“The structural discrimination that supports detaining and incarcerating girls for violating these norms is both hard to see and hard to challenge. It is often hidden by outward goodwill toward girls and legitimate expressions of concern for their vulnerability and possible victimization….However, a closer look suggests that what professes to be social welfare is often social control of teenage girls who frustrate child welfare and juvenile justice systems with their chronic disobedience of home, court, and agency rules. Studies show that girls are more likely than boys to be held in contempt for violating court-imposed rules and that probation officers view girls as needy and difficult.”

The discussion on the system’s response to girls that run away (75% of runaways are girls) is both fascinating and disturbing. Understanding that running away is likely to lead to homelessness and prostitution, the system generates harsher sanctions.

“The mechanics of the juvenile justice process [...] make it easy to sanction runaway girls with detention or even commitment. In their 1990 study of contempt sanctions among status offenders in Florida, Donna Bishop and Charles Frazier confirmed this gender bias in sanctions. Their study sought to determine whether unequal treatment and male and female status offenders and delinquents persisted after JJDP act reforms. They studied the records of three years of status and non-status offense referrals in Florida at several stages of the juvenile process from intake through disposition. They found that male status offenders had a 37.6 percent chance of formal court referral that increased to 45.7 percent if found in contempt, while female status offenders had an initial 31.2 percent chance of formal referral, which increased to 69.7 percent for contempt. For repeat status offenders facing possible incarceration, the bias was even more glaring–male repeat status offenders had a 3.9 percent chance of incarceration that increased to 4.4 percent with contempt, while female repeat status offenders had a 1.8 percent chance of incarceration that increased to 63.2 percent if found in contempt.”

If you are interested in making sure that girls benefit from the incredible juvenile justice reforms sweeping our states, read this report to find out about:

• The history of federal policy on girls’ issues
• The impact on girls of current trends toward developmentally centered and data-driven juvenile justice
• The application of developmentally centered policy in relation to girls who experience family violence and those who are commercially sexually exploited.

The report also dives into the implications of reforms on girls such as data-driven decision-making and assessment instruments.

Credited to:
THE OFFICIAL BLOG OF THE YOUTH TRANSITION FUNDERS GROUP
Hosted by Chris Sturgis, Strategic Advisor to YTFG

http://cby25.blogspot.com/2012/10/more-about-girls.html

THURSDAY, OCTOBER 4, 2012

One of the most important findings is to remember that there is great diversity among girls in relation to their sexuality and identity. Other findings are that girls want to balance addressing the trauma in their past with building for the future. Read the executive summary for a summary of their findings.

http://cby25.blogspot.com/2012/10/listening-to-girls.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+TheConnectedBy25Blog+%28The+Connected+by+25+Blog%29

Hosted by Chris Sturgis, Strategic Advisor to YTFG

Is it personal appearance? Peer pressure? Bullying?

And how is that changing?

It may be a relief to parents of middle-school girls that a group called the Investing in Girls Alliance is keeping an eye on just those issues and tracking how they’re changing.

An assessment by IIG in 2007 and another in 2011 can show just what girls are thinking and how organizations that support girls during this time of rapid change in their lives are doing in helping them.

“IIG is an alliance of public and private agencies and individuals who came together to address the issues that affect girls,” said Linda Cavaioli, executive director of YWCA Central Massachusetts and co-chairwoman of IIG.

The study started, she said, to survey and see what needed to be done about these young women and the violence in their lives.

“About seven or eight years ago, the superintendent of schools in Worcester approached the mayor’s youth-at-risk task force to talk about the increase in violence involving girls,” Ms. Cavaioli said.

The group challenged providers of services to girls to figure out what to do, and it went into action, meeting with private agencies as well as state agencies and the departments of children and families, youth services and mental health.

What they found, Ms. Cavaioli said, was that not enough data existed on the subject.

Police, of course, kept track of statistics on crimes involving girls when they came to their attention. Schools tracked suspensions and their causes, and the department of youth services had some data, also.

“We collected what we could but it was really not very instructive,” Ms. Cavaioli said. “And girls’ numbers are not as dramatically high as boys. What we did see was an increase.”

“What we really wanted to find out was what issues the girls were really facing, how were they getting involved with violence, and what they felt were issues in their lives,” said Ileana D’Limas, IIG co-chairwoman and school adjustment counselor and Worcester Public Schools safety department employee.

Where to find that out? They went right to the source.

“We felt very strongly that we couldn’t just be sitting around a table discussing girls and what they thought,” said Ms. Cavaioli. “We wanted them to tell us.”

IIG was formed to survey the girls, first in 2007 and again in 2011. What emerges is a picture, not just of how girls get involved in violence but also of their whole lives and what the stressors might be.

The 2011 assessment surveyed 400 girls between 10 and 14, as well as 70 parents and 63 service providers that deal with the issues experts see affecting girls: bullying, peer pressure, sexual health, physical health, body image and school pressures.

The survey consisted of 81 percent students from Worcester, with 19 percent from Shrewsbury, Charlton and Auburn, and in that population there was a 10 percent increase in the number of girls in that age group. And in that bubble, there was a more than 75 percent increase in the number of Latina girls.

And not surprisingly, these young women, like young men their age, spend a significant part of their day connected — to the Internet, video games and TV.

Some good things are revealed by the surveys: Experts say the state’s bullying law, passed in 2010, has had an impact on students, who are now aware of what bullying is and that a system exists to deal with it if they report it.

“They still feel victimized by it, though,” said Ms. D’Limas.

Moreover, girls are reportedly doing better at body issues, being aware of eating healthy and exercising.

While parents and providers know some of the significant issues for girls, they differ with the girls themselves on what’s the most significant issue.

Parents and providers of services see peer pressure/peer relationships as the number-one issue for this age group, but the girls put that issue fourth. Their most important issue: romantic relationships and sexual health, with stress coming second and physical body changes third.

Bullying, which placed second for parents and third for providers, placed last in the top five for the girls.

All this will help the YWCA, Girls Inc. and public schools help the girls themselves, but the survey found another disturbing trend: Some programs that help girls are now underfunded or not funded at all, perhaps putting some gains at risk.

In spite of lack of funds, grant funds were available for the survey, and organizations are still helping girls with the issues highlighted in the survey.
Girls Inc. has acronyms galore, with SMART, a program that encourages girls to explore science and math; Friendly PEERsuasion, giving girls the skills to resist peer pressure; Dear World, an expressive arts program; Media Literacy, teaching them about messages they’ll face; Fit Girls, highlighting physical fitness, and more.

And those are only the Girls Inc. offerings. The YWCA and many organizations in and around the city still focus on getting girls healthy and moving them on to a better life.

The effort to survey girls, their parents, and the providers of services to them is resulting in cooperation between organizations that provide services, making sure that those programs that can help get to a wider audience and provide a consistent message.

Ms. Cavaioli hopes that the IIG will continue to monitor what’s happening as elementary school girls turn into young women in middle school and then into high school students in further surveys. Those, she hopes, will happen every three years.

For more information, visit investingingirls.org.

build the capacity of its member organizations;
engage a wide range of constituencies in efforts to improve services for girls;
improve access to information about girls and girls’ programs;
raise public awareness of the unique strengths, needs, experiences, and perspectives of girls;
collectively advocate for girls’ needs among legislators and policymakers.
With funding from the Fred Harris Daniels Foundation and United Way, the IIG spent the last three years implementing strategies and programs related to the Alliance’s mission. The Research Bureau will update the needs assessment through surveys of middle school girls, parents, service providers, and focus groups. These surveys will provide sufficient data for the Alliance to set its priorities for the next three years and to benchmark progress every three years thereafter.

On Saturday, February 6, 75 girls ages 10-14 gathered at the YWCA to participate in Women and Girls In Sports Day, sponsored by the Investing in Girls Alliance. The atmosphere was wonderful and the schedule packed with programs to inspire girls to be STRONG! Tony Smith and several of our basketball league girls made a very interactive presentation! Girls Inc Board Director and triathlete Geo Villegas joined me with a group of girls and Tammy Roach, a girl scout leader to talk about launching our new Iron Girl Program. And Board Director Wendy O’Leary gave two yoga demonstrations! It was a great day – check back for pictures! …and check out the Investing in Girls web site for more information about the alliance www.investingingirls.org

Last evening about a dozen members of the Junior League of Worcester returned to Girls Inc for second, very successful Kids in the Kitchen program with 50 middle school girls. It was a fun, delicious and creative time of learning about a healthy lifestyle, including programs on nutrition, crafts and more. Our thanks to our special STRONG, SMART and BOLD friends at the Junior League for their continued commitment to our girls!

Next week is Winter Break – check back to get updates on the special program with field trips to the Worcester Art Museum, Higgins Armory and Sturbridge Village!

Stay Warm!
Cathi

The over 30 agencies in the Investing in Girls Alliance join Girls Inc in issuing a challenge to organizations, companies and businesses across Central MA to participate in National Take our Daughters (and Sons) to Work Day on April 22nd by opening your businesses, your stores, your offices and your hearts to your daughters, sons, their friends and other young people. That one day in a work-place could change the life path for a young person – inspire her or him to learn more about a career or a college course

….and being there for our young people will change the lives of the adults who participate – that I promise!

Call Anne McCarthy at 508-755-6455 x41 to learn more!