Iowa Task Force for Young Women

Promoting innovative female responsive techniques through education and advocacy

The Iowa Task Force for Young Women (ITFYW) was formed in 1995, as a subcommittee of the Juvenile Justice Advisory Council (JJAC). The JJAC serves as Iowa’s State Advisory Group for administration of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Act. The ITFYW serves to address the issue of females and juvenile justice and to advise the JJAC. The goal of the ITFYW has been, and continues to be, to facilitate a comprehensive fundamental change in the juvenile justice system that will enhance the understanding and utilization of innovative gender-responsive approaches in all programs and services that serve the adolescent female population of Iowa’s juvenile justice system.

“The Iowa Task Force for Young Women has been front and center on influencing change in the juvenile system and understanding best practices for working with girls – even before the term ‘gender responsive’ was popular.”
~Giovanna Taormina, Executive Director, One Circle Foundation, California

“When you recall that today’s girls are tomorrow’s women, the Iowa Task Force for Young Women is guaranteeing that the future will be bright for tomorrow’s leaders, female as well as male, while also providing the nation with a model approach to girls’ services.”
~Dr. Meda Chesney-Lind, University of Hawaii

Position Paper

Services for Females under Juvenile Court Jurisdiction with High Risk and/or Need Factors

Goals & Objectives

Goal: Strengthen, through collaboration, the continuum of care for females involved in the juvenile justice system.

Objective 1: Advocate for legislation, policies and rules that create an appropriate level of instate care for high risk, delinquent young women;
Objective 2: Educate and train stakeholders and increase public awareness on the importance of female-responsive services;
Objective 3: Pursue new research/data as well as analyze and link existing research/data regarding juvenile females in the justice system.