Office of Justice Programs Weekly News Brief

WASHINGTON, Jan. 27, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The following news brief was released today by the Office of Justice Programs:

OJJDP, MacArthur Foundation Partners for Juvenile Justice Reform – In a new private-public partnership, the U.S. Department of Justice's Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) and the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation are jointly providing $2 million to support innovative and effective reforms in treatment and services for youth involved in the juvenile justice and child welfare systems. "We need to do what's right for America's children," said Melodee Hanes, Acting Administrator of OJJDP. "This partnership supports state and community efforts to protect youth from harm, hold them accountable for their actions, provide for rehabilitation and improve public safety.  In this tight economy, we can maximize reform and stretch public dollars by creatively partnering with a private organization such as MacArthur."

OJJDP Acting Administrator Speaks at Mentoring Summit – Melodee Hanes, Acting Administrator of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP), provided opening remarks at the second annual National Mentoring Summit on Tuesday, January 24, 2012.  OJJDP partnered with five organizations, MENTOR, Big Brothers Big Sisters of America, the Corporation for National and Community Service, the Harvard School of Public Health and United Way Worldwide, to convene major youth mentoring organizations, government, civic and corporate leaders and researchers to review new research and evaluate best practices to ensure  youth receive quality mentoring. 

OJP Studies Officer Wellness, Work Shifts – The Office of Justice Programs (OJP) recently announced findings from two studies examining law enforcement officer wellness.  Funded through OJP's National Institute of Justice, the studies examined the impact of shift length on officer wellness and sleep disorders among law enforcement officers. The Shift Length Experiment: What We Know About 8-, 10- and 12-Hour Shifts in Policing found 10-hour shifts offered numerous benefits over the traditionally used 8-hour shifts:  officers get more sleep, work less overtime and report a significantly higher quality of work life.  This report is released on the heels of a related second study, Sleep Disorders, Health and Safety in Police Officers, which was published in the Journal of the American Medical Association in December.  That study showed sleep disorders – typically associated with poor health, performance and safety outcomes – are twice as prevalent among police officers compared to the general public. An article on these findings published in the Journal of the American Medical Association is available at http://jama.ama-assn.org/content/306/23/2567.full.pdf.

Upcoming Events:
Laurie Robinson, Office of Justice Program's Assistant Attorney General, will speak at the International Conference of Community Courts on Tuesday, January 31, at the Omni Shoreham Hotel in Washington, D.C. Topics include encouraging justice practitioners to experiment with community engagement and alternatives to incarceration during these fiscally challenging times, and to seek change in the communities they serve and within the systems in which they operate.

The Attorney General's National Task Force on Children Exposed to Violence, a key component of the Department's Defending Childhood Initiative, will hold the second of four public hearings in Albuquerque, New Mexico, on Tuesday, January 31, from 8 a.m. to 5:30 p.m. MST.  Comprised of leading experts from diverse fields and perspectives, the task force examines the extent and nature of children's exposure to violence as witnesses or victims and identification of policies and promising practices to address this epidemic.  More details and "frequently asked questions" about the Defending Childhood Initiative, the task force and the upcoming hearing are available on the task force website, www.usdoj.gov/defendingchildhood/task-force.html.

Office of Justice Programs
Telephone:  (202) 307-0703
WWW.OJP.GOV 

SOURCE Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice