Key Studies: Girls in the Juvenile Justice System
Delinquency and Girls:
Acoca, L. (1998). Outside/Inside: The Violation of American Girls at Home, on the Streets, and in the Juvenile Justice System. Crime and Delinquency 44 (4): 561-589. [Available from Sage Publications, Inc., 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320; telephone: 805/ 499-0721].
Summary: This article reports on the abuses that a majority of girl offenders have experienced both outside and inside the U.S. juvenile justice system. Data presented include 956 case files drawn from a study conducted by the National Council on Crime and Delinquency (NCDD) of girl offenders from geographically diverse California counties. Additionally, 193 structured interviews with girls in detention facilities and in community settings were conducted. These data show a strong correlation between physical, sexual, and emotional victimization and specific high-risk behaviors -polydrug use, school failure, and gang membership. Policy, research, and program recommendations are suggested to eradicate violence to children, and focus specifically on girl offenders.
Chesney-Lind, M. (1997). The Female Offender: Girls, Women and Crime. Thousand Oaks: Sage Publications, Inc. [Available from Sage Publications, Inc., 2455 Teller Road, Thousand Oaks, CA 91320; telephone: 805/ 499-0721].
Summary: This book addresses female crime that has been long overlooked by the predominant research and theory on male criminality. As female offenders entering the juvenile and criminal justice systems continue to rise, the focus on women and juvenile females is gaining more attention. Unique to this population, the book explores gender and cultural factors in women's lives that often precede a move into criminal behavior and addresses the question of whether female offenders are more violent today than in decades past. For instance, the chapter on "Girls' Troubles and 'Female Delinquency,'" suggests that the juvenile justice system victimizes many female juveniles for status offenses that can be readily applied to many forms of "girl" delinquency (i.e. running away from home).
Chesney-Lind, M., and Randall, S. (1998). Girls, Delinquency, and Juvenile Justice. Second Edition. Belmont: Wadsworth Publishing. First Edition, 1992. [Available from Thompson Learning, P.O. Box 6904, Florence, KY 41022; telephone: 800/354-6904].
Summary: This is the first book devoted solely to the topic of female delinquency and the treatment of young girls by the juvenile justice system. The book sheds new light on the special problems of delinquent girls by taking into account what it is like to grow up female in a patriarchal society. In this edition, the book examines the impact of the newest legislation on girls and delinquency, current programs, the use of drugs and alcohol, and drug-addicted babies. It also provides updated statistical information and increased information on the selective success or failure of juvenile programs and a more positive outlook on possible future solutions.
Juvenile Female Offenders: A Status of the States Report. (1998). Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice. [Available online: http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/pubs/gender/contents.html].
Summary: This report inventories the efforts of 25 states to address the needs of at-risk girls and juvenile female offenders. Additionally, it covers the issues of female development in treatment; female psychology; self-esteem and young women; physical changes and external pressures; mitigating factors to the loss of self-esteem; and provides a female-based continuum of care model.
Juvenile Justice Journal: Investing in Girls: A 21st Century Strategy. (1999). Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice. [Available online: http://www.ncjrs.org/pdffiles1/ojjdp/178254.pdf].
Summary: Presents three feature articles, each exploring issues related to girls in the juvenile justice system. The first article describes how addressing the needs of girls are paramount to halting the intergenerational cycle of family fragmentation and crime. The second article highlights, the Family Intervention Team, whose mission is to restore hope to young women who have lost their direction. The third article focuses on The National Girls' Caucus, which was formed to ensure equitable treatment for girls in the juvenile justice system.
Justice by Gender: The Lack of Appropriate Prevention, Diversion, and Treatment Alternatives for Girls in the Justice System. (2001). Washington, DC: American Bar Association and the National Bar Association. [Available online: http://www.abanet.org/crimjust/juvjus/girls.html].
Summary: This report shows that increasing number of girls are entering a juvenile justice system that fails to meet their special needs for education, counseling and support. Between 1988 and 1997, delinquency cases involving girls jumped an alarming 83 percent. Between 1990 and 1999, arrests of girls increased more than arrests of boys for curfew violations, loitering, drug abuse and assault. The report suggests the increase in female delinquency is primarily due to changes in the response of the juvenile justice system to female offenders, and not necessarily the result of more violent and aggressive behavior among girls. Recommendations from the report include: national awareness of the underlying factors that place girls at-risk of involvement in the juvenile justice system; alternatives to detention; and effective gender-specific program development.
Weiler, J. (1999). An Overview of Research on Girls and Violence. New York, New York: Institute for Urban and Minority Education, Teachers College, Columbia University. [Available online: http://iume.tc.columbia.edu/choices/briefs/choices01.html].
Summary: This summary of research reviews the extent of girls' delinquency and violence, the ways they differ from boys', the contributing factors, and effective program strategies to prevent female delinquency.
Data and Statistics:
Poe-Yamagata, E., and Butts, J. (1996). Female Offenders in the Juvenile Justice System. Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice. [Available online: http://www.ncjrs.org/pdffiles/femof.pdf].
Summary: A statistics summary of patterns in the arrest, judicial management, and correctional placement of female offenders. Citing data from diverse sources, the study finds that females are entering the juvenile justice system more frequently and at younger ages.
Scahill, M. (2000). Female Delinquency Cases, 1997. Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice. [Available online: http://www.ncjrs.org/pdffiles1/ojjdp/fs200016.pdf].
Summary: This fact sheet provides female delinquency data on offenses, detention, intake decisions, waiver to criminal court, and adjudication and disposition. Juvenile courts processed an estimated 1,755,100 delinquency cases in 1997. Nearly one-fourth (23 percent) of these cases involved a female offender, compared with 19 percent in 1988. Between 1988 and 1997, the number of delinquency cases involving females increased 83 percent.
Policy and Gender-Specific Program Development:
Budnick, K., and Shields-Fletcher, E. (1998). What About Girls? Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice. [Available online: http://www.ncjrs.org/txtfiles/fs-9884.txt)]
Summary: A fact sheet on how States are dealing with female juvenile offenders, developing an inventory of best practices, producing a prototype training curriculum, and implementing a variety of program development activities.
Chesney-Lind, M. 2001. What About Girls? Delinquency Programming as if Gender Mattered. Corrections Today. February. [Available online: http://www.corrections.com/aca/cortoday/february01/chesney.html].
Summary: This article suggests girls' programs should be comprehensive and address the many needs of young women that are particularly linked to victimization, trauma and girls' delinquency. Effective programs should consider physical and sexual violence; risk of HIV/AIDS; pregnancy and motherhood; drug and alcohol dependency; family problems; unemployment and employment training; finding safe housing; managing stress; and developing a sense of efficacy and empowerment. In addition, the programs should not only be gender specific, but also culturally specific for the increasing number of minority girls in the juvenile justice system.
Guiding Principles for Promising Female Programming: An Inventory of Best Practices. (1998). Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice. [Available online: http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/pubs/principles/contents.html].
Summary: This monograph provides an overview of promising and innovative gender-specific programs for girls who are already involved in the juvenile justice system or those who are at risk of delinquency. It also includes a comprehensive review of the most relevant theoretical and research studies focusing on the gender-specific needs of at-risk adolescent girls, with a focus on the risk and protective factors that affect at-risk adolescent girls who may become juvenile offenders.
Owen, B., and Bloom, B. (1997). Profiling the Needs of Young Female Offenders: A Protocol and Pilot Study. Washington, DC: National Institute of Justice, U.S. Department of Justice. [Available online: http://www.ncjrs.org/rr/vol_1/22.html].
Summary: This study suggests three basic steps that individual agencies, institutions, or jurisdictions can take to collect information on their youthful female offender population: 1) a detailed profile of the youthful female population of interest; 2) an onsite inventory of existing programs within the facility of interest; 3) a needs assessment that will match profile data with program data to determine gaps between identified needs and current program availability.
Weiss, F. L., Nicholson, H.J., & Cretella, M.M. (1996). Prevention and Parity: Girls in Juvenile Justice. New York, New York: Girls Incorporated. [Available from the National Resource Center, 441 West Michigan Street, Indianapolis, IN 46202; telephone: 800/374-4475].
Summary: This publication addresses key issues that affect the ways in which the juvenile justice system can meet girls' needs. The issues include the nature and extent of young women's involvement in juvenile delinquency and the juvenile justice system; specific factors that place a young woman at risk for involvement; variables affecting how girls are treated by the juvenile justice system and what is known about effective programs for prevention; and intervention and treatment.
Mental Health and Delinquency Among Girls:
Mental Health and Adolescent Girls in the Juvenile Justice System. Fact Sheet. Alexandria, VA: National Mental Health Association. [Available online: http://www.nmha.org/children/justjuv/girlsjj.cfm].
Summary: This fact sheet highlights the treatment needs of girls in the juvenile justice system who often come into the system with complex medical and mental health issues related to sexual behavior, substance abuse, trauma, and violence. Programming for girls should address these unique needs of girls and focus on building relationships, addressing victimization, and improving self-esteem.
Prescott, L. (1998). Improving Policy and Practice for Adolescent Girls with Co-Occurring Disorders in the Juvenile Justice System. Delmar, NY: The National Gains Center for People with Co-Occurring Disorders in the Justice System. [Available online: http://www.prainc.com/gains/publications/girls.htm].
Summary: This report provides specific recommendations for enhancing efforts to support gender-specific, culturally and developmentally sensitive policy and practice that focus on the unique needs of young female offenders. Among the recommendations are additional research and evaluation and cross-system collaboration with schools and dissemination of information.
Travis, J. (1999). Adolescent Girls: The Role of Depression in the Development of Delinquency. Washington, DC: National Institute of Justice, U.S. Department of Justice. [Available online: http://ncjrs.org/txtfiles1/fs000244.txt].
Summary: A research study looking at the role of depression in delinquency among girls. The findings suggest mildly to moderately depressed girls may be at risk of engaging in antisocial behavior, such as association with deviant behaviors, substance abuse, poor academic achievement, and conflicted parent-child relationships.
Female Gangs:
Moore, J., and Hagedorn, J. 2001. Female Gangs: A Focus on Research. Washington, DC: Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, U.S. Department of Justice. [Available online: http://ojjdp.ncjrs.org/pubs/gang.html#186159].
Summary: This report summarizes past and present research on female gangs and draws attention to the rise in the number of female gangs and the increased public recognition of female gang involvement as a significant social problem. It considers the motivations for female gang membership, assess the delinquency and criminal activity of female gang members, examine the influence of ethnicity and gender norms on female gang behavior, and discuss the long-term consequences of gang membership. Further research is recommended in the following areas: female gang formation; reasons for joining gangs; ethnicity; gender roles in gangs; delinquency and criminality; and later-life consequences of female gang membership.
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