Gender-Responsive Services and Equitable Diversion Access

Hosted by The Council of State Governments (CSG) Justice Center and the U.S Department of Justice’s Office of Justice Programs’ Bureau of Justice Assistance

A 2023 report from the Prison Policy Initiative highlights the ongoing increase of the women’s incarceration rate in comparison to men’s, particularly during the pretrial phase. This uptick also extends to transgender women and nonbinary people. These gender-based disparities reveal the need for an increase in access to gender-responsive and equitable diversion options that specifically address women’s unique pathways to offending and their experiences in the criminal justice system. In this webinar, experts from the National Resource Center on Justice-Involved Women will teach participants about the consequences of ignoring gender for women with criminal justice involvement and about what gender justice could look like when incorporating the principles of equity. Participants will also learn about using intersectionality and trauma-informed principles as a framework for developing gender-responsive and equitable criminal justice diversion programming options for women. There will be a question-and-answer period.

Speakers:

• Erica King, Senior Manager, Center for Effective Public Policy, National Resource Center on Justice-Involved Women
• Felicia López Wright, Project Manager, Behavioral Health, CSG Justice Center
• Kristie Puckett, Gender Justice Policy Advisor, Center for Effective Public Policy, National Resource Center on Justice-Involved Women
• Jazmone Wilkerson, Project Manager, Behavioral Health, CSG Justice Center