NIJ
Analysis of the FY 2016 Omnibus Appropriations Bill and Implications for Social and Behavioral Science Research
On December 15, House and Senate negotiators unveiled their final fiscal year (FY) 2016 omnibus appropriations bill, the Consolidated Appropriations Act of 2016 (H.R. 2029), which includes all 12 of the individual appropriations bills and totals $1.15 trillion. Congress passed another short term continuing resolution (CR) on Wednesday to allow enough time for the House and Senate to pass the massive spending bill and for the President to sign it, which he has indicated he would. Policymakers now have until December 22 to achieve final passage. Assuming the House can pass the bill on Friday-which will require the support of several…
NAS Releases New Reports on Immigrants, Forensic Science
The National Academy of Sciences (NAS) has recently released two noteworthy reports. The first, The Integration of Immigrants into American Society, compiles the available evidence on “how immigrants and their descendants are integrating into American society in a range of areas such as education, occupations, health, and language. The second report, sponsored by the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), examined NIJ’s efforts to advance forensic science research and recommend ways to improve its research program. The report, Support for Forensic Science Research: Improving the Scientific Role of the National Institute of Justice, finds, “NIJ has made progress in the past…
Senate Committee Advances NSF, Census, Justice Spending Bill
On June 10, the Senate Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies (CJS) Appropriations Subcommittee marked up its version of the fiscal year (FY) 2016 CJS bill. The full Senate Appropriations Committee followed suit on June 11, advancing the bill to the Senate floor. The CJS bill provides annual funding to the National Science Foundation (NSF), the National Institute of Justice (NIJ), and the Census Bureau and other federal statistical agencies. Like the House bill passed on June 4, the Senate CJS bill keeps within discretionary spending caps, translating to very small (if any) increases for agencies and programs of interest…
House Advances Bills to Cut Social Science Funding
As we have been reporting over the last several weeks, the U.S. House of Representatives has been busy considering legislation to reauthorize the America COMPETES Act, landmark legislation first enacted in 2007 to reignite U.S. investment in scientific research. It serves as authorizing legislation for the National Science Foundation (NSF), among other agencies. The House version of COMPETES reauthorization is a major departure from earlier versions, garnering deep opposition from the broader scientific community, including from COSSA. Among the many problematic provisions in the bill is language to cut NSF’s Social, Behavioral, and Economic Sciences (SBE) directorate by half. Despite…
House FY 2016 CJS Bill Advances to the Floor
On May 20, the House Appropriations Committee passed the FY 2016 Commerce, Justice, Science and Related Agencies (CJS) Appropriations bill by voice vote. Amendments to increase funding for the National Science Foundation and make other improvements to the bill were either defeated or withdrawn. The bill now heads to the House floor. The CJS bill totals $51.4 billion, which is a 2.5 percent increase over the FY 2015 CJS bill. CJS Subcommittee chairman John Culberson (R-TX) noted during the May 14 Subcommittee markup that this amount “is sufficient to fund essential programs.” The bill keeps within the spending caps currently tamping down discretionary spending,…
New NIJ Director Sworn In
On February 9, Dr. Nancy Rodriguez (Arizona State University) was sworn in as director of the National Institute of Justice (NIJ). Rodriguez’s research expertise includes topics such as collateral consequences of imprisonment; issues pertaining to race, ethnicity, crime, and justice; and longitudinal studies of families affected by maternal/paternal incarceration. She was appointed by President Obama in October 2014. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
NIJ: Forensic Science and Elder Abuse
The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) has issued a solicitation for proposals on research and development in forensic science for criminal justice purposes. The agency is looking to fund research that will “(1) Increase the body of knowledge to guide and inform forensic science policy and practice or; (2) Result in the production of useful materials, devices, systems, or methods that have the potential for forensic application.” Proposals examining human factors as they relate to specific disciplines within forensic science will be accepted. More information is available in the full solicitation. The deadline for proposals is April 8, 2015.
NIJ: Social Science Research on Forensic Science
In a recently issued Dear Colleague letter, Acting National Institute of Justice (NIJ) Director William Sabol emphasized NIJ’s interested in receiving proposals “that examine the social science questions related to the effective use of forensic evidence to identify and process criminal offenders and to explore the impact of these advances on the criminal justice system.” Particular areas of interest for fiscal year 2015 include digital forensics, ballistics forensics, and crime scene scanning technology. See the full letter for more details. Back to this issue’s table of contents.
NIJ: Bridging Research and Practice Program
The National Institute of Justice’s (NIJ) Bridging Research and Practice Program (BRP) provides funding to former NIJ grantees to disseminate and share their findings with practitioner audiences. The goal of the program is to ensure that the research reaches as broad an audience as possible.
NIJ Seeking Researchers to Support Comprehensive School Safety Initiative
The National Institute of Justice (NIJ) is seeking social scientists to work in residence at NIJ and participate in the Comprehensive School Safety Initiative. The jobs are two-year details (with the option for renewal for a third year) through the Intergovernmental Personnel Act (IPA) and are open to employees of federal, state, and local governmental agencies; institutions of higher education; Indian tribal governments; federally funded research and development centers; and qualified non-profit organizations. The Comprehensive School Safety Initiative is “a large-scale, integrated research effort designed to increase the safety of schools nationwide by developing knowledge about the most effective and…
William Sabol Named Acting NIJ Director
National Institute of Justice (NIJ) Acting Director Gregory K. Ridgeway left the agency on July 31 for the University of Pennsylvania’s Department of Criminology. William Sabol, acting director of the Bureau of Justice Statistics (BJS), was named this month to also serve as acting NIJ director until a permanent director is named by President Obama. You can learn more about the NIJ directorship here. Back to this issue’s table of contents.