The Girls Circle: an Evaluation of a Structured Support Group Program for Girls Author(S): Stephen V
Total Page:16
File Type:pdf, Size:1020Kb
OFFICE OF JUSTICE PROGRAMS . ~<;;l! L~ IMINAL JUSTICE REFERENCE SERVICE EUA BJS NIJ OJJ[l' OVC SMART 'V The author(s) shown below used Federal funding provided by the U.S. Department of Justice to prepare the following resource: Document Title: The Girls Circle: An Evaluation of a Structured Support Group Program for Girls Author(s): Stephen V. Gies, Marcia I. Cohen, Mark Edberg, Amanda Bobnis, Elizabeth Spinney, Elizabeth Berger Document Number: 252708 Date Received: March 2019 Award Number: 2010–JF–FX–0062 This resource has not been published by the U.S. Department of Justice. This resource is being made publically available through the Office of Justice Programs’ National Criminal Justice Reference Service. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. THE GIRLS CIRCLE: AN EVALUATION OF A STRUCTURED SUPPORT GROUP PROGRAM FOR GIRLS FINAL REPORT December 31, 2015 Prepared for Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Office of Justice Programs 810 Seventh Street NW Washington, DC 20531 Prepared by Stephen V. Gies Marcia I. Cohen Mark Edberg Amanda Bobnis Elizabeth Spinney Elizabeth Berger Development Services Group, Inc. 7315 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 800E Bethesda, MD 20814 www.dsgonline.com i This resource was prepared by the author(s) using Federal funds provided by the U.S. Department of Justice. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. The Girls Circle: An Evaluation of a Structured Support Group Program for Girls The Girls Circle: An Evaluation of a Structured Support Group Program for Girls Final Report 2015 Authors: Stephen V. Gies Marcia I. Cohen Mark Edberg Amanda Bobnis Elizabeth Spinney Elizabeth Berger Development Services Group, Inc. 7315 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 800E Bethesda, MD 20814 www.dsgonline.com This project was supported by Grant No. 2010–JF–FX–0062 awarded by the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, Office of Justice Programs, U.S. Department of Justice. Points of view in this document are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. i This resource was prepared by the author(s) using Federal funds provided by the U.S. Department of Justice. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. The Girls Circle: An Evaluation of a Structured Support Group Program for Girls ii This resource was prepared by the author(s) using Federal funds provided by the U.S. Department of Justice. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. The Girls Circle: An Evaluation of a Structured Support Group Program for Girls Authors’ Contact Information Stephen V. Gies Development Services Group, Inc. (DSG) 7315 Wisconsin Avenue, Suite 800E P: 301.951.6600; f: 301.951.3324 [email protected] Marcia I. Cohen DSG, Inc. P: 301.951.0056 [email protected] Mark Edberg DSG, Inc. P: 301.951.0056 [email protected] Amanda Bobnis DSG, Inc. P: 301.951.5382 [email protected] Elizabeth Spinney DSG, Inc. P: 301.951.0056 [email protected] Elizabeth Berger DSG, Inc. P: 301.951.6615 [email protected] iii This resource was prepared by the author(s) using Federal funds provided by the U.S. Department of Justice. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. The Girls Circle: An Evaluation of a Structured Support Group Program for Girls iv This resource was prepared by the author(s) using Federal funds provided by the U.S. Department of Justice. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. The Girls Circle: An Evaluation of a Structured Support Group Program for Girls Abstract Girls have had an increased presence in the juvenile justice system during the last 20 years and some researchers contend that these girls may require alternative programs to effectively address their specific risks, needs, and strengths, because girls differ developmentally from boys. One promising and widespread gender-specific intervention is the Girls Circle program, developed by the One Circle Foundation. The purpose of this study was to conduct a randomized experiment of the Girls Circle model. The sample (n=168) was obtained from the Juvenile Probation and Court Services Department (JPCSD) of the Circuit Court of Cook County in Chicago, Ill. The treatment group received the Girls Circle program services, while the control group received traditional non–gender-specific probation services. The study’s goals were to assess short-term (from intake to program completion) improvement among GC participants in four families of outcomes: risky behavior (substance use and sexual behavior), psychosocial assets, school aspirations and expectations, and perceived body image. It also assessed the impact of the Girls Circle subjects compared to the control group on recidivism at 12-months post-program completion. A series of analyses was performed in sequential phases to assess the impact of the program. The first phase of analyses explored the differences (or lack thereof) between groups on numerous pretreatment characteristics at baseline. The second phase used paired samples t-tests which compared data from baseline to posttest to assess the short-term change over the intervention period. In addition, in order to examine the effects of dosage on selected outcomes, several regressions were run, while controlling for the pre-test measure for the outcome and dosage. And the third phase assessed the long-term impact of the Girls Circle program on recidivism through the use of survival modeling. Overall, the results appear to favor the Girls Circle group in reducing recidivism; however, these findings were strongly moderated by the number of sessions attended. Conversely, no evidence was found initially for the short-term (from intake to program completion) improvement among Girls Circle participants along any of the four families of outcomes examined. However, like recidivism, as attendance in the Girls Circle group increased, average condom use, educational aspirations, and educational expectations significantly increased; conversely, average self-control scores significantly decreased. Policy implications are discussed. v This resource was prepared by the author(s) using Federal funds provided by the U.S. Department of Justice. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. The Girls Circle: An Evaluation of a Structured Support Group Program for Girls vi This resource was prepared by the author(s) using Federal funds provided by the U.S. Department of Justice. Opinions or points of view expressed are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the official position or policies of the U.S. Department of Justice. The Girls Circle: An Evaluation of a Structured Support Group Program for Girls Acknowledgments evelopment Services Group, Inc. (DSG), has many people to thank for helping us complete this study. First and foremost, Carmen Casas, former Deputy Chief Probation Officer (DCPO), Juvenile DProbation and Court Services Department (JPCSD) of the Circuit Court of Cook County, was our original contact with the JPCSD, and was instrumental in getting this project off the ground in Chicago and keeping it moving. Carmen made all of the JPCD resources available to us; without her, this project would not have been possible. Thank you Carmen! In addition, we would like to thank Giovanna Taormina, Co-Founder and Executive Director; Beth Hossfeld, Co-Founder and Associate Director; and Kitty Tyrol, former Director of Training, of the One Circle Foundation for their cooperation, support and patience throughout the course of this study. While the process was not always easy, we hope you find this research valuable to your organization. We are also deeply appreciative of the support and enthusiasm of the numerous Chicago-based DSG staff who we have worked with us on this project. These individuals include: Yvonne Pulido, Grace Warren, and Sarah Schriber who each have served as our eyes and ears on- site in Chicago as a research liaison. A special thank you is extended to Yvonne who also became a certified Girls Circle trainer and personally printed each and every RAP sheet that was used in this study. We also thank all of the JPCSD staff who made a contribution to this research. These individuals include: Honorable Judge Stuart Katz; Honorable Judge Carol Kelly; Honorable Judge Colleen Sheehan; Mike Rohan, Chief Probation Officer; Jennifer Nunez, Deputy Chief Probation Officer; Tyrone Hutson, Deputy Chief Probation Officer; Emily Pearce, Probation Officer and Girls Circle Facilitator; Kisha Roberts, Probation Officer and Girls Circle Facilitator. Overall, JPCSD was a true partner in this research, taking part in everything from the design of the study to the provision of a vast array of data to the facilitation of effective communication through regular conference calls and emails. We cannot thank them enough. We also owe a debt of gratitude for the tremendous assistance and cooperation to the Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention for its leadership in allowing us to complete this important study. We would like to extend a special thank you to current Program Manager Barbara Tatum Kelley and former Program Manager Karen Bachar for serving as the nexus for a successful working partnership.