In this post, we include a downloadable PDF of a report co-authored by Independent Variable and staff from the Philadelphia District Attorney’s Office. All data in this report was compiled and analyzed through database and data analytics software built by the Independent Variable team. Excerpts from the official press release for this report below:
“PHILADELPHIA (March 30, 2023) – A new report on girls who were arrested and brought into the control of the Philadelphia juvenile justice system exposes glaring gaps in care and interventions to support girls, especially those facing interpersonal challenges at home and in school.
The report — “Overlooked or Overscrutinized? A Case Study of Girls’ Justice in Philadelphia and Implications for the Design of a Fairer System” — examines girls who were arrested by Philadelphia Police and other law enforcement in 2019 and charged by the District Attorney’s Office (DAO). “Overlooked or Overscrutinized?” was authored by Adam Serlin, a former embedded youth justice fellow in the DAO, and Ciara Sheerin, DAO youth justice policy analyst, with support provided by the DAO Juvenile Court and Diversion Units…
Report co-author Adam Serlin, the founder and principal of Independent Variable Consulting, said:
“The data in this report highlights issues that practitioners have been discussing for years. The most basic of these points is that in Philadelphia, as it is in many parts of the country, the fact that boys comprise such a large majority of youth who enter the juvenile justice system makes it easy for court stakeholders, service providers, funders, and researchers alike to inadvertently overlook the unique and different needs of girls. This, in turn, can lead to a lack of equitable resources for girls and the unnecessary use of intensive supervision programs designed largely for boys. Specific recommendations aside, the organizing principle of our work to write and publicize this report is to display how a targeted redesign of the juvenile justice system for girls may offer a unique chance for leaders to substantially downsize said system at limited risk to public safety, and to craft a fairer system for all youth.”
Read the full press release here
“Specific recommendations aside, the organizing principle of our work to craft and publicize these potential solutions is to display how a targeted redesign of the juvenile justice system for girls may offer a unique chance for leaders to substantially downsize said system at little risk to public safety.
While these recommendations are focused on girls, through our inclusive design framework, we also believe their application will have significant beneficial effects for all justice-involved youth.”