Working with Girls-Gender Specific Programming

Course Outline:

Presenter

Vicky Major has over 25 years of experience in the field of social work with an emphasis on substance abuse treatment.   Vicky currently works for the Juvenile Justice Commission as a Superintendent for the D.O.V.E.S. (Developing Opportunities and Values through Education of Substance Abuse treatment) Program.  D.O.V.E.S. is a gender-responsive adolescent defined therapeutic community-based program.   The program takes a holistic look at the adolescent female offender and develops an individualized treatment plan based on that resident’s specific needs.   Vicky began her career in substance abuse in the U.S. Air Force as a drug and alcohol counselor.  Vicky received her Bachelors in Psychology from Wesley College and her Master in Social Work from Delaware State University.  She holds a license in both Social Work and Substance Abuse.  After retiring from the military, Vicky continued to work in both the mental health and substance abuse aspects of social work.  Vicky also worked at Seabrook House and Family Services in the area of substance abuse as a primary counselor.  Vicky has worked for the Juvenile Justice Commission for the past 5 years, employed initially as a social worker.  She has been Superintendent of the D.O.V.E.S. Program for the past two years.  Additionally Vicky is a member of the Board of Directors of Prevention Plus, a county program that works to avert substance abuse in adolescents, young adults and senior citizens.

Linda Thomas is the Superintendent of the Juvenile Justice Commission’s Juvenile Female Secure Care and Intake Facility (JFSCIF).  For twenty years she has distinguished herself as an administrator, educator, trainer and advocate for correctional excellence, and has steadfastly demonstrated and been recognized for her ability to evaluate existing programs and make them better.  When appointed as the first Superintendent of JFSCIF in 2002, she fought for and achieved a more gender-balanced security staff, and created an atmosphere where young females feel a sense of emotional and physical safety, an atmosphere where more attention is paid to their strengths than their weaknesses.  She insists that all program elements be responsive to distinct, often overlooked, juvenile female needs, and has incorporated state and national initiatives on female offenders in her creative program design.

Danielle Hill-Scott became the statewide Gender Specific Services Coordinator for the State of New Jersey in 2003.  In this capacity, she provides community education via technical assistance and training to counties and local service providers throughout the state.  In addition, she also administers federal funds to create gender responsive programs for girls. 

She has presented her work to the New Jersey Juvenile Officers Association, the New Jersey Governor’s Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention Young Women’s Action Agenda (Gender Subcommittee), NJ Juvenile Justice Commission Staff, the National Association of Black Social Workers (New Orleans, LA in April 2005), the 11^th National Conference on Adult and Female Offenders (Bloomington, MN in October 2005), the National Gang Youth Summit (Arlington, VA in May 2005, June 2006, February 2007), the New Jersey Juvenile Detention Association (September 2007) and the New Jersey Court Appointed Special Advocates (NJ CASA in October 2007). 

In addition, Danielle Hill-Scott was selected to be one of three presenters at the Juvenile Accountability Block Grant National Training on Gender Responsive Programming in Miami, Florida in March 2005.  The training was sponsored by the Federal Office of Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention (OJJDP) located in Washington, D.C. 

She co-wrote 2 Requests for Proposals (RFP’s).  These RFP’s/ grant solicitations sought to create gender specific programs that address the mental, physical health and substance abuse issues of girls and programs that address issues surrounding traumatic exposure in girls.  As a result of these initiatives, New Jersey now has holistic healthcare programs and trauma responsive programs for girls. 

As an advocate for young women, Danielle Scott is dedicated to making New Jersey more responsive and affective in addressing the holistic needs of juvenile females on a systemic level.  She currently sits on the Board of Directors for CASA (Court Appointed Special Advocates) of Cumberland, Salem, and Gloucester Counties, as well as the New Jersey Coalition for Battered Women (NJCBW).

Danielle Hill-Scott graduated from the University of Rhode Island (URI) in 1999 with a Bachelor of Arts in Communication Studies and Sociology and a minor in Portuguese.  In 2001, she graduated with an MSW from the University of Pennsylvania’s School of Social Work.