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Abstract
Although females remain a small proportion of the juvenile justice population, arrest, detention and custody data have shown an increase in both the number and percentage of females in the juvenile justice system, a trend that runs counter to that of males. The vast majority of females in the juvenile justice system presents with family, mental health, and substance abuse issues and should be diverted from juvenile court processing. The re-criminalization of status offenses has had a particularly devastating impact on females in the juvenile justice system, which is ill prepared to deal with this population. This highlights the continued discriminatory and appalling treatment of youth, specifically females in this country. It is recommended that initiatives to address female delinquency be based on the developmental, psychological, social, educational, and cultural characteristics of this population with gender appropriate program interventions addressing a continuum of care and providing comprehensive services.