They talk about racial and gender disproportionality in the juvenile justice system. And they talk and talk. Most institutional and community-based programs are not developmentally sound, culturally competent or responsive to the special needs of girls. Juvenile crime rates have dropped steadily since 1994, but the number and percentage of girls in the criminal justice system are rising exponentially. More than one-fourth of those in the system are female.
Psychologists say there's a huge difference in what motivates girls and boys to commit crimes.
Girls' problems in the justice system can usually be traced to conflicts in family or social relationships. Typically, they don't have a close relationship with their mother. And then once they're in the system, the institutions have few programs that teach them the skills and critical thinking they need to keep from coming back. Seattle and King County are working to fix this. The county's juvenile justice master plan includes one program designed for girls in detention.