Public Policy Institute, Indiana University

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The Indiana University Public Policy Institute was established in 2008 as a multidisciplinary institute with the IU School of Public and Environmental Affairs (SPEA). Its original function was to serve as an umbrella organization for the Center for Urban Policy and the Environment (CUPE), established in 1992, and the Center for Criminal Justice Research (CCJR), established in 2008. These centers are now represented by research areas within the institute. The IU Public Policy Institute conducts research, policy analysis, program evaluation, facilitated discussions, and long-term planning for clients from the public, private, government, academic, and nonprofit sectors. Its primary areas of research are economic development, tax and finance, criminal justice, public safety, housing and community development, and land use and the environment.

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Browsing Public Policy Institute, Indiana University by Subject "Criminal justice"

Now showing 1 - 10 of 31
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    Analysis of the U.S. Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Juvenile Accountability Block Grants Program
    (IU Public Policy Institute, 2008-01) Thelin, Rachel; Jarjoura, Roger
    From federal fiscal year 1998 through 2006, Indiana received over $28 million in Juvenile Accountability Block Grants (JABG) awards, allocated by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP). The Indiana Criminal Justice Institute (ICJI) is responsible for administering the state’s JABG program. JABG funding supports states and communities address the problem of juvenile crime and strengthen juvenile justice systems. The program’s overall goal is to reduce juvenile offending through accountability-based approaches focused on both offenders and state and local juvenile justice systems. This report summarizes the findings of six case studies of JABG programs administered by ICJI. The program assessments are based on a detailed examination of a number of sources of information: (a) subgrantees’ original proposals; (b) continuation applications; (c) information provided by ICJI in the form of award control spreadsheets that include legal applicant and implementing agency names, project title, award amounts, county served, and grant numbers; and (d) all quarterly financial and progress reports submitted by JABG subgrantees in 2005 and 2006 to ICJI.
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    An Assessment of the Indiana Department of Correction GPS Pilot Program
    (IU Public Policy Institute, 2008-07) Baumer, Terry; Newby, Bill; LaMade, Megan; Seymour, Amy
    In February 2007 the Indiana Department of Correction (IDOC) implemented a Global Positioning Satellite (GPS) pilot program for paroled sex offenders residing in Vanderburgh (Southern district) and St. Joseph (Northern district) counties. As part of this process, researchers at the Center for Criminal Justice Research were selected to document, describe, and assess the planning, design, and implementation of the pilot program. Between October 2007 and June 2008 the research team worked with IDOC personnel, parole district supervisors and agents, community corrections staff, and the GPS vendor to collect the data for this assessment. This summary report presents the basic findings and recommendations of the study.
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    Behavioral Health Court Impacts on Mental Health in the Marion County Criminal Justice System
    (IU Public Policy Institute, 2017-03) Ray, Brad; Sapp, Dona; Thelin, Rachel
    Research has shown for many years that, nationally, persons with mental illness are disproportionately represented in jail and prison. The federal Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA) recognizes the high prevalence of people with mental and substance use disorders involved with the justice system as a priority and has developed a range of policy initiatives, programs, and services that support improved “collaboration between the criminal justice and behavioral health systems (SAMHSA's Efforts on Criminal and Juvenile Justice Issues, 2017).” To address the needs of this population, representatives from the Marion Superior Court have partnered with the Indiana Judicial Center, the Indiana Department of Corrections, and the United Way of Central Indiana (UWCI) to establish the Behavioral Health Court (BHC; previously referred to as the Mental Health Alternative Court). The UWCI, in cooperation with the BHC team, requested the assistance of the Center for Criminal Justice Research (CCJR) at the Indiana University Public Policy Institute in evaluating BHC implementation processes and outcomes. Our initial assessment of the BHC, published in March 2016, provided a preliminary assessment of referrals and examined the characteristics of the population being served by the program. In this issue brief, we update the results of our previous study by further examining short-term criminal justice outcomes among BHC participants. Specifically, we look at changes in jail days following BHC participation and in doing so, compare BHC outcomes to two similar efforts currently operating in Marion County: the Psychiatric Assertive Identification and Referral (PAIR) program and the specialized mental health probation (MHP) program.
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    CAGI Conference Evaluation: Gangbusters: Schools, gangs, and Bullies - Making the Connection
    (IU Public Policy Institute, 2011-09) Thelin, Rachel
    The Gangbusters: Schools, Gangs and Bullies – Making the Connection summit was held on September 23, 2011. Several sessions that were part of previous CAGI Prevention/Intervention conferences were offered, including Gangs: What you need to know, Indianapolis Gang Overview and Awareness, and Online Social Media: Juveniles and Gangs. The conference included a presentation specifically aimed at school‐related gang issues titled Fundamentals of dealing with gangs in schools. Bullying, hazing and gang behaviors was another new session offered to attendees. Conference participants represented a range of stakeholders with interest in school‐related gang issues, including school administrators, juvenile probation officers, social workers, school police, guidance counselors, and teachers. Sixty‐nine completed conference evaluation forms were provided to the Indiana University Center for Criminal Justice Research (CCJR) for data entry and analysis. This report summarizes the results of the conference evaluations.
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    Cell phones and driving: A review of legislation, risk perception, and mitigation tactics
    (IU Public Policy Institute, 2009-10) Nagle, Matthew
    The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA, 2009) estimates that over 800,000 drivers are using a cell phone at any given time during the day (11 percent of all drivers). Another study on the risk of a collision associated with driver cell phone use found that 3.6 percent of all crashes and near-crashes are the result of a driver distracted by cell phone use (NHTSA, 2006). Public opinion surveys have found that cell phone use is viewed as a dangerous driving action, yet the admitted rates of cell phone use by those same respondents is relatively high. Awareness of the issue has increased to the point that, in September 2009, a national forum of policy makers, law enforcement officials, and academics took place on the issue of distracted driving in Washington, DC. This issue brief examines the effects of cell phone use on driving behavior and crash risk. Since Indiana only recently implemented a law banning drivers under age 18 from using a cell phone while driving, this brief concentrates on evaluations of the success of legislation in other states, including how varying levels of police enforcement and media publicity contribute to compliance.
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    Crime in Indianapolis: Trends, Sources, and Opportunities for Change
    (IU Public Policy Institute, 2016-01) Merritt, Breanca; Riggs, Troy; Camacho-Reyes, Karla; Kaur, Joti
    This report reviews factors connected to Indianapolis’ rising homicides and non-fatal shootings during 2015. The overview of 2015’s violent crimes and community-wide issues was a collaborative effort between the Institute and the Indianapolis Metropolitan Police Department. Both academic research and knowledge of Marion County’s criminal justice system helped identify potential strategies for addressing community-level issues associated with crime in Indianapolis
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    Evaluation of the Marion County Mental Health Alternative Court
    (IU Public Policy Institute, 2016-03) Ray, Brad; Sapp, Dona; Thelin, Rachel
    In early 2015, the United Way of Central Indiana and the Executive Committee of the Marion Superior Court requested the assistance of the Indiana University Public Policy Institute in conducting a formative process evaluation of the Marion County Mental Health Alternative Court (MHAC). The evaluation covers program activities during the first year after implementation and is based on observations during MHAC staffing and advisory council meetings, stakeholder interviews, and data collected on current MHAC participants.
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    External Causes of Death in Indiana: Firearm Deaths
    (IU Public Policy Institute, 2008) Quinet, Kenna; Newby, Bill
    This technical report is the fourth in a series of four reports on external causes of death in Indiana. This final report focuses on unintentional firearm deaths, firearm suicides, and homicides in Indiana from 1990-2005.
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    ICJI Grant Assessments Synthesis Report
    (IU Public Policy Institute, 2008-06) Nunn, Samuel; Quinet, Kenna; Stucky, Thomas; Thelin, Rachel; Sapp, Dona; Newby, Bill
    In January, 2006, the Indiana Criminal Justice Institute (ICJI) contracted with the IUPUI Center for Urban Policy and the Environment (and now with the Center for Criminal Justice Research—CCJR) to perform descriptive assessments of selected federal grant programs administered by ICJI. ICJI asked CCJR to examine subgrantee files and assess the process of subgrantee grant applications and the extent to which reported performance of services was consistent with subgrantee proposals. The major purpose of each assessment was to determine whether subgrantees were producing the services proposed in grant applications, as well as to compile any performance information contained within ICJI’s internal subgrantee files. To complete the assessments, CCJR used a general methodology that included review of federal funding reports, internal ICJI subgrant information, subgrantee grant applications, and annual and semi-annual subgrantee reports. There were two primary sources of data on funds: National Institute of Justice and Bureau of Justice Assistance federal funds flows to states (this included both NIJ and ICJI reports), and internal ICJI subgrant allocations and expenditure reports (drawn from ICJI subgrantee control spreadsheets). Primary sources of case study data were subgrantee files (from ICJI grant applications detail) and regular fiscal and performance reports submitted by subgrantees. This is the final report of this series, and concludes the ICJI grant assessment project.
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    Indiana Child Restraint Survey 2001-2006
    (IU Public Policy Institute, 2008-01) Sapp, Dona; Thelin, Rachel
    This report summarizes data trends during the period 2001 to 2006 in the areas of child restraint device usage, child passenger seating positions, and driver awareness of recommended child passenger safety standards and legislation. Findings are based on Indiana child restraint survey data (for 2001, 2003, 2005 and 2006) conducted by the Automotive Safety Program, Riley Hospital for Children and the Indiana University School of Medicine, Division of Biostatistics.
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