December 24, 2008

Lynn's Levenson Member of Team Awarded $507,000 Grant from National Institute of Justice

7-15-2008 Florida:

Jill Levenson, associate professor of human services at Lynn University, is a member of a collaborative research team recently awarded a $507,000 grant from the National Institute of Justice (NIJ). The research project, whose principal investigator is Kristen Zboga of the New Jersey Department of Corrections, will investigate the validity of procedures used to classify the risk of registered sex offenders.

The NIJ is the research, development and evaluation agency of the U.S. Department of Justice. Levenson will serve as co-investigator on the project. According to the NIJ Web site, the Institute funds and "actively solicits" criminal justice professionals and researchers to "inform its search for the knowledge and tools to guide policy and practice."

The research team's study will examine the ability of risk classification systems in five states to assess and predict the likelihood of sex offense recidivism. The other researchers included on the team are David Thornton of Sand Ridge Civil Commitment Center in Wisconsin, Raymond Knight of Brandeis University, Michael Miner of University of Minnesota, and Elizabeth Letourneau of Medical University of South Carolina.

Levenson is a nationally recognized and widely published expert in sexual violence; is frequently quoted in the national and regional media; and has testified in front of the Florida, Kansas, and New Mexico Legislatures. She contributed to an Amicus Brief submitted to the U.S. Supreme Court in the 2002 case of CT v. Doe, which addressed the constitutionality of Megan's Law. At Lynn, Levenson teaches undergraduate and graduate courses in the human services department in the College of Arts and Sciences. She earned her Ph.D. in social welfare from Florida International University; her MSW from the University of Maryland, School of Social Work; and her B.A. from the University of Pittsburgh. ..News Source.. by Lynn University

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