Associate Professor Joseph Mahoney Selected for Policy Work with U.S. Senator Jeff Bingaman
Associate Professor Joseph Mahoney is spending the 2011-2012 academic year in Washington, D.C. as a Congressional Policy Fellow working with Senator Jeff Bingaman (Democrat, New Mexico). Senator Bingaman, one of the most senior Democratic members of the U.S. Senate (28 years), is a long-standing member on the Senate HELP (Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions) committee and the sub-committee on Children and Families. Dr. Mahoney will be offering his knowledge and experience as a researcher in child and adolescent social/educational development. Dr. Mahoney's research has been concerned with a range of policy issues including after-school programming, positive youth development, summertime, the achievement gap, child obesity, juvenile crime, and the professional development of the after-school workforce.
Information about Dr. Mahoney's Society for Research in Child Development and William T. Grant Foundation Congressional Policy Fellowship
The SRCD Congressional Fellowship Program is designed to provide greater interaction between the developmental research community and Congress. Currently, one Congressional Fellow with expertise in youth development is funded each year by a grant from the William T. Grant Foundation, and a second Fellow is funded by SRCD. Fellows spend one year working as a Legislative Assistant on the staff of a Congressional committee, on the staff of a member of Congress, or in a Congressional support agency that works directly for members or committees of Congress. Fellows may also work as staff on Congressional committees that deal with issues concerning children and families. Although the responsibilities of each Fellow vary by office, past Fellows have worked on drafting legislation, bringing research to bear on re-authorization of programs or appropriations, and advising members of Congress through research that bears on both local and Federal programs and services affecting children, youth, and families. Fellows may also prepare or assist in Congressional hearings, or preparing briefs and speeches.
