OpportunityTitle: SMART FY 16 Sex Offender Management Fellowship Program
Description: The SMART Office seeks to fund up to two fellowship positions focusing on enhancing its capacity to provide assistance and support to public or private colleges and universities on their response to, prevention of, and education about sexual violence and other sex offending behaviors on college campuses. Funding for this project is authorized under the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2016. Project-Specific Information Sexual assault on college campuses is widespread. Reporting rates for campus sexual assault are very low; on average, across the nine schools, 1.1% of sexual battery incidents and 4.2% of rape incidents were reported by the victim to any law enforcement agency. The trauma caused by sexual assault can be life-long and not all campuses have the resources to effectively help the victim. Although many campuses have developed resources for the victims of sexual assault who come forward for help, most have not developed sufficient responses to the alleged perpetrators; sexual violence prevention strategies at the college level have typically focused on programs aimed at changing attitudes or increasing knowledge of sexual abuse. In 2014, the SMART Office released a solicitation targeting the perpetrators of sexual assault on college campuses. Through the initiative, the SMART Office is funding the development of a treatment curriculum for campus perpetrators of sexual assault to be implemented and tested at multiple colleges and universities. Last year, the SMART Office made two awards aimed at enhancing campus safety through the development of primary prevention programs; that is, programs designed to stop sexual violence before it occurs. In developing these solicitations, the SMART Office worked with several federal agencies and understands that these agencies are involved in addressing campus sexual assault issues through a variety of programs. The purpose of the SMART FY 2016 Sex Offender Management Fellowship is to help the SMART Office enhance its capacity to provide assistance and support to public and private colleges and universities on their prevention and response to sexual violence and exploitation on college campuses. The goal of this fellowship is to build a foundation within the field of sex offender management for the integration of effective approaches to sexual violence prevention and educational programming on college campuses. The fellowship will focus on prevention of and education about sexual violence and other sex offending behaviors on college campuses. The fellow will work with the relevant program offices within the Office of Justice Programs (Office for Victims of Crime, the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the Bureau of Justice Assistance, the National Institute of Justice, and the Bureau of Justice Statistics), as well as the Office on Violence Against Women and other federal agencies. The SMART Office anticipates the fellow will work from remote locations full-time. However, the Fellow is expected to appear onsite at the SMART Office in Washington, DC once per quarter, and throughout the life of the award. Applicants who propose more narrowly focused fellowships that focus on their own specific interests will not be considered responsive to this solicitation and will not be forwarded for peer review. Additionally, please note this fellowship award is not intended to support individual pursuits in research or other academic work. Goals, Objectives, and Deliverables The Sex Offender Management Fellowship Program will identify ways to enhance and broaden programming designed to improve the prevention of, and education about, sexual violence and victimization on campus communities. Specifically, the fellow will work with SMART staff to develop a national plan for the prevention of sexual violence on campuses. This plan will strive to bridge the gaps that exist between those who work with victims and those who work with perpetrators of sexual violence; develop strategies to provide specialized education for multiple disciplines to address and promote prevention efforts; and begin the documentation of the research and evaluation of prevention strategies. The fellow will consult with other federal partners on this plan. Activities: &#8226; In close coordination with SMART staff, summarize DOJ (and other federal agency) campus sexual assault prevention and/or education resources and programs and describe the processes used by the offices in developing these resources. Draft concise fact sheets detailing each of the offices&#8217; efforts in this area. &#8226; Assist SMART staff with the identification, interpretation, and adaptation of social marketing and public health campaigns (within and outside the campus setting) that have the ability to change public attitudes, particularly those specific to sexual assault prevention. &#8226; Identify and assess education curricula for students and professionals about preventing campus sexual violence and develop recommendations for promoting promising practices in the field. &#8226; Identify, compare, and summarize existent campus climate surveys. &#8226; Develop reports, presentations, and other documents at the request of OJP/SMART management and staff to promote campus sexual violence prevention and education efforts and detail challenges and successes of these efforts. &#8226; At the request of SMART staff/management, conduct site visits to assist in the assessment of projects or initiatives that are implementing promising sexual violence prevention and education programming, models, or resources on campuses or other relevant institutions. &#8226; Participate in professional development and training activities in consultation with SMART management to enhance expertise related to campus sexual violence prevention and sex offender management practices and research. &#8226; At the request of SMART staff/management, participate in internal and external stakeholder meetings, forums, workshops and other initiatives related to campus sexual violence prevention and education and sex offender management. &#8226; Support SMART&#8217;s efforts to build more formal collaborative relationships across the Federal government in response to campus sexual assault. Deliverables: &#8226; Determine and provide an inventory and summary of the campus climate surveys that exist and what data analyses indicate. &#8226; Determine and provide an inventory and summary of the surveys of students&#8217; sexual behaviors and what data analyses indicate. &#8226; Produce an inventory of existing campus, or other relevant institutions, sexual violence prevention programs and curricula, as well as institutional responses to, and sanctions for, sexual violence on campuses. &#8226; Draft and present an assessment of research and campaigns in the area of campus sexual violence prevention and education. &#8226; Draft and present a literature review of campus, or other relevant institutions, sexual violence prevention and education efforts, focusing in particular on those demonstrating a promising practice or an evidence-based approach. &#8226; Provide monthly/quarterly reports to SMART management and Senior Policy Advisors that detail activities and recommendations for the design and execution of SMART forums, conferences, and the SMART newsletters on campus sexual violence prevention and education. &#8226; Develop recommendations and suggestions as to how SMART can broaden its scope and collaboration with other entities (federal and non-federal) in the area of campus sexual violence prevention and education. &#8226; Provide a final report to OJP/SMART on the fellowship project, including accomplishments, challenges and recommendations for improving the fellowship program.
GrantorContactEmailDescription: Faith.Baker@usdoj.gov
GrantorContactText: Faith Baker &lt;br/&gt;Associate Director &lt;br/&gt;Phone 202-305-2586