FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? OJP

TUESDAY, JANUARY 28, 2003?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????? 202-307-0703

JUSTICE DEPARTMENT AND COALITION FOR EVIDENCE-BASED POLICY COLLABORATE ON NEW INITIATIVE

WASHINGTON, D.C.? ? The Justice Department?s Office of Justice Programs (OJP) today announced that it will work with the Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy on a new initiative to explore how OJP and other federal agencies and programs can most effectively advance evidence-based approaches to crime and substance abuse prevention policy.

?The ability of federal, state, and local efforts to effectively prevent crime and substance abuse depends critically on whether we have scientifically valid knowledge that tells us which strategies and interventions work and which don?t work,? said Deborah J. Daniels, Assistant Attorney General for the Office of Justice Programs.? ?It also depends on whether we use that knowledge effectively to guide policy and practice.? The Coalition has brought together a distinguished, bipartisan group of scholars and policymakers to provide independent analysis of how the government can most effectively advance these two goals.? This is a very important initiative and I look forward to working with the Coalition.?

The initiative will explore: (1) the development of a ?What Works Clearinghouse? to assist practitioners in obtaining user-friendly, on-line information on effective crime and substance abuse interventions; (2) ways for communities to use existing resources in replicating research-proven developmental strategies and approaches; (3) areas to increase collaboration within federal agencies to build the knowledge base and increase the use of evidence-based interventions.

The Coalition for Evidence-Based Policy recently completed a successful joint effort with the U.S. Department of Education to advance evidence-based education policy.? In the current initiative, the Coalition and OJP hope to work with other federal entities to develop government-wide recommendations in the area of crime and substance abuse.

This initiative is independently funded by the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Jerry Lee Foundation.? The Coalition is a nonprofit organization, sponsored by the Council for Excellence in Government.? Its bipartisan board includes former senior government officials, as well as leading scholars, researchers and other individuals representing a broad range of policy areas.

More information on the Coalition can be found on its Web site, at http://www.excelgov.org/evidence.?? For more information about the Office of Justice Programs and its other initiatives, consult OJP?s Web site at www.ojp.usdoj.gov.

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