Accountability-Based Sanctions (ABS)
The system of juvenile justice has experienced a fundamental challenge to its philosophy and method of operation. The need to develop and administer accountability-based sanctions for juvenile offenders, as well as establish and maintain accountability-based programs that work with juvenile offenders who are referred by law enforcement agencies, has been articulated by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention. Unfortunately, to date, the development and administration of sanctions that hold juvenile offenders accountable for their harmful behavior have been hampered by the inadequate transfer of information about sanctioning models and their implications for impacting case management and aftercare planning. We believe that this inadequacy begins to be addressed through the Accountability-Based Sanctions Project.

http://hec.osu.edu/abs/

Family and Systems Team (FA$T)
The FA$T Project is funded by support from the Ohio Departments of Mental Health, Job and Family Services, Youth Services, and Alcohol and Drug Addiction Services. The Center for Family Research was contracted to these agencies as the evaluator of the FA$T Project in order to generate important information about the effective use of state support in meeting the needs of Ohio families containing children and adolescents with significant behavioral health needs.

Click here to go to FA$T Project

Gender-Specific Transitional Services (GSTS)
The history and evolution of the criminal justice system is marked by the development of theories, research and program models that focused primarily on male offenders. This occurred in part because males were more likely than females to be involved in the justice system, as well as their being more likely to have committed more serious and/or violent offenses. More recently, the number of females involved in the justice system is on the rise, as is the number of more serious offenses perpetrated by female offenders. Thus, our system of justice must adapt and evolve in ways that meet the specific needs of women.

The Gender Specific Transitional Services website (currently under redevelopment) is dedicated to becoming a clearinghouse of information related to the needs of females, and more specifically those females who are at-risk or who are currently involved with the justice system.

Partnership with the Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services (OCJS)
As both a producer and consumer of criminal justice research, the Ohio Office of Criminal Justice Services (OCJS) has taken an interest in the applicability of the web-based Global Risk Assessment Device developed through OSU’s Center for Family Research as an assessment tool for use by juvenile justice professionals. Last year, generous support provided by OCJS allowed the CFR to create two student research assistant positions dedicated to the use of the GRAD database in order to examine topics related to specialized dockets, with special emphasis on issues related to mental health and substance abuse in at-risk adolescent populations. OCJS has committed additional funds for two graduate research associate (GRA) positions to be offered through the CFR in the 2005-2006 academic year.