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The following is an excerpt from Gender Equity: The New York State Juvenile Justice System:

Executive Summary

This report is the first step in an examination of the gender disparities in services provided to youth after placement in the New York juvenile justice system. Jointly commissioned by the American Civil Liberties Union (ACLU) and the Legal Aid Society of New York – Juvenile Rights Division (LAS-JRD), this report was authored by a team of students from the New York University Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service. The report analyzes options available to youth in the New York Juvenile Justice System and *******s information obtained by the team through research, visits to detention centers and interviews with professionals and youth in the juvenile justice system. The report also encompasses information concerning how girls enter the juvenile justice system, the demographics of juvenile female delinquents in New York and what their needs are once they are in the system.

Our research identified eight major issues surrounding girls and gender specific services in New York State:

There is a lack of research and data on girls in New York State’s juvenile justice system. The majority, if not all, current research caters to boys and their needs or experiences. This causes a further disjunction in equal treatment of boys and girls and results in many of the delinquent girls being rendered invisible due to this lack of pertinent information.
Girls needs often ******* issues pertaining to education, physical and mental health care, victimization and family and community stability. Without addressing these needs, complete rehabilitation is unlikely.
Access issues prevent research opportunities in New York’s juvenile detention facilities. The system is not open to inquiry and it is nearly impossible to investigate issues and create viable solutions.
Adequate documentation pertaining to services offered at detention facilities is not accessible or necessarily accurate.
There are limited facilities and few gender specific programs available for delinquent females. In addition, alternative placement options are scarce.
Attorneys, judges, caseworkers, detention facility employees and social workers have limited training regarding many of the special needs that accompany female juvenile delinquents.
There is an OCFS ad hoc advisory group called the Girls Task Force, which meets quarterly to discuss gender specific programming and issues. This task force also identifies areas for improvement in the OCFS system. The group is supported by and responsive to the management of the Division of Rehabilitative Services.
Because of New York State’s large female juvenile population and OCFS’ reported willingness to examine the system, many research opportunities exist.
Our research culminated in the following recommendations to aid the ACLU and LAS-JRD in advocating for systemic improvements in the services provided to young females incarcerated in the New York juvenile justice system:

Research Recommendations:

Encourage, obtain or author research that examines boys and girls separately as opposed to simply juvenile delinquents or the typical male population
Obtain both qualitative and quantitative information from juvenile females and their families
Continually examine and support best practices and research that identifies gender specific programming
Obtain more information regarding New York State juvenile detention facilities and youth in the system from state agencies
Study all decision making points throughout the juvenile justice system to determine identified points at which the system can be improved in its treatment of young female delinquents
Evaluate all facilities and programs serving girls in New York State
System Recommendations:

Increase resources, programs and positive community and family supports to prevent youth from entering the system
Promote alternatives to detention for girls who are charged with status offenses or crimes that indicate mental health needs
Advocate for more detention facilities located in the New York City area
Advocate for more treatment options for female juvenile delinquents
Encourage OCFS to continue efforts to meet the unique needs of the girls in the system
Encourage OCFS to obtain further Challenge Grant E funding
Encourage OCFS and all members of the juvenile justice system to educate their staff concerning gender specific issues.
Promote an integrated system of care for delinquent and at-risk youth that coordinates efforts and maximizes the use of existing services
Demographics of Girls in the System

When trying to understand trends in the New York juvenile justice system specific to girls, it is important to look at both national and New York State statistics, because the issue extends far beyond New York State lines. It is also important to consider girls’ trends in comparison to boys’ so that specific consideration can be placed on gender and its effect on involvement in the juvenile justice system.

Juvenile Crime on a National Level

In 1998, over 2.6 million youth under age 18 were arrested and 27 percent of these youth were female (697,000). In 1998, girls accounted for 22 percent of all aggravated assaults, 30 percent of curfew and loitering violations, 31 percent of simple assaults and 58 percent of all runaways. With regards to female juvenile arrests, there are three evident trends:

1. Female Youth Arrest Rates Are Increasing:

While young women are still less likely than young men to be delinquent, the increase in juvenile arrest rates since 1981 has been greater for females than for males.

2. Arrests Increased More for Girls than for Boys in Several Categories:

From 1994 through 1998, arrests of girls increased more for girls than for boys in aggravated and simple assaults, drug abuse, drinking and curfew violations.

3. Arrests Increased in Female Violent Crimes:

Increases in the female juvenile violent arrest rate outpaced increases in the male rate. In 1981, the female juvenile Violent Crime Index arrest rate was 12 percent of the male rate. Between 1981 and 1997, both rates increased substantially but the increase was greater for females than for males. As a result, in 1997, the female rate was 20 percent that of the male rate.

These national statistics indicate that girls are becoming increasingly involved with the juvenile justice system. While the majority of girls’ violations are non-violent, their rising arrest rates imply that prevention efforts are either not functioning or not conducted with sufficient frequency.

Youth in New York State

When considering female juvenile justice statistics in New York, it is important to consider youth statistics specific to New York State on a more general level. This basic understanding will provide a context for examining factors related to all youth and the environment. New York state numbers should also be compared to national averages so as to grasp the seriousness of the issue and the context. Three important facts to note about youth in New York State are:

In 2000, New York's youth population under age 18 was approximately 4,690,107, and the overall U.S. youth population was 72,293,812
In 1998, 25 percent of New York’s children lived in poverty and 12 percent of children lived in extreme poverty (income below 50 percent of the poverty level)
In 1998, nine percent of teens (16-19) were high school dropouts, and 31 percent of families were headed by single parents
Juvenile Crime in New York State

In 1998, there were 138,600 arrests of youth who were 17 years old and younger in New York State. During that same year, New York State documented 688 violent crime arrests for every 100,000 youth between the ages of 10 and 17. This statistic can be compared to the national average of 394 arrests per 100,000 youths between the ages of 10 to 17. This statistic demonstrates that, on average, youth crime in New York is typically more violent than elsewhere throughout the country. A further breakdown of that statistic is below.

In 1998, there were 13,179 violent crime arrests of juveniles (less than 17 years) in New York including murder (135), rape (285), robbery (7,543) and aggravated assault (5,154). See Appendix 3 for a breakdown of statistics.
The 13,179 violent youth (up to age 17) arrests reported in 1998 are: 26 percent below the level reported five years ago (17,752 in 1994); 10 percent lower than the 14,665 reported 10 years ago in 1989; but 11 percent above the figure of 11,851 reported 15 years ago in 1984.
Juvenile arrests (person 15 and younger) totaled 57,661 and accounted for 42 percent of the youth arrest total. Juvenile arrests for violent index offense totaled 5,274 or 48 percent of the youth violent crime arrests.
In 1998, New York documented 1,347 juvenile property crime arrest rates per 100,000 youth ages 10 to 17. These statistics can be compared to the national average of 2,130 per 100,000 youth ages 10 to 17. Youth in New York are less likely to get arrested for a property crime than they are elsewhere in the country.

Regionally, New York City accounted for 48 percent of all juvenile arrests statewide in 1998, but amassed 75 percent of the violent crime arrests. This means that New York City has to deal with a great number of crimes and the majority of all violent crimes committed by juveniles in the state.

Female Juvenile Crime in New York State

In 1998, females accounted for 19 percent of all youth arrests in New York State. With regards to female juvenile arrests in New York, there are three evident trends:

1. Girls Are Entering OCFS at an Increasing Rate:

Despite declining arrest rates, the number of girls entering detention and OCFS custody has increased each year since 1997

2. Increase in Younger Girls’ Involvement:

Females accounted for 17 percent of the total juvenile arrests (under age 16) in New York in 1984, but 24 percent of the total in 1998. This means that intervention and special attention should be directed at girls of all ages, especially young girls.

3. Girls are Becoming More Violent:

The number of female youth arrested annually for violent crimes in New York State doubled over the last 15 years from 1,112 in 1984 to 2,147 in 1998.

The percentage of girls in New York City detention has increased steadily over the last few years. In 1997, girls were 15 percent of the population and this figure gradually increased to 18.3 percent. Of this amount, a large percentage of girls are eventually sentenced to long-term periods at OCFS facilities. In fact, in 1999, 61 percent of girls admitted to OCFS facilities were from New York City.

Annual Costs of Incarcerating a Girl in New York State

According to OCFS’ Youth in Care 1999 Annual Report, costs are: $99,813 for a secure facility, $78,234 in a limited secure facility, and $76,650 for a non-secure facility. Incarcerating youths is not cost effective. There is an 80 percent recidivism rate despite the services provided.

In conclusion, girls in New York State commit more crimes and are more violent than their counterparts in other states. Girls in New York are arrested more often and at a younger age. As a consequence, New York has a more complex problem than most states, needs to expend more monies than most states and is in a position to impact the lives of more female young delinquents than other states.

Girls Needs

Recent research indicates that the typical girl in the juvenile justice system, and the root causes of her delinquent behavior, tend to differ greatly from her male counterparts. As seen in the Demographics section of this report, there is an increase in the number of female youth entering the system. As girls enter the system at increasing rates, it is of importance to understand what factors play a role in their entering the system. Research has indicated that the following needs, which ******* education, mental and physical health, victimization and family fragmentation, are critical factors.

Education

Education is supposed to provide all youth with the opportunity and the chance to further their personal growth. However, in many communities, schools are actually failing girls in multiple ways. Rather than a safe haven, research has documented that for many girls, school is often a battleground, described as an atmosphere of sexual harassment, racism, rivalry and inattention from teachers and counselors.

School failure has been shown to increase the risk that young people will turn to violence and delinquency. Failure at the middle school level is one of the main reasons for girls becoming juvenile offenders and becoming more violent. According to one study, 85 percent of girls had been expelled or suspended before entering the juvenile justice system, and the median age for these experiences was 13. For those girls who were placed in special classrooms, only one percent said that the placement helped them stay out of trouble.

Mental and Physical Health

Many girls who enter the juvenile justice system have histories of mental and physical health needs. Prior to entering the juvenile justice system, a 1998 study found that 88 percent of the girls reported that they had experienced one or more serious physical health problems and more than half stated that they needed psychological services. The same study showed that 24 percent of girls indicated that they had seriously considered suicide, and 21 percent had been hospitalized in a psychiatric facility on at least one occasion.

Girls in the system often display signs of depression, anxiety, self-destructive behavior, post-traumatic stress disorder and suicidal tendencies. When compared to boys, girls displayed significantly more of these mental health needs. In 1997, a study found that 84 percent of girls in the system needed mental health assistance, compared to 27 percent of boys.

Victimization

Scholars have continually noted that physical, sexual and emotional victimization is one of the first steps that a girl takes into the juvenile justice system. According to Acoca, the early age at which girls suffer abuse and the impact it has on their lives is an important factor in understanding why girls become delinquent. Seventy percent of girls in the juvenile justice system have histories of physical abuse compared to the approximately 20 percent rate of physical abuse for girls in the general population. It is important to remember however, that victimization for a young girl can also ******* emotional experiences such as witnessing a traumatic event or having a trusted person violate her safety.

Many young women, attempting to cope with their experiences of victimization, learn at a young age that power and control resides in physical violence. Behaviors, including truancy, unsafe sexual activity, running away and fighting, are closely correlated with the victimization of young girls.

Family Fragmentation

For many girls in the juvenile justice system, their families are fragmented, with issues of poverty, death, violence and a multigenerational pattern of incarceration. On a national level, data reveals that 95 percent of girls assessed lacked a stable family environment, and 11 percent had experienced or witnessed the death of one or both parents or a sibling. In addition, 54 percent of the girls interviewed reported having mothers who have been arrested or incarcerated while 46 percent of the girls’ fathers had been incarcerated at some point.