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Organization: St. Peter's Human Services, Inc. Program: Village of Excellence Training Institute for Girls Founder: Children's Service Council
<br /> Be PROGRAM NEED STATEMENT (Entire Section B not to exceed one page)
<br /> 1 . a) What is the unacceptable condition requiring change? b) Who has the need?
<br /> c) Where do they live? d) Provide local, state, or national trend data, with reference
<br /> source, that corroborates that this is an area of need.
<br /> a. The unacceptable condition is juvenile delinquency that leads to further lives of
<br /> crime, truancy, dropping out of school, pregnancy, sexual abuse, low self esteem, etc. because
<br /> the approach has been only to lockup the offenders without changing the behaviors.
<br /> b. The children in need are the at-risk females between the ages of 7 and 16 who are
<br /> discouraged learners, have low self-esteem, stressful family conditions, and have exhibited
<br /> problem behaviors, such as school disciplinary referrals, chronic school truancy, repeated school
<br /> suspensions, poor academic performance, a history of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs,
<br /> rebellion, running away, mental and emotional health issues and those with a history of
<br /> delinquent behavior.
<br /> c. In Indian River County, 90% of the at-risk females involved in the program are from
<br /> the surrounding community.
<br /> DJJ' Girls Forum Report indicates that in Florida, nearly 30 percent of juveniles arrested are
<br /> female. Between 1993 -94 and 2002-03 , the rates of arrest per 1 ,000 youth decreased. Boys arrest
<br /> rates decreased by 23%, whereas girls ' rates of arrest decreased by only 6% . Between 1993 -94
<br /> and 2002-03 , the number of girls referred for violent felonies increased 24%. Among girls in
<br /> residential commitment in Florida; almost 50% have been sexually abused; 60% have been
<br /> physically abused; 60% witnessed domestic violence in their homes; 25% have been in foster or
<br /> DCF custody as a result of abuse or neglect; more than 60% have a parent who has been arreated;
<br /> 75% have run away from home at least once; almost one-fifth are mothers; and about 50% of
<br /> their violent felony arrests are domestic violence related. National research indicates that girls in
<br /> delinquency programs are three times as likely as boys to have experienced sexual abuse and that
<br /> such abuse is usually perpetrated by a family member or close family friend; the girls are likely
<br /> to have learning disabilities and are often a grade behind in school; more than 50% have reported
<br /> attempting suicide and of those, 64% have tried more than once to kill themselves. In the DJJ
<br /> report, The Girls Initiative, it stated that girls have unique needs and problems, such as sexual
<br /> and/or physical abuse, teen pregnancy, poor academic performance and mental health needs. The
<br /> fact sheet states, "The need for appropriate new programs for girls continues. What happens to
<br /> girls in the system is critical because of their large numbers; girls ' circumstances are different
<br /> than boys. The relevant issues include avoiding teen pregnancy, education, health and hygiene,
<br /> dealing with abuse, parenting skills, self esteem and mentoring."
<br /> (www.dii .state.fl.us/statsnresearch/factsheets/femaleoffenders html)
<br /> 2. a) Identify similar programs that are currently serving the needs of your targeted
<br /> population; b) Explain how these existing programs are under-serving the targeted
<br /> population of your program.
<br /> There are two programs that serve the targeted population, however neither of the programs are
<br /> structured to address the additional areas provided through the Girl ' s Training Institute.
<br /> 1a. Gifford Youth Activity Center provides an afterschool program for all youth, not just
<br /> females. 1 b. The program does not provide many of the services rendered by our program i.e.
<br /> mentoring, community services, Life Skills, Drug Awareness and Character Education, overnight
<br /> stay on site, meals, recreational, and academic support and tracking the girls for six months after
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