Profile: Leena K. Augimeri, MEd (1998), PhD (2005)
Counselling Psychology
Dr. Augimeri is a proud graduate of OISE/UT’s AECP. In 1998 she completed her MEd and then the PhD program in 2005. She was able to do this while working full time at the Child De-velopment Institute (CDI; formerly Earlscourt Child and Family Centre). She reports that the AECP program provided her with the theoretical and practical skills she needed to advance her career. Today, she is the Director of Program Development and Centre for Children Committing Offences (CCCO) at CDI in Toronto, Canada and Adjunct Assistant Professor and Sessional Lecturer, UofT
As a scientist-practitioner responsible for the CCCO, she oversees, coordinates and participates in all research and program development activities at CDI and is responsible for all national and international development activities regarding the Institutes model interventions for children with conduct problems (i.e., SNAP® Models: Under 12 Outreach Project, Girls Connection and SNAP® for Schools). She is also a world renown sought out consultant on the issue of children with antisocial behaviour and has consulted on a number of international projects (e.g., Miami-Dade Young Offender Process – National Demonstration Project, UK Support from the Start EARL-YC Project) and was a member of the United States Office of Ju-venile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJJDP) Study Group on Very Young Offenders and a contributing author to its volume. Her specialization is in gender sensitive interventions, risk assessment tools and police-community protocols. She co-founded/developed the longest empirically based intervention for boys under 12 years of age in conflict with the law, the SNAP® Under 12 Outreach Project which has received the highest effectiveness model designation - Level 1 by the U.S. Whitehouse’s Helping America’s Youth and an EXEMPLARY rating by OJJDP’s Model Program Guides.
Today, she is a noted author, researcher and skilled group leader, who co-authored the Early Assessment Risk List for Boys (EARL-20B) and Girls (EARL-21G) which have been translated in various languages and used around the world to assess risk for future offending in young children. She also chairing a task force, which led to the development of Canada’s first protocol for children under 12 in conflict with the law, subsequently assisted other communities in devel-oping similar protocols. She is interested in the treatment of antisocial behavior in children, the early identification of chronic delinquency, differences in treatment outcomes, treatment respon-sivity issues and program evaluation. In 2005, Dr. Augimeri was presented with the Child Wel-fare League of Canada’s Outstanding Achievement Research and Evaluation Award and in 2007 elected as a Fellow of the Academy of Experimental Criminology. On a personal note, Dr. Augimeri is the mother of two school-aged girls.