Responding to Girls

• NCJ Number: 211334
• Journal: Pennsylvania Progress Volume: 11 Issue: 1 Dated: June 2005 Pages: 1-8
• Author(s): Valerie Bender; Patrick Griffin
• Date Published: June 2005
• Length: 8 pages
• Grant Number(s): 01/02-J-05/04-12753
• Sponsoring Agency: Pennsylvania Cmssn on Crime and Delinquency; Office of Justice Programs (OJP)
• Publication Format: Article
• Publication Type: Report (Study/Research)
• Language: English
• Country: United States of America

Annotation

This article examines the work of Pennsylvania's Female Services Subcommittee, which was established in 2000 to develop an action plan and recommendations for improving the juvenile justice system's ability to respond effectively to the needs of girls and young women.

Abstract

The subcommittee, which was established by the Pennsylvania Commission on Crime and Delinquency's Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Committee, is composed of researchers, policymakers, and practitioners from an array of organizations. Attention to the development of gender-specific practices and programs for delinquent girls has been spurred by the dramatic increase in the proportion of juvenile court cases involving females (a 22-percent increase from 1997 to 2003) and a 32-percent increase in female admissions to secure detention from 1997 to 2003, compared with a male increase of 10 percent. The subcommittee sponsored a survey of chief juvenile probation officers across the State to determine their gender-responsive policies, hiring, training, and programs within juvenile probation; 48 of the 67 counties responded. The findings indicate the need for more focus on the needs of females in the juvenile justice system. Still, examples of gender-specific programming were reported, including program for parenting and teen pregnancy, physical/sexual health, relationship building, posttraumatic stress disorder (PTSD), and mental health. The subcommittee concluded that females in Pennsylvania's juvenile justice system would benefit from the creation of State-specific guidelines on gender-responsive protocols, policies, practices, and training. In addition, the subcommittee recommended increased training in female adolescent development and the identification of gender-responsive assessment protocols. This paper describes a pilot effort in the State's Westmoreland County that is intended to become a model for how education on PTSD symptoms and treatment can be incorporated into a county juvenile justice system. 2 tables