Center for
Wud | Girls & Young Women

Local Solutions to: Improving Outcomes for Girls

This fact sheet summarizes two community efforts to develop and implement local solutions for
improving the response to girls who are at risk or currently involved in the juvenile justice system.
These two case studies also illustrate how multiple agencies are working together to respond to the
individual needs and challenges of their unique communities.

Overview of the Justice for Girls: Duval County Initiative

The National Council on Crime and Delinquency (NCCD) Center for Girls and Young Women, in
partnership with Children’s Campaign, inc., convened and staff the Justice for Girls: Duval County
Initiative UFG: Duval Initiative), Funded by the Women's Giving Alliance, Jessie Ball duPont Fund, and
other private donors, the goal of the JFG: Duval initiative is to identify and examine policies,
procedures, and practices that shepherd girls into the juvenile justice system; and to determine points
in the process where girls can be prevented from entering, diverted, or appropriately referred to
services based on individual needs and public safety risks.

The proven advocacy model and research from The Children’s Campaign were used as the basis for
the project and tailored to result in a focused examination of what is happening to justice-involved
girls in Duval County. The components include:

Local Citizen-Driven Leadership Council: This leadership team, which serves as the coordinating body
of the initiative, is staffed by Dr. Lawanda Ravoira, director of the NCCD Center for Girls and Young
Women, and supported by The Children’s Campaign statewide headquarters in Tallahassee. The
leadership council members include citizen leaders who are not part of the juvenile justice system.
Their role is to learn about the issues, provide pragmatic recommendations for change, and assume
the strategic leadership for advancing the goals and objectives of this initiative.

Local Advisory Board: The First Coast Girls initiative, whose members have firsthand knowledge and
experience with Duval County girls, serves as the advising arm to the Leadership Council, making
strategic use of this valuable resource.

Community Conversations: These include a series of roundtable conversations, town hall meetings,
and individual meetings with key citizen leaders, stakeholders, and the interested public regarding
justice-invoived girls. The purpose of the conversations is to seek input regarding recommendations
and priorities for systemic change in Duval County.

Consolidation of Research and Recommendations: This will put forward a blueprint for local action
and lead to the identification of priorities for justice-involved girls in Duval County.

Just and equitable sociaf systems for individuals, families, and communities ¢

. public policy, and practice.

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Overview of the Stanislaus County Girls Juvenile Justice Initiative

The Girls Juvenile Justice Initiative (GJJ!) in Stanislaus County, CA, aims to promote public safety by
developing a gender-respansive, culturally competent continuum of care that provides opportunities
for girls and young women to lead safe, healthy, and productive lives. The project began in 2009,
when the Stanislaus County Probation Department started collaborating with the Prison Law Office,
NCCD, and Youth Justice Institute to address the lack of services available to justice-involved girls in
the county. In 2010, a community needs assessment, which included analyzing county-level data;
developing a needs profile of girls in detention; and collecting information from local stakeholders in
the fields of criminal justice, education, child development, and public and mental health, was
conducted. Based on the needs assessment, a task force developed a strategic plan designed to
improve gender-responsive programming and services in the county.

The GJJl includes five interventions, developed as a result of the strategic planning process: 1)
convening a girls’ task force of key stakeholders, with representation from probation, juvenile court,
public defender's office, district attorney's office, behavioral health, education, community-based
organizations, etc.; 2) providing gender-responsive training for probation and other staff; 3)
implementing a gender-specific assessment for girls on probation; 4) implementing gender-
responsive alternatives to detention programs; and 5) implementing a mentoring program for girls in
detention. As of 2012, all interventions are in progress and are being evaluated to identify effective
ways to meet the needs of similar populations in other counties. Funding for the initiative has come
frorn various sources, including state and foundation grants awarded to the probation department
and Prison Law Office.

These models are being replicated through TTA efforts of the National Girls institute.


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