Disrupting the Trauma-to-Prison Pipeline for Girls in Virginia: A Multilevel Intervention

The Reducing Risk for Girls in the Juvenile Justice System supports girls who are involved in the juvenile justice system. This program is authorized and funded pursuant to Pub. L. No. 116-93;133 Stat. 2317, 2410.

Virginia Commonwealth University will provide a prevention and intervention program titled DO YOU for two groups of girls involved in the juvenile justice system in Virginia. The two groups include girls who are housed in long-term care at a detention facility and those who are involved in probation or have diversion plans through 1 of the 34 Department of Juvenile Justice (DJJ) court service units. Virginia Commonwealth University will provide an established trauma-to-prison-pipeline training for staff who work with the system-involved girls in both settings and for school personnel, to include teachers and school resource officers. The project will build community capacity to support girls before, during, and after system involvement through a wraparound services approach facilitated through a community advisory board, and will provide DO SOMETHING to system-involved girls to help them engage in leadership, activism, and social change. A transdisciplinary research team will partner with the statewide coalition that developed both programs, the Virginia Sexual and Domestic Violence Action Alliance, as well as with several nonprofit organizations that serve girls and support youth who have been system involved—RISE for Youth, Performing Statistics, and Girls for a Change. The grantee will work with DJJ and the Northern Virginia Juvenile Detention Center. The project plans to provide prevention programs to 100 girls and to provide trauma training to 500 staff and personnel. The grantee plans to host a statewide symposium for school and DJJ personnel, as well as community leaders and researchers, in collaboration with their community partners and girls who have completed the DO SOMETHING program to share their insights and recommendations for continuing the work of supporting girls and disrupting the criminalization of trauma. CA/NCF.