Did They Move on? An Outcome Evaluation of the Gender-Responsive Program, Girls...Moving On

• Author: Emily J. Salisbury,Linsey A. Belisle,Jaclyn Keen
• DOI: 10.1177/15570851211065900
• Published date: 01 April 2022
• Date: 01 April 2022
• Subject Matter: Articles

Article

Feminist Criminology

2022, Vol. 17(2) 223–251

© The Author(s) 2021

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DOI: 10.1177/15570851211065900

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Did They Move on? An

Outcome Evaluation of the

Gender-Responsive Program,

Girls...Moving On

Linsey A. Belisle

1

, Emily J. Salisbury

2

, and Jaclyn Keen

3

Abstract

The current study is an outcome evaluation of the gender-responsive program,

Girls...Moving On (GMO). Outcomes for treatment (n= 135) and control group (n=

135) participants reflected mixed findings, with no significant reductions in recidivism,

which may have been due to problems with implementation. Nevertheless, girls who

completed the program had significantly larger reductions in risk scores and increases

in strength scores compare to non-completers, but little to no differences in recidivism.

Additionally, GMO completers showed improvements in self-efficacy scores. Several

implications and considerations regarding the outcomes are discussed to guide future

gender-responsive programs for system-impacted girls.

Keywords

girls, juvenile justice, probation, juvenile delinquency, female, deliquency

Introduction

Over the years, feminist scholars have presented overwhelming evidence to support

the claim that gender, and the intersection of race/ethnicity and gender, matters

1

Department of Criminal Justice and Social Work, College of Public Service, University of Houston-

Downtown, Houston, TX, USA

2

Utah Criminal Justice Center, College of Social Work, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA

3

Department of Criminal Justice, Bowling Green State University, Bowling Green, OH, USA

Corresponding Author:

Linsey A. Belisle, University of Houston Downtown College of Public Service, One Main Street, Houston, TX

77002, USA.

Email: BelisleL@uhd.edu

concerning offending behaviors and justice involvement. Many women and girls

follow gendered pathways into the system, meaning that the criminogenic needs

driving their behavior are unique to their gendered needs and experiences (Bloom

et al., 2003;Chesney–Lind & Pasko, 2013;DeHart & Lynch, 2021;Gobeil et al.,

2016;Lanctˆ

ot, 2017;Petersen et al., 2015). As a result, there is a need to incorporate

the components of gender responsivity into all practices and programs for system-

involved women/girls (Belisle & Salisbury, 2021;Bloom et al., 2003;Wright et al.,

2003).

The foundational principles of gender responsivity include (1) acknowledging that

gender matters, (2) creating an environment based on safety, respect, and dignity, (3)

developing policies, practices, and programs that are relational and promote healthy

connections, (4) addressing substance abuse, trauma, and mental health (utilizing a

comprehensive/integrated approach), (5) providing opportunities to improve socio-

economic conditions, and (6) emphasizing community supervision (when possible)

utilizing collaborative reintegration services (Bloom et al., 2003). Given that gender-

responsive programs are made specifically for women/girls, adhere to the principles of

gender responsivity, and target gendered criminogenic needs, research has found these

programs are more effective with women than gender-neutral programs (see Gobeil

et al., 2016). While a fair number of studies have examined gender-responsive pro-

gramming among justice-involved women, the same cannot be said for girls. Very few

gender-responsive interventions have been evaluated for system-impacted girls

(Anderson et al., 2016;Chesney–Lind et al., 2008;Javdani, 2021;Walker et al., 2019;

Zahn et al., 2009).

The current study directly contributes to the limited evaluation research by pro-

viding the first peer-reviewed direct examination of the Girls…Moving On program

(GMO; Orbis Partners, 2016). GMO is a gender-responsive, relationally based program

developed to target the social, emotional, and behavioral problems uniquely faced by

justice-involved girls. This study utilizes secondary data to explore if participation and/

or completion of the GMO program significantly impacted risk and strength scores (as

measured by the Youth Assessment and Screening Instrument [YASI]; Orbis Partners,

2000) and recidivism outcomes. Additionally, changes in pre/posttest questionnaires

among girls who completed the GMO program were also examined. A review of the

gender-responsive programming literature is first provided, followed by a description

of the current study, results, and a discussion of the findings.

Gender-Responsive Programming and Treatment for Girls

The lack of gender-responsive programming has left many system-impacted girls

with unmet needs (Chesney–Lind et al., 2008). However, many agencies have

demonstrated a dedication to working with girls and reforming their policies and

practices to better address girls’needs, particularly in the areas of relational ap-

proaches, establishing safety, and increasing engagement (Walker et al., 2015).

Building off of Bloom and colleagues’guiding principles (2003), scholars emphasize

224 Feminist Criminology 17(2)