National Girls' Caucus

The National Girls' Caucus, an advocacy group initiated by PACE (Practical, Academic, Cultural Education) Center for Girls, Inc., focuses national attention on the unique needs of girls involved with the juvenile justice system. The article discusses the need for gender-specific services to break the self-destructive behaviors exhibited by system-involved girls and describes the initial meeting of the group to do this. The group consists of child advocates, policymakers, national authorities on gender issues, service providers, educators, legislators, judges, funders, religious leaders, parents, and girls. Participants came together for two common purposes: to address the lack of services for girls in the justice system and to unite forces to ensure gender equity for young women involved in the justice system. More specifically, their goals are to impact public policy, resource allocation, and research in order to improve the quality of care and services for girls; to ensure culturally sensitive, gender-specific programming for girls and young women so they have the opportunity to lead healthy, productive, and safe lives; to ensure fairness in the justice system by eliminating gender, ethnic, and racial biases; and finally, to raise public awareness regarding the need for gender-appropriate programming and service for girls.