Learning Handicapped and Nonlearning Handicapped Female Juvenile Offenders: Educational and Criminal Profiles.

Interviews with 30 female juvenile offenders were conducted to: l)describe their educational and criminal backgrounds; and 2)describe a subgroup of learning handicapped juvenile female offenders. Female juvenile inmates in Arizona are an average of one grade level behind their age group in school. Nearly one third of those interviewed had received special education services in the public schools prior to their incarceration with additional offenders diagnosed as handicapped upon entry into the correctional facility. All but two of those interviewed had been arrested at least twice, and about half of them had been incarcerated previously. Approximately 22% of all juuenile dispositions in the United States in 1980 were for females (Sourcebook of Criminal Justice Statistics, 1983). Juvenile females accounted for 16.6% of the violent crimes and 29.9% of the property crimes committed by all females in the U.S. in 1983 (Uniform Crime Reports, 1983). Currently, about 9% of the juveniles incarcerated in Arizona are female. Although sociologists, psychologists, and educators have hypothesized various reasons for sexual differentiation in delinquency, very little has been reported in the literature addressing programming for incarcerated juvenile females. Typically, studies of female delinquency have incorporated stereotypes, and have relied heavily on easily distorted statistics (Steffensmeier & Cobb, 1981). Figueira-McDonough and Selo (1980) found that "major theories of criminal deviance, while purporting to be general, emerge, in fact, as no more than special theories of male deviance" (p. 344). Similarly, some researchers have described female delinquency patterns as identical to male patterns of delinquency with differences between the two being in terms of quantity only (Cerkovich & Giordano, 1979; Jensen & Eve, 1976). Unfortunately, this "equality" ends where educational services are concerned. Three factors have interfered with the treatment of females in corrections: l)sex role stereotyping; 2)perpetua tion of these stereotypes by females themselves; and 3)continuting effects of stereotypic beliefs on the ex offender's success in the community (Feinman, 1979). Many educational programming decisions for female offenders have focused on domestic development which prepares inmates for sex role-appropriate duties. Attempts at preparing incarcerated women for skilled, well-paying jobs have usually been abandoned on the basis of economics -too few women to justify the expense (Feinman, 1979). Before educational programming decisions are made, however, an adequate description of female juvenile offenders in general, and learning handicapped female juvenile offenders in particular, is needed. Frequently, educational characteristics of juvenile offenders are reported only as an aside to criminal information. Educational information is particularly relevant (toprogramming for female offenders since they are generally less educated, less motivated, and less likely than males to become involved in training programs (Ginsburg, 1981). This information gap becomes crucial when one considers that most states require school attendance for incarcerated juveniles, and more importantly, when the national propor tion of handicapped juvenile offenders is estimated at 28% of the incarcerated population (Rutherford, Nelson, & Wolford, 1985). The lack of detailed, accurate information coupled with a number of myths regarding female criminality has made educational programming for the female juvenile offender inadequate at best. Interviews with 30 juvenile females incarcerated in Arizona were conducted to: 1 )describe the educational and criminal profiles of offenders; and 2)describe a subgroup of handicapped female juvenile offenders. Implications of these profiles for educational programming are also discussed. Subjects Subjects were 30 volunteers from the population of 54 girls incarcerated in Arizona's only female juvenile facility. The age range was 13 yrs. 8 mo. to 17 yrs. 5 mo. (x=15 yrs. 7 mo.). The racial composition of the group was 60% white, 23% Hispanic, 10% Native American, and 7% black. Fifty percent of the offenders reported living in urba setting; 20% in rural settings; and 30% lived in the suburbs. Due to short lengths of stay (sometimes as little as 30 days) the facility's primary function is detention. H wever, educational evaluation and ongoing maintenance of academic skills are also program components. Procedure A series of free response questions using a funneling technique (Oppenheim, 1966) was developed into an interview format to collect data from the subjects. The funneling procedure required that general responses be followed by additional related questions to pinpoint the