Get Ready for Girls Justice Day on October 4, 2016!

Girls Justice Day Action Kit

October 4, 2016

During National Youth Justice Action Month in October, the Campaign for Youth Justice wants to highlight the strength, resilience, and needs of girls who have had contact with the juvenile or adult justice systems.  For more information on the experiences that push girls into the system and what you can do to take action on behalf of girls, check out the tool kit below.

Reports:
The Sexual Abuse to Prison Pipeline: The Girls Story
OJJDP Policy Guidance: Girls in the Juvenile Justice System
Gender Injustice: System-Level Juvenile Justice Reforms for Girls
No Place for Youth: Girls in the Adult Justice System

Organizations:
Rights4Girls
The National Crittenton Foundation
National Resource Center for Justice Involved Women

OJJDP National Girls Initiative

Take Action: Share Information about Girls Justice Day with friends & family on social media!

1. Minimize harm to girls in the system
2. Provide appropriate programming and services
3. Use gender- and age-appropriate classification tools and risk and needs assessments
4. Create opportunities for Relationship Building with Peers, Family Members, and Community Supports and Resources
5. Provide Off Ramps Out of the System
6. Listen to Girls

Too many girls are behind bars because of the #AbusetoPrisonPipeline. Learn more about supporting justice-involved girls and what Girls Justice Day is all about! http://bit.ly/1fp0qfM

Tell Your Senator to Vote in Favor of the Reauthorized Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Bill: H.R. 5963.  H.R. 5963, the Supporting Youth Opportunity & Preventing Delinquency Act because it will provide greatly needed supports for justice-involved girls, such as:

• Incentivizing states to create prevention programming for girls at-risk of entering the juvenile justice system;
• Screening girls in the juvenile justice system for child sex trafficking and diverting them towards community-based programming wherever possible;
• Ending the use of unnecessary restraints on pregnant and post-partum girls;
• Encouraging states to limit the use of the Valid Court Order exception, which has led to the disproportionate detention of girls who commit non-violent offenses.

Sample Tweets

Keep girls safe and out of the adult justice system! #GirlsJusticeDay http://bit.ly/2dzsFLJ

Keep girls safe! Girls do not belong in adult facilities.  #GirlsJusticeDay http://bit.ly/2dzsFLJ

Adult facilities are no place for girls #GirlsJusticeDay http://bit.ly/2dzsFLJ

Bresha Meadows is a victim of the #AbuseToPrisonPipeline. Girls deserve protection, not jail. #GirlsJusticeDay  http://bit.ly/1fp0qfM

Latesha Clay is a victim of #childsextrafficking. She deserves services not jail. #NoSuchThing #GirlsJusticeDay http://bit.ly/1fp0qfM

Pregnant girls behind bars should never be shackled. #GirlsJusticeDay http://bit.ly/2cTh0TV

Gynnya McMillen was one of too many girls arrested for behavior link to abuse within the home #GirlsJusticeDay http://bit.ly/2dzrewR

We must take action on behalf of the thousands of girls subjected to the #AbuseToPrisonPipeline #GirlsJusticeDay http://bit.ly/1fp0qfM

In our fight to end mass incarceration, we can’t forget #girlsbehindbars #GirlsJusticeDay http://bit.ly/1KKVhcv 

Take Action: Tell Your Senator to Vote in Favor of the Reauthorized Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Bill: H.R. 5963.

1. Find contact information for your U.S. Senator here: http://www.senate.gov/senators/contact/
2. Email or call your Senator and tell him or her to support H.R. 5963, the Supporting Youth Opportunity & Preventing Delinquency Act because it will provide greatly needed supports for justice-involved girls, such as:
   1. Incentivizing states to create prevention programming for girls at-risk of entering the juvenile justice system;
   2. Screening girls in the juvenile justice system for child sex trafficking and diverting them towards community-based programming wherever possible;
   3. Ending the use of unnecessary restraints on pregnant and post-partum girls;
   4. Encouraging states to limit the use of the Valid Court Order exception, which has led to the disproportionate detention of girls who commit non-violent offenses.

Take Action:  Tell your Governor to prioritize the needs of girls in your state.

Sample Tweets:

@GovernorX keep girls safe and out of the adult justice system! #GirlsJusticeDay2016  http://bit.ly/2dzsFLJ

@GovernorX Girls should never be subject to the #AbusetoPrisonPipeline. Prioritize girls in your policies.   http://bit.ly/1fp0qfM

AK – Bill Walker @AkGovBillWalker

AZ – Doug Ducey @dougducey

AR – Asa Hutchinson @AsaHutchinson

CA – Jerry Brown @JerryBrownGov

CO – John Hickenlooper @GovofCO

CT – Dannel Malloy @GovMalloyOffice

DE – Jack Markell @GovernorMarkell

DC – Muriel Bowser @MayorBowser

FL – Rick Scott @FLGovScott

GA – Nathan Deal @GovernorDeal

HI – David Ige @GovHawaii

ID – Butch Otter @ButchOtter

IL – Bruce Rauner  @GovRauner

IN – Mike Pence @GovPenceIN

IA – Terry Branstad @TerryBranstad

KS – Sam Brownback @govsambrownback

KY – Matt Bevin @GovMatBevin

LA – John Bel Edwards @LouisianaGov

ME – Paul LePage @Governor_LePage

MD – Larry Hogan @LarryHogan

MA – Charlie Baker @MassGovernor

MI – Rick Snyder @onetoughnerd

MN – Mark Dayton @GovMarkDayton

MS – Phil Bryant @PhilBryantMS

MO – Jay Nixon @GovJayNixon

MT – Steve Bullock @GovernorBullock

NE – Pete Ricketts @GovRicketts

NV – Brian Sandoval @GovSandoval

NH – Maggie Hassan @GovernorHassan

NJ – Chris Christie @GovChristie

NM – Susana Martinez @Gov_Martinez

NY – Andrew Cuomo @NYGovCuomo

NC – Pat McCrory  @PatMcCroryNC

ND– Jack Dalrymple   @NDGovDalrymple

OH – John Kasich @JohnKasich

OK – Mary Fallin  @GovMaryFallin

OR – Kate Brown @OregonGovBrown

PA – Tom Wolf @GovernorTomWolf

RI – Gina Raimondo  @GinaRaimondo

SC – Nikki Haley @nikkihaley

SD – Dennis Daugaard  @SDGovDaugaard

TN – Bill Haslam @BillHaslam

TX – Greg Abbott @GovAbbott

UT – Gary Herbert @GovHerbert

VT – Peter Shumlin  @GovPeterShumlin

VA – Terry McAuliffe @GovernorVA

WA – Jay Inslee @GovInslee

WV – Earl Ray Tomblin @GovTomblin

WI – Scott Walker @GovWalker

WY – Matt Mead   @GovMattMead