Gender-Specific Juvenile Probation Programming

In a 1989 report to the Southcentral Region of the Alaska Division of Family and Youth Services (DFYS) (Schafer & Read, 1989), the Justice Center identified Alaska Native girls as the fastest-growing delinquent group in the region, with the number of Native girls referred in Anchorage more than doubling in the four years studied. Shortly thereafter, the 1992 reauthorization of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act required states to identify gaps in services to delinquent girls and to formulate strategies to address these gaps. The growth in female delinquency and mandates from the federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention sparked an intensive examination of gender issues in the Alaska juvenile justice system. Beginning in October 2000, DFYS (later replaced in this function by the Alaska Division of Juvenile Justice, or DJJ) established in Anchorage an all-female probation caseload with the expectation that extensive attention would be paid to the special concerns and problems of adolescent girls. By August 2003, approximately 50 girls were receiving probation services as part of two all-female caseloads.

The Justice Center, in cooperation with the Alaska Juvenile Justice Advisory Committee, received funds to provide a basis for future evaluations of gender-specific caseloads and to provide materials which would help to formulate future programs and evaluations. Three tasks were involved in setting a base for future evaluations of the program: reviewing recent literature on female delinquency and gender-specific programming; developing a local resource manual; and establishing baseline data.

Reference

Schafer, N. E. and Read, Emily E. (1989). Juvenile Offense Behavior in Southcentral Alaska. Report prepared for the Southcentral Region, Alaska Division of Family and Youth Services. Anchorage, AK: Justice Center, University of Alaska Anchorage.