Date Published: July 18, 2006
A new study of girls in Florida’s juvenile justice system shows that a series of systemic factors influence the rising number of girls entering and cycling through the system.
The study, conducted by the National Council on Crime and Delinquency, offers a series of recommendations for improving treatment of girls and reversing the escalating number of girls entering the system.
“This is the largest and most comprehensive study ever done of girls in the juvenile justice system, said Barry Krisberg, Ph.D., president of NCCD. “The results provide a dramatic demonstration of the urgent need for improved services for at-risk young women, and the need for high-quality gender responsive programs."
In Florida, girls represent about one in five youths committed into the juvenile justice system and the population is growing faster than that of boys.
The study, which was funded by the Jessie Ball duPont Fund, found:
-Girls enter the system at young ages – 40% commit their first offense before age 13.
-Girls entering the system share common experiences. The great majority have been sexually abused or neglected, have diagnosed mental health problems, and have experienced family conflict and inadequate parental control.
-Girls are more often admitted for violations of probation and misdemeanor offenses, including domestic violence, than are boys.
-Girls’ placement in residential programs is not always consistent with the offense history.
-Once in the system, appropriate treatment often is unavailable and, consequently, inappropriate behavior often results in placement transfer.
-Girls spend more time in the system than do boys with less violent offenses.
The study will be publicly released July 18 at 1:00 p.m. EDT.
In response to the study’s findings, The Florida Bar Foundation has awarded a $440,000 grant to the Children’s Campaign to support development of a blueprint for reforming strategies addressing juvenile justice issues for girls.
“The findings of this study are very significant. Because of our long interest in supporting programs to improve juvenile justice in Florida, we are very pleased to invest in these critically-needed efforts to improve the system,” said Michele Kane Cummings, Foundation board member and chair of the grant committee funding the Children's Campaign efforts. “In recent years, we have seen the State take several positive steps with respect to the needs of girls. We need to continue these meaningful reforms and make Florida a model for the rest of the nation.”
During the next two years, the Children’s Campaign will work with officials from the Florida Department of Juvenile Justice, national experts and community representatives to develop the blueprint for meeting the needs of girls in the system, both in residential and non-residential placements. The goal is a system of care for girls that takes into account each girl’s personal profile and provides a data-driven plan for services based on true needs.
The current study is but the latest in a series of research and advocacy work, supported by the Jessie Ball duPont Fund, intended to improve prevention and intervention services for juveniles – particularly girls – in the State of Florida. In 2000, the Fund underwrote the NCCD report Educate or Incarcerate: Girls In the Florida and Duval County Juvenile Justice System, which effectively launched the current efforts to improve services to girls. The success of Fund-supported work in Florida to date has prompted the State of Delaware to begin a similar examination of its services to juveniles with a particular interest in gender-specific programming.
“We are keenly aware of the challenges facing our young people and are convinced that one-size-fits-all juvenile justice programs are not the answer,” said Sherry P. Magill, president of the Jessie Ball duPont Fund. “We encourage citizens to challenge government – at the community and state level – to provide our young people with the appropriate services at the appropriate time.”
To read the executive summary and the final report "A Rallying Cry for Change: Charting a New Direction in the State of Florida's response to Girls in the Juvenile Justice System." Click Here To Read More
July 18, 2006
Children's Campaign Inc. Source: Children's Campaign, Inc. |