This is an archive of the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention’s (OJJDP's) electronic newsletter OJJDP News @ a Glance. The information in this archived resource may be outdated and links may no longer function. Visit our website at https://www.ojjdp.gov for current information.
January | February 2012

Melodee Hanes Named Acting OJJDP Administrator

Photo of Melodee Hanes, Acting Administrator, OJJDP.
Melodee Hanes, Acting Administrator, OJJDP.
On January 18, 2012, Assistant Attorney General Laurie O. Robinson announced the designation of Melodee Hanes as the Acting Administrator of OJJDP. Hanes, who has served as the Acting Deputy Administrator for Policy at OJJDP for the past 2 1/2 years, replaces Jeff Slowikowski, who served as Acting Administrator for nearly 3 years. Slowikowski is now OJJDP's Acting Deputy Administrator for Policy.

During his tenure as Acting Administrator, Slowikowski oversaw distribution of more than $1.5 billion in funding to support juvenile programs, including $50 million for the Internet Crimes Against Children task force program under the American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009. He revitalized OJJDP's research program, helped OJJDP launch important work in areas such as school discipline and tribal and military-youth mentoring, and oversaw OJJDP's national conference, a meeting of more than 2,300 youth professionals.

"I want to thank Jeff for his exceptional service," said Assistant Attorney General Robinson. "Jeff's leadership has been vital to the important work of OJJDP and to the many successes we have had in the office over the past 3 years."

Before joining OJJDP, Hanes worked for 16 years as a deputy county attorney prosecuting child abuse, sexual assault, and homicide cases and for years trained and lectured on child abuse-related topics. In addition, Hanes served as an adjunct professor of law at her alma mater, Drake University. To learn more about Ms. Hanes's plans and priorities for the Office, read an interview with the Acting Administrator in the March/April issue of OJJDP News @ a Glance.

In other news, Assistant Attorney General Robinson announced on January 3 that she would be leaving her position at the end of February. Principal Deputy Assistant Attorney General Mary Lou Leary will serve as Acting Assistant Attorney General following Robinson's departure.

"One of the reasons I can think about leaving now is that we have made substantial progress towards goals I set in 2009," Assistant Attorney General Robinson said. "With the Attorney General's support, we have made real progress in building strong partnerships with law enforcement and other parts of the state, local, and tribal criminal and juvenile justice field. We have put science front and center and focused on evidence-based approaches. And we've made it a priority to ensure OJP's [Office of Justice Program's] grant process is fair, accessible to our stakeholders, and accountable to Congress and the public in terms of managing scarce federal dollars."

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For more information about Melodee Hanes' designation as OJJDP's Acting Administrator, read the Office of Justice Programs' press release.