Leaders from WestEd will have a robust presence at the 75th American Society of Criminology Annual Conference, held on November 13 through November 16, 2019, at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis, in San Francisco, California.
This year’s conference theme is “Criminology in the New Era: Confronting Injustice and Inequalities.” In collaboration with several of our project partners (e.g., Texas University, RMC Research, and the America Institutes for Research), WestEd staff will participate in panel sessions and present on key topics related to:
- School climate and safety;
- Equity and justice in school discipline;
- Cybersecurity, including internet crimes against children;
- Evaluation of restorative justice interventions in schools, and much more.
There will also be opportunities to make new connections with experts from WestEd’s Health and Justice Program, the Justice & Prevention Research Center (JPRC), and the Center to Improve Social and Emotional Learning and School Safety, and learn more about our agency’s work. We encourage attendees to share their insights using the conference hashtag, #ASCSF19, and invite you to join us at the following events and presentations:
JPRC Special Event
The JPRC will hold a special event on family survivors of homicide at the San Francisco Marriott Marquis. We invite ASC attendees and interested persons based in the city area to attend.
Date: Thursday, November 14th
Time: 7pm–9pm
Location: San Francisco Marriott Marquis, Salon C2 (B2 Level)
Registration: Free Online
WestEd Panels and Presentations
Wednesday, November 13
WestEd and Texas State University Organized Panel: School Police and Student Experiences in Central Texas – Findings from a School Safety Study
Time: 8am–9:20am
Location: Marriott Marquis, Juniper, B2 Level
Texas State University, the Texas School Safety Center, and WestEd were funded by the National Institute of Justice through its Comprehensive School Safety Initiative to conduct a research study that contributes to the general knowledge about the role of police in schools. Specifically, the study is examining the impact of an evidence-based framework for integrating law enforcement officers into educational environments.
This session presents a series of complementary papers focused on:
- Characteristics of encounters between officers and student, parents, and staff;
- Preliminary impact of the intervention on student outcomes; and
- Association between students’ indirect exposure to school shootings and perceptions of school police and safety.
Presentations within this plenary session include:
Examining the Dynamic Roles of School Resource Officers in Texas Schools
Presenters & Authors: Trevor Fronius (WestEd), Ohenewaa Dede-Bamfo (Texas School Safety Center), Margaret Vaughn (Texas School Safety Center), Shawna White (Texas School Safety Center), Kathy Martinez-Prather (Texas School Safety Center), and Brenda Scheuermann (Texas State University)
TxState School-based Law Enforcement Study – Year 1 Student Impacts
Presenters & Authors: Alexis Stern (WestEd), Trevor Fronius (WestEd), Hannah Sutherland (WestEd), Sarah Guckenburg (WestEd), and Anthony Petrosino (WestEd)
The Santa Fe Effect – Students’ Perceptions of Climate and Safety Following a Mass Tragedy
Presenters & Authors: Hannah Sutherland (WestEd), Trevor Fronius (WestEd), Alexis Stern (WestEd), Shawna White (Texas School Safety Center), Kathy Martinez-Prather (Texas School Safety Center), and Joseph McKenna (School Safety Solutions)
Discussant: Nadine Frederique (National Institute of Justice)
WestEd Organized Panel: We Can Work It Out: Collaborating to Implement a Randomized-Control Trial in a State-wide Juvenile Justice System
Time: 5pm–6:20pm
Location: Marriott Marquis, Salon 2, Lower B2 Level
WestEd, in partnership with Oregon Youth Authority (OYA), currently conducts a cluster-randomized controlled trial throughout male-serving juvenile justice facilities across Oregon to assess the impact of a tablet-based app (Healthy U) specifically designed to educate young males (ages 14–19) on puberty, sexual health, sexual consent, and healthy relationships through games, interactive scenarios, and short videos. The app is one of the first such interventions designed specifically for young males in a juvenile justice environment; results from the study will inform future programs targeting young males. To understand the impact, WestEd and OYA work in partnership to implement the rigorous impact study which includes multiple implementation waves at multiple sites, recruiting and locating sometimes difficult to reach study participants, and developing research protocols and practices that both meet the requirements of a rigorous design and are implementable in a multi-site, geographically diverse juvenile justice system. The panel presentations will discuss different aspects of study design, implementation, and recruitment strategies. The panel participants will discuss lessons learned in relation to collaboration between juvenile justice and research staff.
Presentations within this plenary session include:
Designing a Rigorous and Implementable Randomized Control Trial
Presenters & Authors: Staci Wendt (WestEd), Anthony Petrosino (WestEd), Jonathan Nakamoto (WestEd), Pamela MacDougall (WestEd), Trevor Fronius (WestEd), and Sarah Guckenburg (WestEd)
Being the Translator: Working with Outside Researchers to Implement a Randomized Control Trial Inside Your Agency
Presenters & Authors: Hayley Tews (Oregon Youth Authority) and Dustyn Pederson (Oregon Youth Authority)
Recruiting, Locating, and Staying in Contact with Youthful Research Participants
Presenters & Authors: Lucyna Klinicka (WestEd), Staci Wendt (WestEd), Jonathan Nakamoto (WestEd), Colleen Carter (WestEd), and Sarah Russo (WestEd)
Discussant: Rebeca Cerna (WestEd)
Thursday, November 14
WestEd and RMC Organized Panel: Equity and Fairness in School Discipline and Juvenile Justice Systems
Time: 9:30am–10:50am
Location: Marriott Marquis, Salon 3, Lower B2 Level
African American students, boys, and students with disabilities disproportionately receive exclusionary disciplinary actions such as suspensions, expulsions, and law enforcement involvement, according to a report of 2014–15 national data (United States Government Accountability Office, 2018). Exclusionary disciplinary practices, in turn, are associated with detrimental outcomes including grade retention, absenteeism, dropout, and involvement in the justice system. States have made efforts to address this disproportionality through policy changes; for example, 33 states and the District of Columbia require explicit reporting about school discipline. However, disparities still exist. This panel is designed to examine fairness and equity in discipline from multiple lenses. The first panelist examines how student perceptions of police in their schools and communities vary by student race and ethnicity. The second discusses an evaluation of a program focused on reducing chronic absenteeism among students who are at high risk. The third panelist uses administrative data to track outcomes related to disciplinary actions in Oregon. The discussant will address issues of equity and fairness in school discipline through these studies. The panel will engage the audience in questions about how the audience views this topic in their own work.
Presentations within this plenary session include:
High School Students’ Perceptions of Police in their Communities and Schools Vary by Race and Ethnicity
Presenters & Authors: Jonathan Nakamoto (WestEd) and Rebeca Cerna (WestEd)
Keeping Kids in Schools: A Collaborative Approach to Address Chronic Absenteeism
Presenters & Authors: Sarah Guckenburg (WestEd), Trevor Fronius (WestEd), and Lisa Valente (Sonoma County Probation Department)
Understanding Pathways of the School-to-Prison Pipeline: Risk Factors, School Discipline Disproportionality, and Subsequent Involvement with the Juvenile Justice System
Presenters & Authors: Julia Dmitrieva (University of Denver), Emma Venell Espel (RMC Research Corporation), and Paul Smokowski (RMC Research Corporation)
Chair: Paul Smokowski (RMC Research Corporation)
Discussant: Staci Wendt (WestEd)
WestEd Organized Panel: Developing and Testing a Comprehensive School Safety Initiative in Atlanta Public Schools
Time: 11am–12:20pm
Location: Marriott Marquis, Salon 1, Lower B2 Level
This panel presents findings from the National Institute of Justice-funded Comprehensive School Safety Initiative in Atlanta Public Schools. The first presentation focuses on the background of the grant and development of theoretical and measurement models during the first two years of the project. The second presentation focuses on developing a data strategy for a district-wide school safety needs assessment aided in the selection of sites for school-level implementation. The third presentation details implementation activities at the district and school level. Lastly, the fourth presentation highlights findings from district- and school-level evaluation.
Presentations within this plenary session include:
Atlanta CSSI Model Development: A Collaborative Data-Informed Process
Presenters & Authors: Christopher Henrich (Georgia State University) and Elizabeth Beck (Georgia State University)
Developing a Data Strategy for District-Wide School Safety Needs Assessment
Presenter & Author: Kathryn Grogan (WestEd)
From Model to Implementing District-Wide School Safety and Student Support Efforts
Presenters & Authors: Joseph McCrary (WestEd) and Christina Pate (WestEd)
Discussant: Trevor Fronius (WestEd)
WestEd Poster Session: Researcher-Practitioner Partnership in Developing Implementation Data Tools and Dashboards: Re-Entry Services Uptake and Early-Warning Indicators
Time: 7:15pm–8:15pm
Location: Marriott Marquis, Salon 7, Lower B2 Level
Presenters & Authors: Arena Lam (WestEd), Ande Pena (La Familia Counseling Services), and Staci Wendt (WestEd)
This poster describes the processes underlying a researcher-practitioner partnership in creating data collection tools and a data dashboard with the goal to improve the service providers’ capacity to serve formerly incarcerated members transitioning back into the community. The re-entry service provider (La Familia Counseling Services) and external evaluator (WestEd) collaboratively created implementation data tools that the service provider uses to track services.
Friday, November 15
WestEd Organized Panel: Internet Crimes Against Children: What Do We Know About Victimization, Law Enforcement Training, and Prosecution?
Time: 8am–9:20am
Location: Marriott Marquis, Salon 12, Lower B2 Level
The widespread use of mobile phones and laptop computers has resulted in many children having access to the Internet. Because of this, predatory criminals are using the Internet to victimize children by enticing them to engage in sexual acts, producing and distributing child pornography via the World Wide Web, exposing youth to pornography, and other offenses. Because predators can be located anywhere in the world and remain anonymous, law enforcement officials require different training and strategies to investigate such offenses. Research on Internet Crimes Against Children (ICAC) is emerging but at the infancy stage. This panel focuses on ICAC and includes three papers. The first paper looks at the past ten years of research on ICAC conducted by the University of New Hampshire’s Center for Crimes Against Children. The second paper discusses some strategies to combat ICAC and focuses on the ICAC Task Forces and Training funded by the U.S. Department of Justice. The final paper examines prosecutions of ICAC cases in federal court.
Presentations within this plenary session include:
Research on Internet Crimes Against Children from the Crimes Against Children Research Center (CCRC): A 10-Year Summary of Findings and Critical Next Steps for Research
Presenters & Authors: Lisa M. Jones (University of New Hampshire) and Kimberly Mitchell (University of New Hampshire)
Early Exploration into Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force Training
Presenters & Authors: Ashley Boal (WestEd), Pamela MacDougall (WestEd), and Anthony Petrosino (WestEd)
Cybercrime Investigation and Implications: Internet Crimes Against Children
Presenters & Authors: Kyung-Shick Choi (Center for Cyberinvestigation and Cybercriminology, Boston University), Claire Seungeun Lee (University of Massachusetts, Lowell), Sinchul Back (University of Scranton), and Jin Lee (Michigan State University)
Discussant: Anthony Petrosino (WestEd)
WestEd and American Institutes for Research (AIR) Organized Panel: Evaluation of Massachusetts’ Safe and Successful Youth Initiative
Time: 11am–12:20pm
Location: Marriott Marquis, Foothill F, 2nd Level
For the past six years, Massachusetts has invested millions in state funding for the Safe and Successful Youth Initiative (SSYI), a statewide community-based violence prevention initiative that provides males, ages 17–24, who are considered at the highest risk for gun violence, with intensive outreach, case management, and education, career, and social supports to reduce their odds of future criminal involvement. SSYI is funded through the Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services (EOHHS) and currently operates in 13 cities across the state. In the current evaluation, AIR, in partnership with WestEd, are funded by EOHHS to update the results of an earlier cost-benefit analysis and examine the effectiveness of certain service components within the SSYI program model. This panel will present a story of the SSYI evaluation focused on (1) community-level context and collaboration among SSYI partners; (2) impacts on community-level crime; (3) variation in individual participant experiences and outcomes; and (4) the costs and benefits of SSYI funding.
Presentations within this plenary session include:
Exploring Community Context, Collaborative Relationships, and Organizational Dynamics in Violence Prevention Program Implementation
Presenters & Authors: Darius Taylor (WestEd), Trevor Fronius (WestEd), Hannah Sutherland (WestEd), Sarah Guckenburg (WestEd), Nicholas Read (AIR), and Trish Campie (AIR)
The Impact of SSYI on Community and Individual Crime Outcomes
Presenters & Authors: Trevor Fronius (WestEd), Nicholas Read (AIR), Trish Campie (AIR), and Anthony Petrosino (WestEd)
Characteristics, Motivation, and Engagement Among Young Males at Highest Risk for Violence
Presenters & Authors: Trevor Fronius (WestEd), Nicholas Read (AIR), Trish Campie (AIR), and Olivia Briggs (AIR)
The Cost and Benefits of a Statewide Violence Prevention Effort
Presenters & Authors: Garima Siwach (AIR), Kevin Kamto (AIR), and Trish Campie (AIR)
WestEd and RMC Organized Panel: Intervening in the School-to-Prison Pipeline by Disrupting Punitive Disciplinary Practices
Time: 2pm–3:20pm
Location: Marriott Marquis, Salon 13, Lower B2 Level
The School to Prison Pipeline (STPP) refers to the policies and practices that push school aged youth, especially at-risk youth, from public schools into the juvenile and criminal justice systems. A number of factors play a role in the STPP, including inadequate public-school resources, zero-tolerance school discipline policies, increased police presence in schools, and the use of alternative schools and juvenile detention facilities as a form of punishment. This panel explores three distinct strategies to interrupt the STPP by decreasing punitive school discipline practices and providing non-stigmatizing alternatives to juvenile justice involvement. The first panelist will describe an impact study of a program designed to improve school climate practices. The second panelist will share findings from an impact study of Teen Courts as an alternative response to disciplinary infractions. The third panelist will describe juvenile justice involvement rates before and after enactment of a state law related to school discipline policies in Oregon. After the three presentations, we will integrate major findings to have a broad discussion of how to reduce exclusionary discipline in schools and disrupt the STPP.
Presentations within this plenary session include:
Impact of School Climate Improvement Practices on Student Safety and Related Outcomes
Presenters & Authors: Gary Zhang (WestEd), Tom Hanson (WestEd), and Cindy Zheng (WestEd)
The Impact of Restorative Justice Teen Courts on Rural Adolescents
Presenters & Authors: Paul Smokowski (RMC Research Corporation) and Caroline Evans (North Carolina Youth Violence Prevention Center)
The Relationship between Oregon School Discipline Code and Juvenile Justice Involvement
Presenters & Authors: Emma Venell Espel (RMC Research Corporation), Julia Dmitrieva (University of Denver), and Paul Smokowski (RMC Research Corporation)
Chair: Emma Venell Espel (RMC Research Corporation)