Annual Report - Fiscal Year 2022

Executive Summary

The Ohio General’s Center for Justice Research (CJR) at Bowling Green State University goal is to inform criminal justice policy through science, the CJR funds original research that is designed to answer key questions about criminal justice, justice administration and justice policy in Ohio. The Center for Justice Research’s motto – “Science Informing Policy” – directly reflects its purpose.

The Ohio Attorney General’s Center for Justice Research’s mission: At the Center for Justice Research, we believe in the power of science to inform policy. Our mission is to promote data-driven, effective and fair policy solutions to Ohio’s most pressing criminal issues. Collaborating with scientists and scholars across Ohio and the United States, we fund innovative research and share our findings with criminal justice practitioners, academia and the public. During this reporting period the mission and goals of the Center for Justice Research have been supported by:

• Effectively establishing the Center for Justice Research
• Funding research initiatives aimed at the CJR mission
• Creating a position at the CJR to aid with policy solutions and inform the Ohio Attorney General

Memorandum of Understanding

The Center for Justice Research was established during this reporting period with an effective date of November 1, 2021 through a Memorandum of Understanding between Bowling Green State University and the Ohio Attorney General’s office.

Funding and Research Initiatives

Although the CJR joins other justice-focused research centers nationwide that have made strides in the areas of policy and quality-of-life improvements for Americans, our center is unique: We are a funding agency. At the conclusion of each scientific project, the center works with the research team to translate the findings into usable, scientifically validated and effective policy recommendations for the Attorney General’s Office and policymakers throughout Ohio. The Center for Justice Research is developing initiatives for the upcoming reporting period that will continue to support the center’s goals and mission.

Projects awarded during reporting period:

Activity 1: Bail Reform in Ohio (CJR-2022-001) Project

As the first funded project for the CJR, we accepted applications via a competitive. The CJR Review Team reviewed and scored the applications. The winning team was a team of researchers at Kent State (Drs. Dum, Nader, and Solomon). The project is active and data collection is underway.

Amount awarded, period of performance 04/25/2022-06/30/2023: $89,992.00

Activity 2: Reentry and Employment in Ohio (CJR-2202-002) Project.

The second funded project by the CJR, this was solicited internally to Dr. John Boman’s graduate students at BGSU Sociology. Again, multiple teams applied, and the winning team was by Doctoral Students Kopf and Confer (advised by Dr. Mowen). This project is currently awaiting final IRB approval. Data collection will begin immediately following.

Amount awarded, period of performance 06/01/2022-06/30/2023: $25,000.00

Policy Briefs

The Center for Justice Research formed a policy brief during the reporting period on House Bill 296, short title: Enhance penalty if drug offense near addiction service provider, regarding fentanyl test strips. The CJR will continue to provide policy briefs to the Ohio Attorney General’s office on an as needed basis.

Review Team

The Center for Justice Research developed a Review Team to support the mission of funding research activity. The Review Team consists of five members that have been instrumental to the success of awarding funding and the CJR. The review team will be compensated in the next reporting period for their service on the review team.

Review Team 2021-2023:

Dr. Ebony Ruhland, Assistant Professor, School of Criminal Justice at University of Cincinnati. https://researchdirectory.uc.edu/p/ruhlaney

Dr. Anthony Peguero, Professor, T. Denny Sanford School of Social and Family Dynamics and School of Criminology and Criminal Justice at Arizona State University. https://search.asu.edu/profile/3752395

Dr. Sarah Manchak, Associate Professor, School of Criminal Justice at the University of Cincinnati. https://researchdirectory.uc.edu/p/manchash

Dr. David Lilley, Associate Professor, School of Social Justice at the University of Toledo. https://www.utoledo.edu/hhs/facultystaff/LilleyDavid.html

Dr. Nicole Kaufman, Associate Professor, College of Arts and Sciences: Sociology at Ohio University. https://www.ohio.edu/cas/kaufmann

Center Personnel

During the reporting period, the Center for Justice Research personnel consisted of Director, Dr. John Boman, Assistant to the Director, Christina Guinsler, Graduate Assistants Cori Pryor and Leann Confer. The Center also included two undergraduate interns.

During the current reporting period the center sought and gained approval for a new fulltime position for a Research Coordinator. In June 2022, Ms. Brooke Wollett accepted the position and started July 18, 2022. The Research Coordinator position supports the CJR mission. Primary duties of the Research Coordinator consist of assisting with identifying areas of criminal justicerelated research and research activities for the Center for Justice Research.

An organizational chart for the Center for Justice Research is provided as Appendix A.

Publications

During the reporting period of November 1, 2021- June 30, 2022 the Center for Justice Research was not involved in any publications. The expectation is after the initial year, research activities that were funded will produce publications.

Marketing and Communications

Marketing and communications were vital to establishing the Center for Justice Research. The Center for Justice Research worked with both the Ohio Attorney General’s office as well as Marketing and Brand Solutions at Bowling Green State University. Two websites were developed during the reporting year. Additionally, the CJR office curated an email contact list that targeted the bail reform project to Ohio researchers.

Center for Justice Research Websites:

https://www.bgsu.edu/arts-and-sciences/sociology/research-centers/ohio-attorney-general-scenter-for-justice-research.html

https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Law-Enforcement/Center-for-Justice-Research

The Center for Justice Research launch was successfully marketed in these press releases:

https://www.bgsu.edu/news/2021/11/bgsu-ohio-attorney-general-partner-to-create-new-centerfor-justice-research.html

https://www.ohioattorneygeneral.gov/Media/News-Releases/November-2021/AG-Yost-Partnerswith-Bowling-Green-State-Universi

Center for Justice Research Costs

Total expenditures for the Center for Justice Research for the reporting period November 1, 2021 to June 30, 2022 are $56,088.08. A breakdown of expenditures is included as Appendix B.

Appendix A

Organizational Chart for the Center for Justice Research

Center for Justice Research personnel consists of:

Director, Dr. John Boman, Assistant to the Director, Christina Guinsler, Research Coordinator, Brooke Wollett, and Graduate Assistant Leann Confer.

The Center also includes two undergraduate interns during the academic year.

Appendix B

Activities & Costs Annual Report: 2021-2022

Dates: November 10, 2021 to July 31, 2022

Activity 1: Bail Reform Project.

Amount Awarded, period of performance 04/25/2022-06/30/2023: $89,992.00

Amount expended during reporting period: $0

Activity 2: Reentry and Employment Project.

Amount Awarded, period of performance 06/01/2022- 06/30/2023: $25,000.00

Personnel: $647.68

Fringes: $96.14

Amount expended during reporting period: $743.82

Activity 3: CJR Review Team

Amount expended during reporting period: $0

Activity 4: Operation costs

Personnel and Fringes: $48,993.75

Travel: $1,156.54

Communications: $95.00

Amount expended during reporting period: $50,245.29

Indirect Costs $5,098.97

2021 – 2022 Year Summary: Costs

Total expenditures: $56,088.08