Founded in 1907, the National Council on Crime and Delinquency, Inc. (NCCD) is the country’s oldest private nonprofit research and advocacy organization. Headquartered in Oakland, California, NCCD has divisions in Madison, Wisconsin and Jacksonville, Florida.
The NCCD Center for Girls and Young Women, located in Jacksonville works to reform juvenile justice and child welfare systems that are designed for boys and ill equipped to meet the gender-specific needs of girls and young women. Guided by the courageous life experiences of girls caught up in the juvenile justice and child welfare systems, the center is the passionate voice for activism to ensure equitable, human, and gender appropriate responses to improve outcomes for girls and young women.
Grounded in the voices of girls, we conduct and utilize research as the basis for spearheading advocacy efforts to reshape the response and treatment of girls at the local, state and national level. Additionally, we translate research into to practical staff trainings and technical assistance. Our signature curricula, Girl Matters® and SAVVY Sister, provide the core concepts, theories and practical interventions that are essential to creating and sustaining gender responsive programs and services. We design and administer gender responsive direct service models aimed at improving outcomes for girls and young women. We provide evaluation services to examine qualitative and quantitative outcome measures of programs using gender-responsive and researched-based approaches. Selected by the federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention, the Center created and administers the National Girls Institute, a training and technical assistance resource center to advance the understanding and application of promising and evidenced-based programs and services.
Girl Matters®: It’s Elementary! provides culturally competent and gender responsive interventions for elementary school age girls North Shore and George Washington Carver Elementary schools who are at risk of out-of-school suspension and/or expulsion. The goal of this project is to provide a positive alternative to suspensions and expulsions, keeping the girls in school, increasing school connectedness and academic and social success. Services include gender responsive, developmentally appropriate assessments, comprehensive treatment planning, college intern mentoring, teen mentoring, skills building groups, family outreach, community referrals.
We expect significant positive results regarding girls’ individual outcomes, improved school outcomes for our target schools and overall community level improvements:
• Individual Girls: Reduced behavior incidents and suspension/expulsions, improved academic performance, increased perception of school connectedness and social support.
• School Level: Increased staff competencies, program satisfaction, and improved policies/practices.
• Community Level: Increased mentor knowledge and skills, reduced over-representation of African American girls suspended, and increased community agency access to girls and families in high-risk neighborhoods.
When girls’ issues are left untreated, they are vulnerable to poor outcomes as they enter womanhood including: poor physical and mental health, substance abuse, increased likelihood of arrests, domestic violence and parenting challenges.
This program has inspired young ladies to think BIG, make sound choices, and DREAM beyond limits.”
- Traci Zamora, Guidance Counselor
Girls’ behaviors at early ages are a reflection of the intensity of their needs, hurt and reactions to environments.”
- Lawanda Ravoira, Director, NCCD Center for Girls and Young Women
The program we have built at the Center shifts the focus from controlling challenging behaviors to providing interventions that addresses the root causes and creates an internal sense of well-being and validation for girls.”
- Lawanda Ravoira, Director, NCCD Center for Girls and Young Women
