Did you know? There are just 53 girls and gender-expansive youth locked up in girls’ units in LA County?[1] That’s 53 out of over 2 million youth under the age of 18 in the whole county.[2] This means we are totally within reach of ending incarceration for girls and gender-expansive youth in LA County.
National research shows that girls and gender expansive youth are often detained due to concerns for their individual safety or in an effort to connect them with treatment rather than for public safety concerns. Places like Hawaii, New York City, and Santa Clara County have already implemented solutions to effectively end girls' incarceration in their jurisdictions. Policy solutions that can help us get to zero include: preventing detention and supervision as a means to keep youth safe and instead connecting them to services; limiting detention on warrants for failure to appear or running away; and investing in gender-responsive, community-based programs and housing solutions.
For more information, check out the Vera Institute of Justice Ending Girls' Incarceration Initiative, and connect with LA County’s Youth Justice Advisory groups. Check out these articles to learn more about Hawaii, New York City, and Santa Clara County. And thank you to Vera Institute for providing CYS with the above facts and figures.