Nationally, detention rates have declined consistently in recent decades. In 2019, 41,000 girls and young women in detention — down more than 55% from 92,100 in 2005.

The low number of detained girls in California is one of the reasons we became interested in ending detention altogether. In 2021, the latest year for which this data is available, 1,400 girls and young women He was detained statewide for low-level offenses. They were young from when he was 12 to when he was 21.

Further research has been found to be underway by the Vera Institute, a national advocacy and research organization aiming to end mass incarceration statewide trends: The majority of girl arrests, convictions and detentions in 2020 were for misdemeanor or status violations, including chronic disobedience, school refusal and curfew violations.

“This is really in line with what we know nationally, which is that girls and gender-expanding young people are more likely to be affected not out of concern for public safety, but for personal safety. “They are often detained or confined out of concern or in an attempt to connect them with society, provide treatment or services, and ensure compliance or connectivity to those services,” said the California initiative. Hannah Green, a Bella Labs program associate who led the study, said: “And we know that’s not really in line with best practice and that’s not what the juvenile justice system is meant to be.”

According to Green, what Santa Clara County has achieved is part of a national trend. In New York City, for example, he housed no girls in 2021, and for much of 2022, she had no more than two young people in girl units.

last year, Hawaii announces girls’ unit at juvenile detention center is emptyInstead, it developed community-based alternatives, such as campuses with shelters and vocational programs for young people aged 15-24.

Vermont warns of what could happen without such alternatives. In 2020, she was placed in Adult Women’s Prison as a 15-year-old girl because there are no juvenile facilities in the state.

Due to the large number of girls who remain incarcerated due to lack of permanent and secure housing, the Santa Clara County Probation Service has become the starting point for ensuring their release. Ultimately, reductions in detention numbers would be futile if young people remain unsupported after being released into the community, Green said.

The probation officer then addresses other factors in the girl’s life, such as access to education.

Joy Hernandez is one of those who receive notices from the probation service when a girl needs educational assistance. Hernandez, Senior Program Manager National Youth Law Centeract as a liaison between students and the school, guiding and encouraging students to stay at school.

Her work includes ensuring that all students are immediately enrolled in local schools, ensuring the tutoring they need, creating high school graduation plans, and applying for financial aid if they attend college. including supporting

What is unique about an educational liaison agency like Hernandez in Santa Clara County is that any young person exposed to the juvenile justice system can be referred to work with her.

Students are usually imprisoned before receiving this type of service through court proceedings. But in this county, even young people who haven’t yet attended their first court date can be referred to liaisons like Hernandez.

“For some young people, it takes quite a long time to go through the entire court proceedings, by which time the disconnection from education worsens. They wait over a year to access services,” Hernandez said. said.

An additional Santa Clara County study in 2017 found that the majority of detained girls were transferred, expelled, or suspended from school before being arrested or summoned, and 80% of them entered the child welfare system several times. was also queried and found to indicate a possible child. 80% experienced bouts of homelessness before entering the juvenile justice system, as well as abuse and neglect.

This is the level of information that the four additional counties selected for the initiative can expect to help collect. They are expected to be announced by the end of March. Each will receive up to $125,000 in funding, with a potential additional funding of up to $250,000 after his first year.

The new county will also receive research and programming support from the Vera Institute to analyze local juvenile justice data to support this initiative.

Each county’s process for reducing the number of girls in custody will depend on existing infrastructure, but Santa Clara County’s research and results show what is possible.

“We can use all the knowledge we build there to inform what data is most important to collect. How do we make sure it’s being shared? What would it be like to have meaningful collaboration with the young people who have received it?” Mr. Green will also be responsible for program management for the new county. “What are the most impactful solutions that we have seen so far, and how should they be adjusted for local conditions in these new local counties?

Santa Clara County’s Burchard says part of the success lies in counties’ willingness to change deeply ingrained systems.

“In the effort to change the system, sometimes you have to look at yourself and your system and be willing to accept change,” he said. “Throughout that process, positive results will certainly occur.”