Diversity of How Youth Relate …

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Diversity of How Youth Relate
Examining Gender-Specific Issues Responsive
Programming

• Presented by
• Lynn Knezevich, Gwens Girls, Inc.
• Nancy Sabol, Gannondale
• Pat Yeager, Vision Quest

Pennsylvania Council of Children, Youth, and
Family Services 2005 Membership Meeting
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Outline

• Overview of Gender-Specific/Responsive Services
  Programs
• Gender-Specific Clinical/Treatment Issues that
  often manifest and must be practically addressed
• Focus on Trauma in Gender-Specific Treatment
  Understanding Treating Post-Traumatic Stress
  Disorder (PTSD)

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Overview of Gender-Specific/ Responsive Services
Programs

• Lynn Knezevich, Gwens Girls, Inc.

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Brief History of Gender-Responsive Programs

• 1970s
• 1974 Juvenile Justice and Delinquency
  Prevention Act (JJDPA) passed
• No gender-specific requirements mentioned
• Focus on child rights treatment of juveniles
  separate from adults
• Had provisions to address specific needs of
  status offenders
• 1976 Jean Baker Miller writes New Psychology of
  Women.
• Feminist Theory Relational Theory
  increased understanding of how women girls
  develop relate equal rights of women, etc.

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Brief History of Gender-Responsive Programs

• 1980s
• Increase in research in development of female
  programming services
• 1981 Stone Center at Wellesley College Founded
  (by Miller et al.)
• 1982 Carol Gilligan writes In a Different Voice
  Psychological Theory Womens Development
• 1985 PACE Center for Girls established

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Brief History of Gender-Responsive Programs

• 1990s
• 1992 Reauthorization of JJDP Act
• Requires states to identify gaps in ability to
  provide svs to female offenders analysis of svs
  required, as well as plan for providing svs
• Represented first time for many states that an
  organized effort to scrutinize state system and
  how relates to adolescent females
• Separate funding for 10 activities Most states
  focus on est. policies to prohibit gender bias in
  placement treatment and est. programs to ensure
  female youth have access to full range of svs
• Led to new improved efforts to better serve
  girls

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Brief History of Gender-Responsive Programs

• 1990s some highlights
• 1992 Judith Herman writes Trauma Recovery
• 1998 OJJDP publishes Guidelines for Promising
  Female Programming
• Great deal of research re G-S Services and
  Programming.
• Pennsylvania Established PTSD training
  certified sites thru PCCD

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Brief History of Gender-Responsive Programs

• 2000 to Present National
• 2002 Reauthorization of JJDP Act
• requiring states to create a plan for providing
  G-S services
• New funding stream thru Part C Juvenile
  Delinquency Prevention Block Grant
• OJJDP/JABG creates Gender-Responsive Programming
  Curriculum

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Brief History of Gender-Responsive Programs

• 2000 to Present Pennsylvania
• 2005 DPWs Office of Children, Youth and
  Families (OCYF) receives grant from PCCD to focus
  on development of a gender-responsive continuum
  of care for girls involved in Pennsylvania's
  juvenile justice system. 
• Contact Jenna Mehnert, Director of Policy
  Planning at DPW for more info at
  jmehnert_at_state.pa.us

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Why Girls Need Gender-Competent Programs

• Girls develop in unique powerful ways that
  require specialized focus
• Programs designed for boys do not address unique
  complex needs of girls
• Programs for are more successful when

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Definitions
Gender-Specific Services comprehensively
addresses the needs of a gender group (female or
male), fostering positive gender identity
development
Gender-Responsive Programming (GRP) for girls
intentionally allows gender to affect guide
services, creating an environment through site
selection, staff selection, program development,
content material that reflects and
understanding of the realities of girls lives,
and is addresses and responds to the strengths,
issues, and needs of the girls and young women
being served
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Definitions

• OJJDP has defined GRP as those that are
• designed to meet UNIQUE NEEDS of young at-risk
  and delinquent girls
• that value the FEMALE PERSPECTIVE
• that celebrate honor the FEMALE EXPERIENCE
• that respect take into account FEMALE
  DEVELOPMENT
• that EMPOWER young women to reach their full
  potential

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Recommendations for Overall Design

• Organization Management
  good gender-specific services begin with good
  services
• Program Policies
• Assessment Tools, Screening Instruments Intake
  Process
• Quality Assurance (Collecting Data on girls
  Outcome Measurements continuous feedback
  input)
• Program Design Service Delivery
• Aftercare/Followup

• Staff Qualifications Staffing Patterns
  
• Hiring Staff Diversity Staffing should
  reflect diversity of population served
• Training in GRP, adolescent female development,
  risks resiliency, knowledge of culture, and
  assessment
• Staff Retention

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Key Components of GRP
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Key Components of GRP
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Gender-Specific Clinical/Treatment Issues

• Nancy Sabol, Gannondale

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Focus on Trauma in Gender-Specific Treatment
Understanding Treating Post-Traumatic Stress
Disorder (PTSD)

• Pat Yeager, Vision Quest

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Resources
will insert links to resources here