WestCare Nevada Opens Intermediate Sanction Program
May 20, 2004

Late last year in Nevada, Clark County’s director of Juvenile Justice Services was granted his biggest wish: a chance to design a program that would address the growing number of young females entering the juvenile court system. To DJJS Director Kirby Burgess and Juvenile Judge William Voy, the pattern was clear: More young women were facing charges -- and many were being charged with prostitution. Mr. Burgess and Juvenile Judge Voy realized the time had come to develop a program that would address the dual issues of juvenile crime and gender issues. The two met with representatives from DJJS, Metro and WestCare to develop a collaborative solution to the problem. In April, WestCare opened an intermediate sanction program for female offenders. Called GIRLSS (Girls Intermediate Residential Living and Support Services), the program offers alternative placements for females who have committed non-violent offenses, yet are not categorized as delinquents because they are often victims of crime. The program is a collaboration of DJJS, Metro, and WestCare.

“One of the issues we faced was whether we were dealing with victims or offenders since many of the young women are prostitutes,” said Sheron Hayes of Clark County DJJS. “We designed a holistic program that addresses both juvenile crime and gender issues. She added: “Our goal is to provide education, address the unique issues young females have as victims of crime, provide counseling during programming and during aftercare.”

Strengthening families is another component of the program: If a young woman enters the program during her pregnancy and gives birth while in treatment her baby stays with her at WestCare’s Women and Children’s campus. Clark County’s Department of Juvenile Justice announced today it has been awarded an additional $82,000 from federal formula funds for the program. “Receiving additional funding for the GIRLSS program is great news,” says Patti Trail, vice president, WestCare Nevada. “We’re committed to providing high-quality services to our clients and these funds will allow us to do just that.”