Female offenders

The authors examine issues related to classification of female jail inmates by profiling the female inmate population and discussing problems associated with using a single classification system for both male and female inmates or a gender-neutral system. This document also provides guidelines for

Intervention effectiveness can be improved by understanding how women respond to sanctions. This 6-hour course addressed sentencing practices in relation to female offenders through the following modules: why focus on women offenders?; the judicial response to the woman offender; who women offenders

Findings from a telephone assessment of state and federal practices for classifying women offenders are presented. In addition to an executive summary, this report has the following chapters:

• Introduction;
• Issues in classifying women offenders -- the literature;
• Approach;
• Findings;
• And

Guidance for those individuals "seeking to more effectively respond to the behavior and circumstances of the female offender" is offered (p. iv). An executive summary and the following four chapters comprise this manual: characteristics of women in the criminal justice system -- a descriptive

Research, practice, and guiding principles related to gender-responsive strategies and utilized in jail settings are exchanged. The six guiding principles are: acknowledge that gender makes a difference; create an environment based on safety, respect, and dignity; develop policies, practices, and

A report which highlights the results of two cooperative agreements from the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) addressing the critical need for gender-specific objective classification systems is presented. Following an executive summary are six chapters: introduction; classification issues

Current research about women offenders and strategies for evaluating current operating procedures related to women offenders are covered. Sections of this bulletin include: introduction; women in jail -- their numbers and characteristics; the Gender-Responsive Strategies project -- approach and

Reviews information on gender-specific policies, programs, and services in corrections. Topics covered by this bulletin include: the Gender-Responsive Strategies Project -- approach and findings; defining gender responsiveness; national profile of women offenders; the foundation for the principles a

The use of gender-responsive strategies with women involved in the community corrections system is explained. Sections comprising this report are: what community corrections is; what gender-responsiveness for women offenders in community corrections is; definition of gender-responsiveness for women

The "use of jail exit surveys as an effective data collection tool for creating [a] picture of the characteristics of women in contact with the local jail" is described (p. 1). Sections of this bulletin are: introduction; how one jurisdiction used data to inform responses to women offenders; reasons

The use of systemic criminal justice planning by Hamilton County (OH) to improve services and programming for women offenders is reviewed. This bulletin is comprised of the following sections: introduction; the systemic planning process; members of the Intermediate Sanctions for Women Offenders

The development and implementation of the Cook County Sheriff's Department of Women's Justice Services (DWJS) is discussed. This bulletin is comprised of these sections: introduction; background; the decisionmaking process; decision point mapping example -- custody/release; creating the DWJS; gender

This 38-hour course is designed to help juvenile justice agencies evaluate and respond to the needs of juvenile female offenders in their specific service delivery areas. It outlines a framework for translating expressed needs and profiles into appropriate programs and services. Eight sections

Changes and forces that may affect the programming of the National Institute of Corrections are analyzed and commented on. This update contains the following sections: international developments; social and demographic trends; public opinion and public policy; the economy and government spending

Meeting the needs of juvenile female offenders is discussed during this 1.5-hour training session. Topics covered include: introduction to the National Institute of Corrections (NIC) and Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) collaboration; current perspective -- research into

The gender-responsive Women Offender Case Management Model (WOCMM) is described. This document covers: the history of the project; philosophy and core practices; process incorporating four core elements (e.g., engage and assess, enhance motivation, implement the case plan, and review progress)

An overview of the work done by collaborative partnerships to design and validate gender-responsive risk and needs assessments for female offenders is provided. This article discusses issues surrounding female offender classification and the current National Institute of Corrections (NIC) study

Issue contents are: “Foreword” by Kermit Humphries; “An Overview of NIC’s Transition from Prison to the Community Initiative” by Peggy B. Burke; “Rising to the Challenge of Applying Evidence-Based Practices Across the Spectrum of a State Parole Board” by Sherry Tate and Catherine C. McVey;

Gender-responsive offender reentry efforts for female offenders in Rhode Island are discussed. Sections contained in this article are: introduction; reentry -- a statewide focus; women's issues past and present; consciously implementing a gender-responsive approach -- assessments, program

The development of new risk/needs assessments specifically designed for female offenders is discussed. This report is comprised of these sections:

• The case for women's needs;
• Development of new assessments;
• Construction validation research;
• Full instruments;
• Implementation considerations;
• Obtaining the

"This Practice Brief focuses on the benefits of establishing healthy social and civic connections through mentoring of criminal justice-involved women" (p. 3). Sections contained in this publication include: issue overview; what mentoring is; mentoring and gender; policy and legislation; the WPA

"In response to the Prison Rape Elimination Act of 2003 (PREA), this project ... examined the context and correlates of both violence and safety in correctional facilities for women" (p. 1). This report is divided into three parts after an abstract and executive summary: Part I, entitled "Gendered

The “most effective ways to meet the needs of returning female offenders” are explained (p.1). This report has these sections: overview; presentations-foundations of effective service; discussions-highlights and themes; going forward; and conclusion.

This two-hour training session is for correctional managers wanting to implement risk and needs assessments for adult female offenders. Participants will: become familiar with gender-responsive assessments and approaches; and receive information regarding the adoption of the Women’s Risk and Needs

“The purpose of this bulletin is to explore the literature and summarize the empirical evidence related to the impact of employment on the criminal behavior of women” (p. 2).

Sections comprising this publication are:

• female offender demographics;
• barriers to employment-overview, the role of

The experiences of female inmates, their children, and the present caregivers of those children are examined. Any review of the problems women inmates and their children experience should include this report. Three sections are contained in this document: female prisoners-demographics, criminal

“The Gender-Responsive Program Assessment tool is an instrument by which program administrators, program evaluators, agency monitors and staff can evaluate the gender responsiveness of programs for women and girls and obtain feedback that can be used to improve the quality of a program’s services”

“The outcome evaluation [for the Women Offender Case Management Model (WOCMM) implemented in Connecticut probation] focuses on determining whether participation in the project reduces future involvement in the criminal justice system as measured by recidivism over a fixed length follow-up period

“This document reviews ten truths about justice involved women-gleaned from the research over the last few decades -that must be recognized if we are to successfully manage this population, achieve greater reductions in recidivism, and improve public safety outcomes. It is our hope that by

“This NCCD Focus highlights the vulnerabilities and consequences of gang involvement for girls, the service needs of girls in gangs and girls at risk of joining gangs, as well as the importance of addressing these service needs as a critical gang violence-prevention strategy. It also provides

The fundamentals, cultural considerations, and actions to be taken to address trauma through peer support are explained. “This guide was created for a very specific purpose: to help make trauma-informed peer support available to women who are trauma survivors and who receive or have received mental

This webinar “discussed the current research and best practices related to the successful management and treatment of women in the criminal justice system ... with a particular focus on behavioral health. The webinar also included a discussion about gender-specific criminogenic risk and need

"The purpose of this resource is to improve outcomes when interacting with adolescent girls by providing some reasons why girls often behave differently from boys, and tips on how to approach situations involving girls in a way that will lead to the best possible outcome for them and ensure public

“Women who are battered by their partners are everywhere - and that includes in your local jail. Unfortunately, in many communities, jailed women are quite invisible, even to battered women’s organizations. If you are not already doing so, we want you (and other community-based advocates) to work

“Scholars are beginning to analyze the relative contributions of changes in crime rates, criminal justice policies, economics, and demographics to the slowing growth rate of the prison system, but one area that has gone largely unexplored is the impact of such changes on racial disparities in

This report will give those individuals working with incarcerated girls an insight into what their charges are feeling and thinking. “The voices in this report are those of the girls on the A Unit at the Thomas J. S. Waxter Children’s Center in Laurel, Maryland. This report, which describes the

This brief describes the accomplishments to date and agenda moving forward for this group. “The Cabinet-level Reentry Council is working to enhance community safety and well-being, assist those returning from prison and jail becoming productive citizens, and save taxpayers dollars by lowering the

This practice guide will stress that efforts to safely reduce the inappropriate detention of low-risk girls must be rooted in JDAI’s [Juvenile Detention Alternatives Initiative’s eight] core strategies, but with an added intentional focus on applying those core strategies to girls’ unique needs and

“This guide is designed to assist administrators of prisons, jails, and community confinement facilities in drafting or revising protocols for an immediate response to reports of sexual assault. Sexual assault is a persistent problem in correctional environments with life-altering consequences for

“In the past decade, it has become increasingly clear that addressing trauma requires a multi-agency, multi-pronged approach. Public education, prevention, early identification, and effective trauma assessment and treatment are all necessary to break the cycle of trauma and violence. Significant

Do you need detailed information about how to manage inmate mothers? Then this publication is for you. It “provides an overview of pregnancy- and child-related legal questions concerning justice-involved women that can be raised in correctional settings ... Understanding how family-based legal

“[R]esearchers from two long-term longitudinal studies of delinquency- the Denver Youth Survey and the Fast Track Project-collaborated to establish common delinquency measures, conduct analyses, and integrate findings on developmental patterns of girls’ offending from childhood through adolescence ”

“’Why are girls so much more likely than boys to be petitioned and incarcerated for a status offense?’ This brief explores the complex answer to this question, and previews steps that can be taken to unravel, understand, and better address the complex needs of girls who engage in status offense

Individuals who want an up-to-date understanding of gender-responsive issues and all those who work with female offenders should read this document report. It “outlines the risks faced by women deprived of their liberty of being subjected to torture and ill-treatment and measures that can be taken

This report attempts to discover how the children involved in the Volunteers of America (VOA) initiative Look Up and Hope (LUH) feel while their mother has been incarcerated. It sheds a light on the experiences of this special population of children and offers a way other jurisdictions can approach

“This is a summary report from a March 2013 forum sponsored by the Office for Victims of Crime and Office on Violence Against Women that was held with the intent of further defining partnerships, implementation issues, and determining what guidance would be useful. This report summarizes key issues

This report provides a very good look at how criminal records, race, and gender impact chances for employment. Sections following an executive summary cover: prisoner reentry and employment; race and the criminal justice system; stereotyping racial minorities and the unemployed; crime and employment

“Over the past few years, young women of color have been represented at a disproportionately high rate among clients coming to Community Legal Services (CLS) for help with barriers to employment caused by criminal records. This is particularly notable, as the vast majority of research, programming

"Because the U.S. is unable to prevent widespread sexual violations of incarcerated women, it should apply the prescriptions of a recent U.K. female prison abolitionist movement as the most effective and humane solution to the problem." This article explains how. It is divided into the following six

"More than 200,000 women are locked in jails and prisons in the United States. These prisoners are routinely subjected to solitary confinement, spending at least 22 hours a day without human interaction for days, weeks, or months at a time. And yet, the solitary confinement of women is often

These standards were developed to "articulate a set of principles to guide agencies and jurisdictions in the development of local policy and practice. These best practices are relevant across a variety of settings including criminal justice, juvenile justice, psychiatric and forensic hospitals, law

"Recognizing that most inmates are trauma survivors and many common prison routines can re-traumatize women, the Women’s Community Correctional Center of Hawaii, under the leadership of Warden Mark Kawika Patterson, works to create “a place of healing and forgiveness” [pu'uhonua] through its Trauma-

While the use of evidence-based practice (EBP) is being used by more and more correctional systems, EBP tend to primarily address the needs of men. Issues specific to females are often overlooked. This void can be filled with gender-specific programming and services. The National Institute of

"As criminal justice practitioners, we need to understand that the issues facing women veterans in the justice system may be complex as a result of untreated trauma, mental illness, and substance abuse, and their unique military experiences. We must better prepare ourselves to respond. This document

"In the wake of significant research on trauma and the interventions required to address it, a number of correctional agencies have made efforts to increase the use of trauma-based services and curricula ... This document provides a brief overview of trauma and its effects on women offenders, and

This paper describes assessments of female offenders used by correctional agencies and the programs and resources provided by these agencies to meet female offenders' needs. "The two, assessments and programs/services go together. The assessments tell us what is needed and the programs address

You need to read this document if you work with justice-involved girls. It explains the serious problems faced with girls in the criminal justice system and suggests ways to address these challenges and meet these girls' critical needs. This Briefing Paper is divided in to four sections

"This bibliography attempts to offer a compilation of information on trauma-informed care by reviewing general information about trauma as well as focusing on the criminal justice system and corrections (women, adults, and younger people), peer support, and screening/assessment for trauma. In

This is an excellent introduction to the issues surrounding girls in the juvenile justice system. "The majority of girls in the system are there for status and misdemeanor offenses and violations of probation. Both the behaviors that result in girls' arrests and the structural mechanisms that pull

Anyone working with female offenders should read this systematic review of 13 studies from 1980 to 2014. It provides a very good look at effective HIV prevention interventions for justice-involved women. "As compared with interventions without an explicit theoretical orientation, interventions using

"Correctional policy and procedure drives decisions in the management and rehabilitation of offender populations. The continuously emerging research on female offenders highlights differences from their male counterparts, particularly in the areas of health, mental health, substance abuse and risk

Concerns with the U.S. Preventative Services Task Force's (USPSTF) recommendations for mammogram breast cancer screening and how these could impact prison screening mammography in prisons are explained. Sections of this article cover: what the USPSTF suggested for mammograms; what evidence the

"The main focus of the "Handbook" is female prisoners and guidance on the components of a gender-sensitive approach to prison management, taking into account the typical background of female prisoners and their special needs as women in prison" (p. 1). The text is divided into four chapters. Chapter

The impact of trauma on girls involved in the juvenile justice system is examined. Sections of this fact sheet cover: why there are increasing numbers of girls in the juvenile justice system; prevalence of trauma-exposure among justice-involved girls; prevalence of PTSD (posttraumatic stress

Issues regarding health conditions and health education of incarcerated minority women are discussed in this paper. Topics covered include: incarcerated women's health care-infectious and chronic diseases, disease-specific care, mental health, and programs specifically for incarcerated females

"The current study focuses attention on a previously understudied topic - transportation deprivation in women offenders. This is a timely and important endeavor given the scale of mass incarceration, number of women on probation and parole, and the numerous barriers women with a criminal record face

"Because fewer women are convicted of crimes and incarcerated compared to men, they can be overlooked for what may be ideal approaches to reduce crime and recidivism ... The toolkit provides suggestions for innovative and focused interventions targeting the special risks and needs of women in the

Criminal career patterns, social context and features, psychological factors, potential matches in prior pathways research, sub-types, and treatment goals are provided for the following types of women's pathways to crime:

• "Type 1 - Quasi-Normal non-violent women with drug/alcohol issues";
• "Type

"This report exposes the ways in which we criminalize girls - especially girls of color - who have been sexually and physically abused, and it offers policy recommendations to dismantle the abuse to prison pipeline. It illustrates the pipeline with examples, including the detention of girls who are

"This third edition of the World Female Imprisonment List shows the number of women and girls held in penal institutions in 219 prison systems in independent countries and dependent territories. The figures include both pre-trial detainees/remand prisoners and those who have been convicted and

"For over forty years, NIJ has invested in research on violence against women. This research touches on a wide variety of public safety concerns, including intimate partner violence, teen dating violence, sexual assault, and human trafficking, as well as criminal justice challenges, including the

This report is an excellent resource explaining how the "criminal justice system should aim to prevent incidents of violence, bring perpetrators to justice, and ensure recovery and social reintegration for victims. Like any other group in society, women and girls are entitled to nothing less

"This training curriculum, together with the UNODC Handbook on Women and Imprisonment, aims to assist legislators, policymakers, prison managers, staff and non-governmental organizations to acquire knowledge and skills to address the gender-specific needs of women prisoners and to explore and

This report explains how mothers and their babies can benefit from being held in a prison-based Mother and Baby Unit (MBU). "All available research suggests that the struggles of childbearing women in prison are extremely complex. And whilst their babies represent a relatively small proportion of

Individuals who want an up-to-date understanding of gender-responsive issues and all those who work with female offenders should read this document report. "It outlines the risks faced by women deprived of their liberty of being subjected to torture and ill-treatment and measures that can be taken

This report is necessary reading for anyone working with or concerned about girls who are incarcerated in adult correctional facilities. "Adult jails and prisons are not designed for the confinement of youth, and as a result most are not equipped to meet the inherent and specific needs of

"This practice brief was designed to summarize the available research on female perpetrated violence. Information in this area is still quite limited. However, there is a growing body of evidence to suggest that females who engage in violence are not a homogenous group and that there are some

“In the following, we review the literature relevant to the study of violence and safety in women’s prison. We begin with the demographic and background characteristics of female offenders. The pathways model is then described, which emphasizes the life experiences of women that contribute to

This report provides a description of the Collaborative Case Work Model for Justice-Involved Women (CCW-W), previously known as the Women Offender Case Management Model (WOCMM). CCW-W is an intensive casework model that was developed specifically for justice-involved women. Since the first pilot of