Philly’s juvenile-justice system leaves girls out of programs that could help them, new report says

Former Stoneleigh Fellow Adam Serlin was featured by The Philadelphia Inquirer for co-authoring a new report outlining recommendations to improve the way the youth justice system interacts with girls.

A new report from the District Attorney’s Office found that Black and Hispanic girls are disproportionately represented in Philadelphia’s juvenile justice system — a system that routinely leaves them out of programs that could keep them out of detention facilities.

The report, released last week, followed a cohort of more than 400 girls arrested and charged in 2019, tracking their journeys into and out of the city’s juvenile justice system through the end of 2021.

The report found that girls in Philly are less likely than boys to have previous arrest records, miss a court date, or be rearrested for new charges, but both groups are likely to be assessed as having equal risk for future delinquency, leading to a higher proportion of girls entering intensive court supervision than necessary.

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