NCJ Number
165635
Date Published
1996
Length
3 pages
Annotation
The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention awarded a 1-year planning grant to the Cook County, Illinois, Juvenile Temporary Detention Center to develop gender-specific programming for young women in the county's juvenile justice system.
Abstract
A task force comprised of 30 government and community-based organizations was created to promote gender equity and fairness. Task force goals were to increase the visibility of female juvenile offenders, change the way the juvenile justice system treats females, articulate specific needs of female juvenile offenders, and design and implement policies and programs to meet these needs. The task force developed gender-specific risk and needs assessment instruments with the assistance of the National Council on Crime and Delinquency. In addition, the task force created a resource directory of programs for female juvenile offenders, presented training on how to implement gender-specific programming, and assessed information sharing among agencies serving juveniles. The task force developed a case management model that is both client and system focused. As a client-focused model, it advocates for female juvenile offenders and helps them negotiate the juvenile justice system. As a system-focused model, it coordinates the efforts of agencies serving and comprising the juvenile justice system.