The Center for Child and Family Studies has received $297,000 in funding from the National Institute of Justice to examine links between victimization and crime among girls in the juvenile justice system.

Researchers and practitioners have recognized that girls in the justice system experience disproportionately high rates of violence exposure--such as child maltreatment, rape, and dating violence--prior to their delinquent or criminal offending. This study will gather information on girls' histories of violence exposure, use of community services, and relationship of victimization and service use to girls' delinquency or crime.

Researchers hope the study will help community- and systems-based interventions address "poly-victimization" (simultaneously experiencing multiple types of violence exposure). The study is an extension of the center's previous research on victimization histories of incarcerated women.

Making findings useful for practitioners is a major goal of the study, and funding is included for activities to help translation of research to practice.

For more information, please contact Dana DeHart, principal investigator, at 7-7867 or dana.dehart@sc.edu.

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