The current state of gender-specific delinquency programming

Abstract

Few attempts to identify “what works” in the crime prevention and offender rehabilitation research specifically address gender. The 1992 reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act, however, called for new research that would improve the processing and treatment of delinquent girls. This article reviews the relevant theoretical and empirical research that both informed the new legislation and took place in response to it. This is followed by an empirical study conducted to: (1) identify gender-specific programs (GSPs), (2) determine the extent to which GSPs utilize applicable research in their design and implementation, and (3) assess the evidence of GSPs' impact on targeted outcomes. The findings from the current study suggested that, in addition to strengthening program evaluation methodology, gender-specific programs for girls need to more meaningfully incorporate relevant theories and gender-specific risk and protective factors into their curriculum.

Introduction

In the past fifteen years, the field of criminology has taken a closer look at delinquent girls and their experiences prior to, during, and after their involvement in the juvenile justice system. The focal point of the practical research has been the design, implementation, and evaluation of gender-specific programs (“GSPs”) for “at-risk” and delinquent girls.

GSPs developed during a time characterized by a call for more detailed information on how delinquency prevention and treatment programs work. The 1992 reauthorization of the 1974 Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act specifically requested research to determine the needs of delinquent girls and to develop strategies to address these needs. In this reauthorization, gender-specific services were defined as those “designed to address the needs unique to the gender of the individual to whom such services are provided” (Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Appropriations Authorization, 1992).

Although the term “gender-specific” could (and should) be interpreted to be relevant for boys as well as girls, it has become a reference solely to reflect programming for delinquent girls (Goodkind, 2005). This is largely explained by the recognition that women and girls have historically been ignored in studies of crime and the detention and institutionalization of female offenders (e.g., Acoca, 1999, Arnold, 1990, Belknap, 2007, Chesney-Lind and Rodriguez, 1983, Chesney-Lind and Shelden, 1998) and the professional testimony given to the legislature advocating for the need to address the unique programmatic needs of delinquent girls (Belknap, Winter, & Cady, 2003). To this end, a report from the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention stated that “gender-specific programming for girls is a comprehensive approach to female delinquency rooted in the experience of girls” (Greene, Peters, & Associates, 1998, p. v). Scholars responded to the challenge for research-driven information regarding what “works” for preventing and treating girls' delinquency, advancing both theoretical and applied empirical research to provide a foundation for a better understanding of the risk-factors for girls' delinquency and the types and evaluations of GSPs for such girls. This article will provide a brief summary of the research assessing the tenuous role of theory in delinquent girls' programming, before reviewing the current study, which attempted to identify existing programs and examine their design and evidence of effect.