Networks for Girls

About the Networks for Girls Program

"Networks for Girls" is a diversionary program provided by the Center for Dispute Resolution (CDR) at Missouri State University, in partnership with the Greene County Juvenile Office. Networks for Girls provides services for adolescent girls in Greene County who are having behavioral issues or facing other concerns or issues (including juvenile offending, status offenses, truancy, relationship issues, and others). The program provides two services to help address the girls' offenses and provide support and education to reduce the likelihood they will reoffend.

Networks for Girls provides Family Group Conferencing and a Girls Circle program to help address the girls’ needs and provide support and education. These model programs have proven effective at addressing youths’ issues and are being combined in a unique way to meet the needs of girls and young women.

The Family Group Conferencing program component brings a girl’s entire family together to make a plan to address her behavior or difficulties and to manage any concerns that may come from the Juvenile Office, school, or family.

The Girls Circle program component offers a structured educational exploratory-group setting where, over the course of 8 weeks, girls gather with facilitators and are able to use authentic voices and comfortably absorb essential information relating to their social and emotional well-being.

Both the Family Group Conferencing and Girls Circle programs are model programs that have been proven effective at reducing juvenile crime and behavioral issues in young women. These programs are being combined in a unique way to meet the needs of girls in Greene County.

Funds to launch this program were made available through the Missouri Department of Public Safety and the Missouri Juvenile Justice Advisory Group from funding provided by the U.S. Department of Justice, Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention.