Gender-Responsive Training: Addressing the needs of incarcerated women and girls

Beginning in 1980, the number of women in prison has increased at nearly double the rate for men . In response, and acknowledging that women offenders are dramatically different than their male counterparts, the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services' Office on Women's Health (OWH) – Region V, provides training to wardens, administrators, and other prison staff to improve the gender responsiveness of programming and services in correctional facilities for women and girls across the region.

As part of our broader initiative addressing the needs of incarcerated women and girls, OWH has remained committed to increasing the visibility and improving the health and well-being of this population. We have focused on trainings that provide participants with ideas for improving gender responsiveness of the programming in their correctional facilities. The presenter at these trainings, Dr. Stephanie Covington of the Center for Gender and Justice has twenty-five years of experience designing and implementing treatment services for women and girls. Dr. Covington addresses topics such as: characteristics of incarcerated women and girls, role of gender in criminal justice practice, multidisciplinary research and theory on women and incarceration, gender-responsive treatment strategies and interventions, and re-entry issues for offenders.

The OWH conducted trainings in April 2007 with staff from several juvenile facilities serving girls across the state. Responding to overwhelming interest in previous trainings additional trainings will take place in April 2008. An evaluation of these training events will highlight incarcerated women and girls as a population in need of public health attention and programming.