Gender-Responsive Intervention for Female Juvenile Offenders: A Quasi-Experimental Outcome Evaluation

• Author: Jodi L. Petersen,Ashlee R. Barnes,Eyitayo Onifade,Nordia A. Campbell,William S. Davidson,Brinn M. Walerych,Valerie R. Anderson,Christina A. Campbell
• DOI: 10.1177/1557085116677749
• Published date: 01 January 2019
• Date: 01 January 2019
• Subject Matter: Articles

https://doi.org/10.1177/1557085116677749

Feminist Criminology

2019, Vol. 14(1) 24 –44

© The Author(s) 2016

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DOI: 10.1177/1557085116677749

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Article

Gender-Responsive

Intervention for Female

Juvenile Offenders: A

Quasi-Experimental

Outcome Evaluation

Valerie R. Anderson1, Brinn M. Walerych2,

Nordia A. Campbell2, Ashlee R. Barnes2,

William S. Davidson II2, Christina A. Campbell1,

Eyitayo Onifade3, and Jodi L. Petersen4

Abstract

The increasing proportion of girls in the juvenile justice system has prompted courts

to develop gender-responsive services. The present study examined data from a mid-

sized county juvenile court to examine the effects of a group home intervention for

girls. The study compared group home participants (n = 172) with girls who did not

receive group home treatment (n = 814) using propensity score matching (PSM).

Girls who received group home treatment were significantly less likely to re-offend

in the 2-year follow-up period. Policy and practice implications for gender-responsive

services as well as future directions for research are discussed.

Keywords

female offenders, girls, juvenile justice, gender-responsive, intervention, propensity

score matching, risk assessment

1University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH, USA

2Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI, USA

3Florida Agricultural and Mechanical University, Tallahassee, FL, USA

4Grand Valley State University, Grand Rapids, MI, USA

Corresponding Author:

Valerie R. Anderson, School of Criminal Justice, University of Cincinnati, P.O. Box 210389, Cincinnati,

OH 45221-0389, USA.

Email: valerie.anderson@uc.edu

677749FCXXXX10.1177/1557085116677749Feminist CriminologyAnderson et al.

research-article2016

Anderson et al. 25

Introduction

Female youth involvement in the juvenile justice system and arrests of young women

have significantly increased in the United States since the 1990s (Chesney-Lind &

Shelden, 2004; Krisberg, 2005; Stevens, Morash, & Chesney-Lind, 2011). This increase

in official female juvenile delinquency is largely seen as a reflection of the change in

system-level policies and practices (Javdani, Sadeh, & Verona, 2011; Stevens et al.,

2011) and changes in arrest patterns through the upcriming of girls’ offenses rather than

an increase of actual criminal behavior (Schwartz & Steffensmeier, 2012). As a result

of the increased proportion of juvenile cases involving girls, there is a growing interest

and investment in gender-responsive services among juvenile justice practitioners and

researchers (Chesney-Lind & Irwin, 2008; Chesney-Lind & Shelden, 2004).

Furthermore, there have been consistent calls for more rigorous evaluation studies on

the effectiveness of gender-responsive programming (Chesney-Lind, Morash, &

Stevens, 2008; Kerig & Schindler, 2013; Zahn, Day, Mihalic, & Tichavsky, 2009).

The reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act

(JJDPA) in 1992 mandated states to include gender-responsive services (Chesney-

Lind & Irwin, 2008). Much of the literature on female juvenile delinquency has

focused on girls’ unique risk factors for entry into the juvenile justice system (e.g.,

abuse/victimization, substance abuse, mental health needs, familial and peer contexts),

girls’ disparate treatment within the juvenile justice system, policies and practices that

differentially affect girls in a negative way, and inadequate evaluation of programming

for girls (e.g., Chesney-Lind et al., 2008). In particular, researchers, practitioners, and

policymakers have drawn upon this literature when calling for more gender-respon-

sive services for juvenile justice involved youth. The literature review will cover the

history of girls’ involvement with the system and federal and state policy reform for

the inclusion of gender-responsive treatment based on what is known to date about

gender-responsive services for girls.

Gender-Responsive Policy Reform

Girls’ historical involvement with the juvenile justice system can be seen as a residual

impact of the child-saving movement: the creation of a separate system for youth

resulted in incarcerating more girls for largely “immoral behavior” (e.g., promiscuity,

incorrigibility; Chesney-Lind & Shelden, 2004). The reauthorization JJDPA in 1992

specifically outlined the need for gender-responsive services and an examination of

gender bias across levels of the system (Walker, Muno, & Sullivan-Colglazier, 2015).

The Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) reissued these

recommendations in 1998 to provide federal funding for gender-responsive interven-

tions (Kerig & Schindler, 2013). This amendment to the JJDPA explicitly stated the

need for physical and mental health services, education, and treatment for previous

trauma/abuse. In addition, the American Bar Association and National Bar Association

(2001) revealed gender bias across all levels of the system and called for gender equity

in the juvenile justice system. Numerous task forces and committees were developed