State Vocational Rehabilitation Services Program. Office of Special Education and Rehabilitative Services, Department of Education. Final regulations

The Secretary amends the regulations governing the State Vocational Rehabilitation Services Program (VR program) by revising the scope of employment outcomes under the VR program. These regulations redefine the term "employment outcome" (as it applies to the VR program) to mean outcomes in which an individual with a disability works in an integrated setting. This action is necessary to reflect the purpose of Title I of the Rehabilitation Act of 1973, as amended (Act), which is to enable individuals with disabilities who participate in the VR program to achieve an employment outcome in an integrated setting.     

DOES IMPRISONMENT ALTER THE LIFE COURSE? EVIDENCE ON CRIME AND EMPLOYMENT FROM A NATURAL EXPERIMENT

Ex‐prisoners consistently manifest high rates of criminal recidivism and unemployment. Existing explanations for these poor outcomes emphasize the stigmatizing effects of imprisonment on prisoners seeking postrelease employment as well as the deleterious effects of imprisonment on prisoners’ attitudes and capabilities. However, these explanations must be distinguished from selection effects in the criminal sentencing process, which also could explain some or all of these poor outcomes. To distinguish between criminogenic and selection explanations for ex‐prisoners’ postrelease experience, I analyze data from a natural experiment in which criminal cases were assigned randomly to judges with sizable sentencing disparities. Using these exogenous sentencing disparities, I produce unbiased estimates of the causal effects of imprisonment on the life course. The results of this analysis suggest that selection effects could be sufficiently large to account for prisoners’ poor postrelease outcomes because judges with large sentencing disparities in their use of imprisonment had similarly high caseload unemployment and criminal recidivism rates.     

When Is Justice Fair? An Integrated Approach to the Outcome Versus Procedure Debate

Defendants'perceptions of the fairness of their criminal processing outcomes have been the stated concern of some criminal justice reformers. Past research has suggested that these perceptions are influenced by characteristics of the outcome received as well as by characteristics of the process through which the outcome is imposed. This analysis tests a theoretical path model of perceived outcome fairness, which examines the relative influence of both outcome and process characteristics, using survey data collected from 619 prison inmates incarcerated in Minnesota and Illinois. The results indicate that factors related to both outcome and process significantly influence sample inmates'perceptions of their criminal justice processing outcomes and together explain a substantial portion of the total variance. However, two process-related characteristics are found to be the most powerful predictors of perceived outcome fairness. Inmates'perceptions that they are fairly treated by their lawyer, judge, and prosecutor are the strongest correlates of perceived outcome fairness, followed by the mode of disposition through which their outcomes are imposed; inmates who plea bargain are more likely than those who go to trial to perceive their outcome as fair.     

PROGRAMS FOR PROMOTING PARENTING OF RESIDENTIAL PARENTS: Moving From Efficacy to Effectiveness

This article reviews prevention programs that target primary residential parents as change agents for improving children's postdivorce adjustment. First, we review parental risk and protective factors for children from divorced families, including parenting quality, parental mental health problems, interparental conflict, and contact with the nonresidential parent. Following a discussion of brief informational interventions, we describe the findings of evaluations of three multisession, skill-building interventions for divorced parents. Impressive evidence is presented that parenting is a modifiable protective factor and that improving parenting leads to improvements in children's postdivorce adjustment. We then discuss, in greater detail, the New Beginnings Program, which we highlight because it has shown repeated, immediate effects on children's mental health outcomes as well as long-term effects on a wide array of other meaningful outcomes, such as diagnosis of mental disorder in the past year, externalizing problems, alcohol and drug use, and academic performance. Also, mediational analyses have shown that program-induced changes in parenting accounted for changes in mental health outcomes. The remainder of the article describes a research and action agenda that is needed to successfully implement the New Beginnings Program in domestic relations courts.     

Mediators of the Relation Between Beliefs in a Just World and Emotional Responses to Negative Outcomes

Research shows that strong believers in a just world respond with less negative and more positive emotion to their own negative outcomes than do weak believers. The present study investigated mediators of this relation. We proposed that strong believers in a just world (versus weak believers) would make stronger internal and weaker external attributions for their negative outcomes, leading to reduced perceived unfairness, which, in turn, was expected to lead to less negative and more positive emotion. We assessed the just world beliefs of a sample of undergraduates as well as measuring their cognitive and emotional responses to an exam grade. Mediational analyses showed that our data were consistent with the processes proposed above. Various cognitive and motivational interpretations of the present findings are discussed     

Sentencing policy and disparity: Guidelines and the influence of legal and democratic subcultures

This study analyzed the effects of sentencing policy on sentencing outcomes and the determinants of sentencing decisions. The authors used hierarchical modeling to examine the impact of sentencing reform on legal and individual- and county-level extralegal factors in addition to the sentencing outcomes themselves. The research was framed within the legal and democratic subculture perspective developed by Richardson and Vines (1970) for understanding lower court decision making. The results indicated that sentencing policy acts as a filter, through which cues from each subculture are synthesized, and helps to shape the effects of both legal and extralegal variables on sentencing outcomes.     

OFFENDER–VICTIM INTERACTION AND CRIME EVENT OUTCOMES: MODUS OPERANDI AND VICTIM EFFECTS ON THE RISK OF INTRUSIVE SEXUAL OFFENSES AGAINST CHILDREN*

Criminological research has shown the relevance of examining offender–victim interaction and related factors to understand crime event outcomes. In sexual offenses against children, an obvious lack of knowledge exists regarding this issue. From a criminological perspective, we seek to improve our understanding of the offender–victim interaction in sexual offenses against children and, in particular, what factors might increase the risk of a more intrusive offense. We argue that modus operandi strategies play a central role in crime event outcomes and examine this hypothesis with data obtained from a semistructured interview conducted with offenders. As expected, modus operandi was found to have a strong effect on crime event outcomes, especially victim participation during sexual episodes. Victim effects also emerged from the analyses. Specifically, a strong interaction effect between age and gender of the victim was found for victim participation, which suggests that as the victim gets older, offenders are more likely to make their victim participate in sexual episodes when abusing a male victim but are less likely to do so when abusing a female victim.     

Using the National Diabetes Audit to improve the care of diabetes in secure hospital in-patient settings in the UK

To examine the ability of two forensic units, one high secure and one medium secure, to meet the NICE (National Institute for Health and Care Excellence) standards of care for diabetes. We applied the National Diabetes Audit programme, which uses as standards the NICE guidelines, to assess the quality of care provided for patients in two forensic units. Of the 500 patients, 200 in high secure and 300 in medium secure, 88 (17.6%) had type 2 diabetes. None had Type 1 diabetes. Of those with Type 2 diabetes, the care of 74 (84%) met all 8 NICE recommended standards. Glucose levels were lower in the medium/low secure unit compared to the higher security environment. Whilst achievement of process-based outcomes was higher than those reported nationally, achieving clinical outcomes was more challenging. High-quality diabetic care can be provided for patients in forensic units. Benchmarking physical health outcomes against national criteria in mental health inpatients is a potential method of improving outcomes.     

Type and extent of child abuse as predictors of adult functioning

Child abuse is associated with a variety of difficulties later in life. However, it is unclear to what extent these outcomes are related to the type and combinations of abuse (i.e., sexual versus physical) rather than the variable characteristics within each type. Information regarding child abuse histories as well as current functioning was gathered from a community sample of 259 working women. Incest and severe physical abuse were each associated with similar symptoms, with people who were more severely abused showing worse outcomes. Those women who were both physically and sexually abused had less favorable outcomes than those abused in only one manner. The effects of abuse could not be understood without taking combinations of different types and severities into account. The implications of the similarities of the outcomes of severe sexual and physical abuse were discussed.     

Building and Enhancing Efficacious Coparenting in Parenting Coordination

Parenting coordination is a dispute resolution process to assist the subset of separating/divorcing parents who remain entrenched in high conflict coparenting post‐separation/divorce. Based on factors known to impact positive child outcomes, its goals include assisting parents to protect children from their conflict and implementing a framework that will assist the child to have a good relationship with both parents. Despite significant efforts, parenting coordination often falls short of achieving its intended goals, which include not only healthy child adjustment but also efficacious coparenting, which is itself an important mediator and moderator of child outcomes. This article raises questions and concerns about the extent to which child outcomes may be limited if the goals of parenting coordination are limited to establishing and implementing a disengaged, parallel model of coparenting, while avoiding or giving up on efforts to build and enhance cooperative coparenting. Given preliminary findings indicating some parents note change here express dissatisfaction with the process and outcomes, it is necessary to consider whether the seemingly intractable subset of parents referred for parenting coordination might benefit from something more or different. We discuss two innovations: One aims to strengthen individual parent readiness and responsiveness and the other brings parents together in a child‐centered team‐building approach. Though cooperative coparenting is a challenging and unrealistic goal for some parents, further research is necessary to understand more fully which interventions help which families, when and in what manner.     

Multi-agency approaches in ‘criminogenic’ settings: the case of the Amsterdam Red Light District

This paper assesses the empirical evidence on multi-agency collaboration to reduce crime, uphold justice and improve safety in the so-called ‘Red Light District’ in the city center of Amsterdam, which has been a high crime area for decades. Three periods are analyzed: crime on the streets (1980s–1996); organized crime behind the front doors (1996–2007); and reconquering the Red Light District (2007–2011). The paper analyzes shifts in the definition and framing of central crime problems, causal assumptions, policy assumptions, and evidence on multi-agency collaboration and outcomes. Alongside positive outcomes, all three periods contain evidence on how difficult it is to forge and sustain alliances between government agencies; and to coordinate a shared focus on a single area and on a single topic. Furthermore, the final outcomes of these efforts are hard to measure with the exception of visible street crime. Finally, the paper contributes to the literature on Third Party Policing and multi-agency collaboration by looking beyond the police as the central actor and by widening the predominant instrumental focus to normative and political issues such as changing norms, priorities, and increasing and decreasing internal and external support for certain policy lines and actions.     

Ultramasculine prison environments and inmates' adjustment: It's time to move beyond the “boys will be boys” paradigm

Shock incarceration programs have become increasingly popular as an alternative to traditional prisons. Critics state, however, that such programs are characterized by ultramasculine environments which may lead to a number of negative outcomes for inmates. This study compares inmates in a shock incarceration program with inmates in a traditional minimum-security prison on the degree to which they perceive their environments as masculine, and how these perceptions relate to institutional adjustment. Inmates who describe their environment as possessing ultramasculine attributes were more likely to report negative patterns of adjustment.     

作为规制与治理工具的行政许可

源于私人生活中财产权人授权他人分享自己财产权实践的行政许可,正成为一种引人注目的政府规制与治理工具。作为治理工具,行政许可承载了一系列不同的社会目标,规制有时只是其中一个主要目标。当行政许可被限定为规制工具时,可以假定其核心是实现对特定行为的控制,具体机制包括信息收集、准入控制、行为监管以及许可的执行。尽管许可制度具有筛选市场主体并对他们进行识别和规制等积极作用,但同时也存在巨大的负面作用,如限制和阻碍竞争、可能导致权力滥用,而且许可制度是有成本的。政府在采取许可制度过程中,应考虑其他能够达成相同制度目标的替代性工具。     

Unfamiliarity and Procedural Justice: Litigants' Attitudes Toward Civil Justice in Southern China

While procedural justice has been regarded as a distinct and essential factor shaping litigants' views on civil justice, few studies have focused on China, a country with a unique legal tradition and frequent legal reforms. Drawing on surveys and interviews with litigants in a basic‐level court in Southern China, this study examines attitudes toward the civil justice system. Echoing several existing studies from China, our mixed methods analysis confirms that their views are dominated by outcomes—litigants with favorable outcomes are more likely to be satisfied, while those with unfavorable outcomes are more likely to be dissatisfied. Their unfamiliarity with the operation of the system constitutes a major reason for the dominance of substantive outcomes in their evaluations of the system. Many cannot distinguish between process and outcomes, nor do they feel control over the process. Moreover, they are dissatisfied with the process because it fails to meet their often‐erroneous expectations. Our results do not necessarily challenge the importance of procedural justice, but they do suggest that China may be different. Litigants' perceptions of justice and fairness are situated and shaped by specific contexts.     

Touch DNA Collection Versus Firearm Fingerprinting: Comparing Evidence Production and Identification Outcomes

A project by a metropolitan police agency in 2008–2009 had police use touch DNA kits to collect cell samples from seized firearms. To assess outcomes, results of touch DNA swabbing of firearms were compared to fingerprinting firearm evidence. The rationale was that fingerprinting, as the older technology, was the baseline against which to compare touch DNA. But little is known about ways to measure touch DNA productivity compared to fingerprinting. To examine differences between the two requires comparable measurements. Two measures were used: quantity of probative or investigative evidence produced and identification outcomes. When applied to firearms seized within an Indianapolis, IN police district, touch DNA produced a larger volume of evidence than fingerprinting, but identification outcomes for the two methods were equal. Because touch DNA was deployed by police patrol officers, there are implications for firearm forensics and the choice of forensic approaches used by police.     

Correlates of Behavioral Outcomes in Sexually Abused Children

The present study attempted to identify individual and contextual factors associated with outcomes in a group of 63 latency-aged children disclosing sexual abuse (SA). Children reporting SA were found to display greater internalizing and externalizing behavioral difficulties as well as more sexualized behaviors relative to same-age non-abused peers. Mothers also reported these children as less socially competent than their peers. Family contextual factors appeared to be associated with behavioral difficulties and made a unique contribution to the prediction of externalizing and sexualized behaviors. Of the personal variables, avoidance coping was found to be linked to poorer outcomes. In examining possible factors linked to ‘resilient’ outcomes in a 6-month time-frame, family conflict and avoidance coping were found to be associated to clinical status in children reporting SA.     

“And focused upon victims’ needs”: towards an assessment of the victim-friendly principles of restorative justice practice

Scholars and policy-makers typically laud restorative justice as being ‘victim-friendly’ in its rules and practices. High levels of victim satisfaction with its outcomes are put forward to substantiate this claim. However, there has been little research that engages with the constitutive role of restorative justice in shaping conceptions of identities, practices and needs. To address this gap, this article develops an analytic framework through which to assess the victim-friendly approach of restorative justice processes across social and legal contexts. In so doing, it engages with three key elements of restorative justice processes: firstly, how this justice approach conceives victims; secondly, how it shapes its practices (and not just outcomes) to address their concerns; and thirdly, how it responds to individual needs. The paper argues that engagement with the constitutive processes can bring a fresh perspective to the relationship between victims and restorative justice.     

Previously Unreported Complication of Coronary Artery Bypass Grafting: Suture Rupture Resulting in Patient's Death

Traditionally, the manner of death in most hospital autopsy cases is natural, in which death is due to the natural course of disease or reasonably anticipated outcomes of medical interventions. Some cases fall into a potential gray zone between natural and accident, including rare or unanticipated outcomes of medical interventions. We present a case of a patient postcoronary artery bypass graft. Autopsy revealed the proximal anastomosis of the aorta‐to‐first‐diagonal‐coronary‐artery‐to‐second‐obtuse‐marginal‐artery graft was detached from the aorta. A broken suture was present at the disconnected anastomosis, with intact knots but was broken along its length. In‐hospital mortality rates of CABG range from 1% to 3%, with several autopsy studies identifying surgical complications as the cause of death in one‐third of perioperative deaths. No publications were found that described suture rupture as directly relating to the cause of death. This case report describes a previously unreported complication of coronary artery bypass grafting.     

Improving Outcomes for a Juvenile Justice Model Court: A Realist Evaluation

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the impact of the Erie County, New York, Juvenile Justice Model Court on court improvement and improved case outcomes for youth and families. A quasi‐experimental design was used within a realist evaluation paradigm, with four independent groups in four years. Court improvement was measured by the number of days between appearance and disposition, and improved case outcomes by the extent to which penetration into the juvenile justice system was reduced. Both outcomes were significantly improved, and it was found that the Model Court intervention was the main predictor for their improvement. Youth with reduced penetration had lower levels of recidivism.     

Long-term consequences of being placed in disciplinary segregation†

Being placed in restrictive housing is considered one of the most devastating experiences a human can endure, yet a scant amount of research has been conducted to test how this experience affects core indicators of prisoner reentry such as employment and recidivism. In this article, we use Danish registry data, which allow for us to link penal conditions to postrelease outcomes, to show how the reentry outcomes of individuals placed in disciplinary segregation, which is placement in restrictive housing because of disciplinary infractions, compare with those sanctioned for in-prison offenses but not placed in segregation. The results from matched difference-in-differences analyses show that Danish inmates placed in disciplinary segregation experience larger drops in employment and larger increases in the risk of being convicted of a new crime in the 3 years after release from a correctional facility than do Danish inmates who were sanctioned for a serious offense but not placed in disciplinary segregation as a result. Because being placed in disciplinary segregation, and restrictive housing more broadly, is so common, these results indicate that restrictive housing placement may be a key moderator of the effects of incarceration that merits more attention from criminologists, provided the associations shown here represent causal effects and generalize.