Publications

Center Newsletter (Winter 2010)
Getting the Facts Straight about Girls in the Juvenile Justice System
Girls Do Matter - Our challenge to effectively meet the needs
of girls and ensure public safety
Rallying Cry for Change - Full Report
NCCD Focus, Rallying Cry - Executive Summary
NCCD Perspectives - About the Center
A Call for Gender Equity
NCCD Newsletter - Summer 2008
No Place to Hide
Educate or Incarcerate
Translating Research Findings into Gender Responsive Services and Intervention for Girls in the Juvenile Justice System, in Impact, Volume 2 Number 2, Fall 2008. PDF available at www.ImpactUrbanYouth.org
Other NCCD publications are available on the NCCD website.

Research

NCCD Studies on Girls and Young Women in the Justice System

Austin, J., Bloom, B., and Donahue, T. (1992). Female offenders in the Community: An analysis of innovative strategies and Programs. San Francisco, CA: National Council on Crime and Delinquency.
Intermediate sanctions are needed at every point in the criminal justice system from
pretrial to reentry from jail and prison. Every program for women offenders should be designed to meet their potential risk to public safety as well as their critical needs related to addiction,
physical/sexual abuse, unemployment, and family relationships. NCCD recommends that the most promising approaches to community programs focus on the multidimensional problems of women offenders. These include gender-specific substance abuse treatment; parenting and family preservation; economic survival and basic life-skills training; sexual abuse and domestic violence counseling; and safe, affordable housing. Corrections agencies can operate these programs or contract with community organizations for cost effective services.

Acoca, L. and K. Dedel. (1998). No Place to Hide: Understanding and Meeting the Needs of Girls in the California Juvenile Justice System. San Francisco, CA: National Council on Crime and Delinquency.
In this NCCD study, 200 adolescent girls were given an in depth interview in four detention centers in California. Implications regarding family fragmentation, histories of victimization inside and outside the juvenile justice system, physical and mental health issues, separation of incarcerated mothers from their children, widespread school failure, vulnerabilities of early adolescence, offense histories, and resiliency are discussed.

Acoca and NCCD. (2000). Educate or Incarcerate? Girls in the Florida and Duval County Juvenile Justice Systems. Oakland, CA: National Council on Crime and Delinquency.
Focused study of girls in the juvenile justice system in Duval County, (Jacksonville) Florida. Found that educational failure, particularly during the middle school years was the most statistically significant risk factor for juvenile offending, including serious offending. From files for girls at various stages in the juvenile justice system in Duval County, Fl, (n=1000) girls who had school problems were 4 times more likely to be repeat offenders and 3 times more likely to have more serious charges, including person offenses than girls who did not have academic school problems. Interview data also revealed that academic problems were the most significant risk factor for repeat offending and serious offenses. Other risk factors such as pregnancy, early sexual activity, violent victimization, and intergenerational incarceration (particularly of fathers) emerged from the study. According to the study, the risk of committing a person offense increases nearly three times, if the girl has an incarcerated parent or if she needs special education services. From the findings, the most effective and economical gender-specific prevention strategy recommended to reduce the number of girls entering the system, is to prevent school failure early. A comprehensive and safe educational environment that is designed specifically for the critical late primary and middle school years is important in protecting girls.

Arifuku, I., & Nunez, M. (2000). Teens on target evaluation. Oakland, CA: National Council on Crime and Delinquency.
As part of an evaluation of a program designed to intervene in the lives of adolescent girls on juvenile probation in Alameda County, California, NCCD gathered data on the victimization experiences of 390 girls. One in five girls on probation were victims of physical abuse and 17% were victims of sexual abuse. Over one-half (57%) of the girls said they had witnessed severe violence or abuse and 18% said they had witnessed a murder or an attempted murder.
NCCD. Needs assessment of youths Alameda County, California detention Center.
NCCD researchers gathered information pertaining to victimization. These data represent the responses of 361 juveniles entering the Alameda detention center between February and May of 2000. Females were almost three times more likely than males to respond that they had been physically hurt by someone in their home or someone close to them (11% vs. 4%). Fifteen percent of females and 1% of males coming to juvenile hall responded that they had been forced to engage in sexual activity against their will; for a third of the females reporting sexual abuse, the incident(s) occurred in the home.About 20% of youths reported that police or child protective service workers were called to their house as a result of domestic disputes. Females were more likely than males to report police/agency contact as a result of family/household disputes; 29% of females reported one or more incidents.

NCCD. December 2001. Evaluation of the R.Y.S.E. Program: Alameda County Probation Department
The Reaffirming Young Sister's Excellence (R.Y.S.E.) program was the Alameda County Probation Department's Female Continuum from July 1997 through June 2001, developed in response to the rising rates of female involvement in the justice system and the dearth of services for this population of girls in the county. NCCD conducted the first rigorous evaluation of a gender-specific program, including process, impact, and cost analysis.

Morris (2002). Black girls on Lockdown. Essence Magazine.
Brief overview article that documents the disparate over-represenation of Black girls in the juvenile justice system, their victimization, and the added impacts of culture and gender on girls and their treatment.

NCCD Board of Directors Sentencing Reform Statement. (2005).
Position 13: Scrutinize and monitor all sentencing propositions and implementation to prevent an unjust impact on women.
Although more men than women serve time in prison, the proportion of women sentenced to prison has been steadily increasing, largely as a result of mandatory minimums, three strikes, and drug laws (Mauer, Potler, and Wolf, 1999). We must build in assurances that, like men, women are only imprisoned to ensure public safety. Sentencing policies should take into account the underlying causes of offending by women, which are fundamentally different than those of men. Instead of gender-blind policies, we advocate gender responsiveness. That is, policies must reflect an awareness of the true societal differences between women and men. Societal expectations of how women “should” behave impact punishment for women who break the law. Women have different motivations than men do for drug use, property theft, and violence. They are more likely than men to use drugs to self medicate for depression and other mental health issues. Women have patterns of victimization and poverty that are different than those of men; they are often economically and emotionally dependent on men that are involved in crime (Raeder, 1993). They are more likely to be unemployed or underemployed (Morash, Bynum, and Koons, 1998). Of particular importance is that women more often live with their young children and have other significant family obligations and relationships.

Patino, V, Ravoira, L. and Wolf, A. 2006. Rallying Cry for Change: Charting a New Direction in the State of Florida’s Response to Girls in the Juvenile Justice System. Oakland, CA: National Council on Crime and Delinquency.
This report is a comprehensive profile of the factors contributing to the delinquency of 319 girls in the Florida juvenile justice system. Provides recommendations for an essential set of services for girls along the entire juvenile justice continuum.

Hartney, C. (2007). The Nation’s Most Punitive States for Women. Oakland, CA: National Council on Crime and Delinquency.
NCCD looks at which US states have the highest and lowest rates of incarceration, probation, and parole for adult and juvenile women. Includes a section on rates for girls in juvenile justice programs.

Davis, A. (2008). NCCD Focus: Interpersonal and Physical Dating Violence among Teens. Oakland, CA: National Council on Crime and Delinquency
Explores the prevalence of interpersonal violence where approximately 1 of 3 adolescent girls are affected. Discusses the implications of exposure including: greater exposure to other forms of violence, greater propensity for unsafesexual activity, and a higher incidence of substance abuse and suicide ideation than their male counterparts or non-exposed females.

Patino, V and Ravoira, L. (2009, in press). Translating Research Findings into Effective Gender Responsive Services and Intervention for Girls in JJ. IMPACT journal. Berkeley, CA
The authors translate the findings specific to pathways of girls into the system (emotional factors, family conflict, and substance abuse) and incorporate the gender-responsive principles to provide practical applications for reducing risk and increasing resiliency. The intervention strategies are responsive to girls’ individual needs and motivations, stressing the importance of safe environments and relationship building that are the important cornerstones for reducing recidivism and improving life outomes.

Patino, V. (2009). Getting the Facts Straight about Girls in the Juvenile Justice System. Jacksonville, FL: National Council on Crime and Delinquency Center for Girls and Young Women.
This fact sheet highlights gender-specific issues regarding offense type and severity, age, race/ethnicity and other underlying factors that impact girls’ delinquency. It shows that girls are a growing proportion of the system, they are younger, their offenses are less serious and often related to family issues, and they have greater mental health needs.