,000 to conduct the 2010 Mat-Su Community Survey, and the second for $4,500 to carry out a trend analysis and a derived importance-performance analysis on data from the 2006-2009 Mat-Su Community Surveys.

Dr. Rosay awarded grant for statewide victimization survey

Dr. André Rosay, Justice Center Director, received a competitive grant from the Alaska Council on Domestic Violence and Sexual Assault (CDVSA) to conduct a survey that will generate accurate and reliable statewide estimates for the lifetime and 12-month incidence and the prevalence of intimate partner violence, sexual violence, and stalking. Project investigators include Dr. Marny Rivera and Dr. Brad Myrstol, Justice Center faculty. Dr. Rosay joined UAA in 2002. With this most recent award, Dr. Rosay's total external competitive research funding to UAA now exceeds one million dollars.

Dr. Myrstol awarded grant for Arkansas community survey

Dr. Brad Myrstol, Justice faculty, has been awarded a $74,000 grant to conduct a Northwest Arkansas Community Indicators Survey. The project will collect data about social capital and community connectedness in two Northwest Arkansas counties, and is part of an ongoing collaboration with Dr. Kevin Fitzpatrick, Director of the University of Arkansas Community and Family Institute. The survey will also be translated into Spanish and sent to Spanish-speaking residents of the two counties. Dr. Myrstol and four undergraduate students will conduct the study.

Social capital refers to the level of collaboration and cooperation in a community, as seen in shared trust, values, and understanding.